Explore SF Through Coffee Shops
3 min readA fun way to explore SF neighborhoods
When visiting SF, sometimes people stick to the same neighborhoods they know and love. This happened even when we lived there.
So my husband and I started explore SF by picking a place to eat as a starting point, and then building our itinerary around that area.
In this 3-part series, I’ll go over a food group (pastries, coffee shops, and ice cream), and highlight nearby activities for you.
This post will focus on coffee.
1) St Frank Coffee (Russian Hill)
My favorite coffee shop in SF is St. Frank Coffee in Russian Hill. Their pour overs are always unique and tasty. When you watch them make drinks, you can tell they’re very focused/serious about it, and it’s fun to see all the gadgets they use. Not much seating, but there’s pretty good turnover.
Nearby activities:
Afterwards you could walk on Polk St toward Fort Mason for water views. Rent a bike at Fisherman’s Wharf bike through Fort Mason, and eat at a food truck. Sometimes Fort Mason Center hosts sample sales!
Or, you could walk the other direction on Polk St toward Lower Nob Hill and eat at one of my fav hole in the walls, Cordon Bleu Vietnamese Restaurant. I love getting the #1, and substitute the shish kebab for an extra imperial roll. The auntie there serves the crispiest egg rolls, and locals loveee the meat sauce. Such that some people monitor their grocery deliveries, to figure out what goes into the sauce haha!
Whenever we visit SF, we pick up a cup of coffee at St Frank’s and beans to take home. These are their classic beans that I’ve seen the most, however they have a ton of other types to try.
#1 from Cordon Bleu Vietnamese Restaruant, substitute shish kebab for extra imperial rolls (not pictured)
2) Ritual Coffee (Hayes Valley)
I love the espresso and espresso based drinks at Ritual Coffee. My favorite location is in Hayes Valley. It’s in shipping container in a cute neighborhood square with art installations. They have some outdoor seating, perfect for people watching.
Nearby activities:
If you want to make your day extra special, LUX SF is a nail salon across the street. One of the few salons I’ve found that focus on natural nails. Suggest booking ahead.
Also, my fav place to buy kids’ gifts is Fiddlesticks. They have really stylish clothes for kiddos and have helped me put a kids’ outfit together =)
For lunch, Chez Maman offers outdoor seating and yummy mussels & frites.
For dinner, try to get a reservation or show up 30 min before Rich Table opens. Must try their porcini donuts. Soooo much umami goodness.
A beautiful Friday at Chez Maman
3) Sightglass Coffee
Another great shop is Sightglass Coffee. There are threads online trying to figure out how they make their vanilla iced coffee. The vanilla paste is made in-house, so it’s big on flavor but not too sweet.
Nearby activities:
If you happen to visit their 7th street location, check out Deli Board. They described their turkey as sumptuous (I’ve never heard of this descriptor for turkey - and yes, yes yall they right). Just fyi, in recent years there have been some challenges in the area regarding safety, so keep that in mind.