On a mobile device? Try our mobile site, optimized for faster browsing.
Category: Coffee & Tea [Edit]
Neighborhood: Mission"The pearl of the mission! A great way to start your sunday mornings....."
Loading...
i spent a sunday lounging at a small table with an iced coffee and a healthy dose of freewifi.
i love just hanging out at coffee shops at the mission, i feel like my "cool" points increase during that time.
i wasn't a fan of the music that was playing, and it may have been playing a notch too loud for my tastes, but i wore earphones and didn't let that bother me.
bonus: as a monotony breaker my friend and i played with the trivial pursuit cards from 1981 that were placed on the shelf in the back room.
p.s. the bathroom smelled like very very very strong chemicals. at least it's clean!
The California BLT on Focaccia is excellent unless he burns the bacon which he does regularly and you will not find out until you eat it, yes he will serve black burnt bacon to you hoping you say nothing and if you he will be pissed off.
Expect to wait even if you are the only person in the cafe. He will probably be alone as no one lasts more than a week working here. I take people here to show them how incompetently this place is run and hoping the CA BLT will not have burnt bacon.
The wifi is cool and fast, the book store in back has a very interesting selection and I've bought many books here but DO NOT enter this cafe without patience and expect to leave without it.
Bagel = Good.
Quiet music and outlets for laptop = Good.
Friendly Service = Good.
Iced Coffee = Not quite so good.
Come here for the nice little cafe feeling, not for the drinks. I am going to make this a regular spot for working from "home".
People thought this was:
The mocha was solid, the internet gave me the bike route know-how to get back home efficiently, and the books in the back gave me time to read some metaphysics. Awesome!
Mission Creek is so bad I joined Yelp just to warn you.
Okay, it's not bad in a life-threatening way, but really, the only thing going for this place is that it has internet (is that really so special these days?). The joke's on me, because I was looking for Ritual Coffee Roasters, and, never having been here before, stepped in here instead and thought I'd give them a chance. Seriously, if you want a good espresso, just go to one of the serveral-many other places nearby.
The guy asked me if I was going to use milk or cream in my americano so he could charge me more for cream. I think it was over a dollar more. I was so confused I went along with it but I wish I'd turned around and walked out.
I ordered the "Irish" oatmeal for $4.50. Irish oatmeal is, I guess, worth four bucks. But alas, what I got was a small bowl of mushy, sad, bland blech. If this had ever been Irish Oatmeal, it had long-since had its nationality boiled out of it.
Yeah, the place is quiet (hey, wonder why...), so if you really don't care that it's ugly and the food is bad, and you just need a place to work away from your home, knock yourself out. I just hate to see good real estate being wasted by people who put out such a 2nd-rate product.
There's plenty of cafes to choose from in the Mission, but for some reason I always end up at Mission Creek.
I like the low-key atmosphere at this café, where tables and most importantly, computer outlets are abundant. You can pick from a few couches, booths, or tables.
The wi-fi here is good, and when I want to take a break from all my computer work, they have a good used books library to read from. They're for sale, but I like to skim through books of varying topics time to time.
I don't have much to say for their food or drinks, but I usually get an iced coffee or orange juice, which suits me well while I work.
5 stars for having the best bagel I've had in SF. It's nice and dense and tastes something like what you might get in NYC.
The other pastries and cakes are pretty good too, but I'll be back again and again for the bagels!
This is a review by a vegetarian
Stroll calmly through the gauntlet of Wi-fi zombies to get a $3 small mocha. It tastes like thick hot water with a chocolate aftertaste. The zombies don't notice.
A half-star is for the fine English accent of the barista-lady and another half for the inexplicably attractive yet very butch lesbian sitting at the table opposite me outside (something about the unobtainable bordering on the undesirable does something for me).
People thought this was:
This review pertains to the cafe during office workday hours (i.e. midmorning on a Monday).
The cafe is quiet, with a dozen patrons and lots of available seating. Most people are on their laptops, which is no surprise given the free wifi and plentiful power outlets.
There are a variety of seating options, from traditional tables and chairs to benches to comfy plush seats. There is a back room away from the Valencia street noise (not that there is much today, but if you were looking for more quiet that would be it).
The guy at the counter is nice and eager to please. The food prices are average to mildly overpriced ($2.70 for a 12oz latte, $3.75 for a bagel with veggies, avocado, and cream cheese, $6.95 for a turkey sandwich).
All in all I think I"ve found my place to work during the day when I need to get out of my house.
Alright folks, let's face it; if there were no wifi at Mission Creek Cafe this place would have negative stars. This place is kinda like a library, if the library was staffed by an older, very angry Korean couple and they served coffee and sandwiches.
The pros are this: The sandwiches and salads are really not that bad, and everyone is working from their laptops. This is awesome, if you are also someone working from a laptop. (And it's a block from my house.)
The cons are this: The coffee is mediocre, and the owners -- especially the Korean woman -- are kind of mean. The last time I went in there, she snapped at me because she was talking so quietly on what kinda bagel I want, I had to ask her to repeat the question twice and the third time she just ended up screaming at me, getting everyones attention. (And every time I've come here they've had a different young adult work the morning shift. What's going on there? Do they fire everyone after two days? Is it a cult? What's the deal?)
Long story short: if you are looking to work the entire day from your laptop, it's a fine place to work as long as you order some stuff. But there are other places to go and I'll be avoiding this place for a really long time.
People thought this was:
Friendly, cute Korean young guy working the front. (I'm a lesbian.) For some reason they don't do decaf cafe au lait, but only decaf lattes.
Veggie chili was spiced but for some reason not satisfying...Not sure if I was missing the meat, or that it didn't have much heft. Full of veggies but almost souplike but without the liquid. I wouldn't get it again.
The sandwiches sounded good but I didn't feel like paying $7. The fresh choc chip cookies on the counter also looked good but I'm off chocolate this week.
Backroom was nice and quiet for working. Front room a bit drafty and an annoying girl got on her cell phone despite the NO CELL PHONE signs. I was leaving anyway, but irritating.
Having wandered around the mission looking for a place to park my keister, I was overjoyed to find this cozy spot on Valencia. Not at all pretentious with minimalism but oh-so-inviting with brightly colored booths and comfy couches, this place was just my scene. The coffee was 'enh,' my first time but the sign in the window looking for a barista had been taken down by my second visit and was DElish. The sandwiches were fresh and tasty and the prices were more than reasonable.
Snuggled at a tabled couch with free wi-fi, a scrumptious sandwich, and a smokin' hot cup of java, I couldn't have been more content.
People thought this was:
There's something immensely dreary about this place. It took a while for the girl to make my bagel, but I didn't really mind.
It does seem like a fine place to work. They have a pretty high minimum for using a credit card but they also have an ATM
Let me start off by saying .that I really liked this place .. I go there fairly often.. I suggest to people that we all meet there... out of all the coffee shops in this mission area ..
there seems to be a older husband and wife team that owns the place. and I liked being able to support them
I went in this morning bright an early ... the place was completely empty .. completely empty I order a bagel w/ jam
and the husband asks me if its to go or if I am staying . he starts to tell me that I can't sit and stay if i do not order more ,.... they don't want me stay and use my laptop...
I let him know that at this point ...
I am definitely not going to stay
I ask him if this is a new policy and if he was telling other people the same thing ...or just me ...
we talked for a while ... I tried to tell him a more tactful way of informing people about this ... there was a nice girl behind the counter who felt bad that all of this was happening ..
I let him know that I would not be going back to his coffee shop .. or suggest it to others..
the whole conversation .. put a damper on my morning.
I will spend my money elsewhere..
People thought this was:
Overall, this is a solid place to get work done in a nice enough atmosphere. The pluses here are the comfortable (and abundant) seating, the large number of plugs, and the strong Wi-Fi. I have to knock off a star for the less than tasty, overpriced salad I had here a while back though. In fact, they're a little overpriced in general. On the bright side, their homemade chocolate chip cookies are to die for!
I am here right now. I am always here. I am homeless. I have no wifi or girlfriend or job. I scraped together money for a bagel. It was $4. I will need to go panhandle in a second but before I do, I am going to write this review:
Eh, Mission Creek is like the mechanic-brother I hate but who I need to rotate my tires. It is a relationship of convenience. It is 7 blocks from my subletted place and has a lot of room and a/c plugs which fewer coffee shops have. They pretty much leave you alone all day long so that is the good thing.
Cash only. Old skool Koreans don't like credit. Fair enough.
People thought this was:
I've had their coffee in the past, nothing to write home about. Lots of room to sit, sip, and compute with their wi-fi.
Today I tried to stop in out of the rain to buy a cup of coffee, but the two women behind the counter making food did not even acknowledge my presence (nary a greeting, nary a glance) at the counter for longer than my patient self thought appropriate. I'm not sure they even noticed me as I walked out.
I've been spending some time in The Mission thanks to a lovely person I met some weeks ago.
Breakfast. here...makes you want to kill yourself. Mafia wars. Gang wars. Seriously. If it wasn't for my lack of knife bag or Asian ninja skills, I would have scored a table at DOSA or Boogaloo's already.
However, Mission Creek Cafe seemed a suitable choice for the salivating dog...I mean Aimee. The cashier speaks casual, broken English; her face, plastered into a serious, non-temperamental expression. "No lox here; only spread." Okay. Chicken sandwich for me then. "Okay. You want bread? What kind? Wheat? Okay." A cheap cafe serving me for about $9.00? I'll go for that.
The sandwich, huge! Chicken moist, stuffed between two pieces of wheat bread, cut in half, served with avocados, lettuce, tomatoes and for garnishment's sake, twin orange cellophane-topped toothpicks with sandwich olives.
I'll add an extra star when the real lox waddles on in...
People thought this was:
I thought I'd give this place a second chance even after getting a whole bunch of grounds in my coffee, but when I went in for lunch the other day and saw two fat cockroaches scamper across the kitchen floor I gave up on them. I'm surprised I haven't had nightmares about what's crawling around in their sandwiches.
I've been spoiled by my local coffee shop. I expect to drink chardonnay and slowly while the day away as the fog rolls into my mind... Not tonight, I guess. But there's internet here, and, what is that amazing voice? Jolie Holland playing over the speakers. Ha, who would have thought she'd become a part of the regular rotation in the Mission Creek? Well, I mean, besides everyone. Ah well, life is good. It's very relaxing here. Come sit down, pull up an overly comfy chair, and take a load off, friend.
People thought this was:
so i wandered in here looking for coffee and a bagel...i wanted to avoid the crowded and in my opinion grossly overrated ritual roastery and the newer 4 barrel coffee.
Mission Creek was unpretentious, uncrowded and comfortable...and i enjoyed my sunday afternoon reading the paper (okay, so it was The Onion) eating my bagel and drinking my soy latte.
only complaint- i like vanilla soy milk and they just had regular. i suppose i'll live though.
they have a debit/credit card minimum of $6 and an ATM machine.
i think they sell books in the back, that seems cool.
also they offer free wifi.
(on a sidenote: a commercial on TV is currently advertising the ShamWow...i am very impressed and believe i have been convinced...4 for $19.95...)
People thought this was:
I find myself spending a lot of time here lately... the cafe definitely caters to the workaholics, secret studiers and coffee shop junkies looking for the modernist essentials of free wifi and coffee.
This cafe is great because there's outlets at every seat and when your stomach starts grumbling, there's decent grub to keep you going. The soups, salads, sandwiches and cookies are pretty good. The coffee is mediocre, but definitely come here if you plan on spending some quality time with your laptop or books since that's what most people do there. I like it here because ... I just happen to be one of them.
People thought this was:
Lately they've been blasting bad music...Seriously I'm not a hipster music snob who like to lists obscure, welsh rock bands from 1982 among their repertoire. like objectively reeeeeeeeally bad music. I mean like high school musical music bad! I'm not kidding. They literally were blasting Zac Efron and Vanessa..what's her face singing a duet...I only know this because of my 10 year old kid sister. Kill me now. Please.
This is the perfect place to bring your laptop, your books, your notes and get 'er done. Just look… Read more »
Plenty of outlets and seats, and free wifi. Used to be my favorite place to work, but the prices are steep and the staff keep changing, which is always a bad sign. Plus the owner (or so she seems to be) is aggressive with customers, and leaves hostile notes on the register ("We lock doors at 9:59 p.m. exactly!"). Hold it, there, lady, this is not a pumpkin carriage and you ain't a fairy godmother.
This is a good, solid coffee bar. It's quiet and you can almost always find a seat. People have complained about the owners being angry, but honestly, are there any friendly, happy cafes in the mission? The only one I can think of is Petra. The rest, you might as well be shopping at Whole Foods for all the negative customer experiences they're generating.
If you want a scene or to be seen, hit Ritual or Four Barrel. But if you want a consistent space to sit and a spot to read, write or work, this is one of the best spots in the mission.
People thought this was:
I like this place, but maybe I'm not hip enough to know better. I hate working at home, but also hate noise. The back room of Mission Creek is, as of now, the closest thing to a library (that is not actually a library) in the area. The classical music is a nice touch.
They have some shit chocolate cookies, though. Step up and you'll get the fifth star.
UPDATE: So, I'm new around here. It has come to my attention that Mission Creek has two sources of chocolate chip cookies - the fresh baked ones that come out on a tray, and the ones in the little plastic case.
Do not eat the ones in the little plastic case.
THIS IS WHERE I USED TO WORK!
at first i thought it was adorable, but now i must tell you why you shouldnt go there:::
its diiiiirrrrttaaaay.... they dont clean the steam wands ever. the owner was teaching me how to make a sandwich and he dropped the knife on the floor (which isnt clean either). it sat there for like 10 minutes before he picked it up and used it to cut tomatoes, then someones sandwich. barf. they wipe the tables down frequently, but not with sanitizer-with soggy rags that sit in the corner by the sink all day.
also, the owner is very un-friendly. he made a big deal of not chatting with the customers; he said if someone asks directions somewhere you tell them you dont know where it is ecause theres work to be done.
but this one guy named spencer who works there is very nice.
i recommend mission creek cafe if you are a grungy, unfriendly person.
People thought this was:
DIrty.
If you're desperate for a place with wi-fi and a plug, it's useful. Get a cup of tea. They will tax you for it, most likely. Don't try to make small talk. They're typically very mean.
The food can be really good, just, please ask them to wear gloves while making it, especially if it's the owner-man. He'll go from cleaning the bathroom floor to making your order without washing his hands. I've seen this happen. It's a shame because I think it's his wife who chops up and prepares all the ingredients, and the stuff I've had when he's not there is really good.
It's also a shame that they microwave the homemade soups. Why not crock pot the soup. Dude! I wish I owned this place. It has a lot of potential, great location and I love the space. I love the books and the no cellphone rule in the back room. You coffee shop cellphone using people suck, by the way, thinking everyone should have to hear you. Go home. Or go outside.
But mostly it's the bathroom floor wiping, oh and garbage seperating, then going directly to your lunch making , that I'm talking about and why I'm giving Mission Creek Cafe NO stars. I wanted to love it here, but I don't like shit sammiches.
This place is not for mindless chatter. It's for reading, thinking and other quiet-time activities. A home away from home, feel free to cozy up to your favorite electronic devices for long periods of time, because they have free electricity and wifi. I like their chai and homemade chocolate chip cookies (warning: they use unsweetened hunks of chocolate).
Hm... I've come here a few times in the last week to do work, but I don't think I actually like the place all that much. They have free wifi which is nice, and don't seem to mind if you spend hours sitting there with your laptop. Most people in here will also be doing that.
I came in here the first time because I had a lot of work that I needed to get done and ritual was way too full to find any room to work. I wasn't dissapointed in the place, it did a good job providing what I needed, but I didn't exactly leave satisfied.
Their food is really over priced and not all that great. definitely stay away from the "home made" cookies, they taste like dish soap and some really biter vitamins. Their coffee leaves something to be desired.
Over all, come here if you need good distraction free work zone, but don't come here for much else.
People thought this was:
+1 star: they started finding yummy cookies to serve. :-D -1 star: server was unhelpful.
For some reason Mission Creek reminds me of those cafes you find in small midwestern towns -- you… Read more »
Mission Creek used to be awesome!
I used to come by here all the time, the fella lives up the street, it was on my walk home, plus it's two blocks from work.
Then fella went to go work somewhere else for a couple of months, and I started drinking coffee closer to my house, because I wasn't walking home from his house... Anyway.
So I stopped by recently. And the coffee was weak. The bagel was gross. Soggy, maybe, or just undertoasted? Sub-par, definitely. I figured, the guy's having an off-day. I mean, I haven't been in here in months, and I come in, and he remembers I like the biggest coffee ever with *just* the right amount of room for cream, and he doesn't even charge me full price (because it had gone up a quarter since the last time I'd been there) so, Benefit Of The Doubt Time.
A couple of days go by, I'm at the fella's house again, I'm doing my usual mid-morning walk home, and I stop in for coffee. Not the owner, some boy, and the coffee is Exactly the same amount of terrible. I didn't even finish it.
Anyway, if you're in a pinch for wireless, and aren't snobby about your coffee like I am, MC can do it for you if you need it. Otherwise, I recommend Javalencia up the street (and isn't that saying something...) or braving the hipper-than-thous over at Ritual. No outlets, but wireless.
i still go here occassionally b/c of the convenience factor, but honestly this place sorta sucks. the food is completely overpriced, as are the beverages. twice now i've asked for a single latte and they gave it to me in the tiniest cup possible. like, the baby-sized cup. wtf? do i look like a child? i'm paying $3.50, at least give me a medium-sized cup!!!
not coming here much anymore.
this cafe is great for people-watching, reading, and just hanging out. they have a delicious… Read more »
The Pros:
You can always find a seat here.
Food is OK if you know what to order.
Bathroom is clean.
Atmosphere is welcome bright, and open.
Staff is friendly
The Cons:
Service can be soso if it's the owner serving you
The coffee is a bit bland
Most of the food is expensive (for what it is) and not too tastey. Seems like staff doesn't like preparing food.
People thought this was:
Ritual too . . .
hipster livin'
Chrome bag havin'
MacBook typin'
Muddy's too . . .
junkie livin'
urine smellin'
dirty bein'
Then Mission Creek might be for you. What Mission Creek Cafe lacks in the extreme nature of some other cafes, they make it up in the being a solid all-around place to hang out and get some work done.
1 = Outlets freaking EVERYWHERE
1 = Free WiFi from ZRnet
1 = Level tables and lots of room
1 = Jazz in the background
The only reason it doesn't get a FIVER is because it does not have as much character than the aforementioned Ritual and Muddy's. Either skank it up or gentrify already ;-)
People thought this was:
I liked this place til recently. I used to go here when I needed to work and didn't want to run into anyone I knew.
Me: I'll have an Italian soda.
The man makes it with still water.
Me: It's supposed to be made with bubbly water-- it's a SODA.
The man pours it out and makes another with bubbly water. He rings me up and charges me twice the price written on the board.
Me: The price is __. You should be charging me what's written on the board.
Him: It's a DECORATION, not a sign.
Me: WTF????
Argument ensues. He insists the price written on the chalkboard is a decoration, and I end up paying twice the posted price because he didn't know an Italian soda is made with bubbly water!
I'll still give them two stars for free wireless and good salad. Yeah he has to make a living and when it comes down to it it's not a lot of money-- but man! this guy has no tact! Needless to say I don't go there anymore. If I need free wireless I'll go to the Mission library or Cafe La Boheme. Anywhere but here! He's nuts!
People thought this was:
Upsides: There's a great selection of food, lots of electric sockets, free wi-fi, good music (I heard Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings for a good hour), and it's a great place to get work done (it's both quiet and big tables to work on).
Downside: my coffee wasn't that good and the toilet overflowed (and the people who worked there weren't THAT super-psyched to do anything about the flood in the bathroom).
This is going to be one of my regulars, I'm sure.
People thought this was:
Okay, so a couple big things about my review:
1) It's NOT based on a comparison with Ritual (which I've never been to).
2) I didn't have the allegedly-bland coffee.
3) As I wasn't there for the wi-fi, I can't comment on that either.
Their sandwich selection was a bit lacking -- but what I got (I think it was a turkey on some kind of ciabatta), and what my partner got (some kind of hummus plate) were both great.
We had just been to BorderLands down the street, were UberHungry, and their sign was visible. Say what you want, we thought it was pretty good.
Has anyone noticed that every other time you go in there there's a new person behind the counter being trained. Place must either pay in inverse proportion to their prices or the owners must be a nightmare. Or both.
Someone should start a facebook group, 'survivors of working at Mission Creek Cafe'.
I'll only ding the place one star though because it's one of my favorite spots to work.
Here's the thing. The coffee sucks, but the tea is alright. Not cheap, mind you, but it's alright. And the salads are good.
But what I really heart about this place is its stalwart refusal to gentrify. Spitting distance from Dosa, Delfina and Tartine, this place is as un-pretentious as it gets without being in,say, Berkeley.
There are outlets everywhere and free wifi.
If you need to work or work from home, and you can do without the attitude of Mission hipsters in uber-trendy hangouts like Ritual, this is your go-to- cafe.
People thought this was:
Neighborhood: Mission
Category: Coffee & Tea
Neighborhood: Mission
Category: Coffee & Tea
Neighborhood: Mission
Category: Coffee & Tea
Neighborhood: Mission
Category: Coffee & Tea
Neighborhood: Mission
Category: Coffee & Tea
Wifi, inconspicuousness and general good times for…
Coffeeshops to be, or at least look, productive…
My local dry cleaner, my favorite deli, and some…
Outlets, coffee, and treats (and people-watching,…
Where I can take my baby. Where she is safe,…
My local dry cleaner, watering hole, deli, cafe,…
I love cafe life. Here's L-dub's take on SF's…
Too many free wireless spots in San Francisco, so…
