Artisan Cafe

I just bought the worst breakfast sandwich ever at this poor excuse for a café. I expect a little gouging at the airport but I hate being robbed. Eight bucks and change for a sandwich unfit for a sea gull.

Temporary coffee counter set up at San Diego airport. Good coffee with a pumpkin muffin for the flight home. I have bought salads from Artisan in the past and usually get my Earl Grey tea there as well. The other coffee in Terminal 1 is just old coffee in a thermos. Artisan makes it fresh.

The last time I was here, this used to be a pizza joint.
$ 9 for a crummy sandwich and $ 4 for a soda? I know this is airport food but that’s a rip off. The airport I came from offers the same thing for half that price.
Its not like you have much of a selection since there is hardly any space for food vendors in the terminal.

Bought a blueberry walnut bran muffin. It’s bran alright coz it tastes and even crunched like cardboard. I see the nuts and blueberry, but I can’t taste it. Got an ice coffee sweetened with vanilla and it tasted so burnt even after masking it with soy milk and another shot of vanilla. Should’ve woken up earlier to hit up Starbucks or another coffee shop. The coffee I make with my Keurig sounds so good right now — compared to this dirt water. Sorry… bad coffee = cranky me.

This place is awesome! Great variety of sandwiches and salads plus good coffee drinks. I ordered a iced mocha with whip cream and it tastes better than Starbucks crap. There Coffee is bold and good. If your ever in Terminal one def check this place out.

I went to the Artisan Café this past weekend while flying out of San Diego. I was dismayed to see that they had removed Starbucks (and most other food places) inside the terminal. But it was early in the morning and I needed my coffee fix. I waited in line at the Café to be told that they didn’t have an espresso machine or any of the other regular staples of a coffee shop and told me to get in line across the aisle way at the Artisan Bar. They seemed overstaffed (to the point where it looked uncomfortably crowded behind the counter) and yet they were all flustered, and moving slow. I ordered a simple iced vanilla latte and banana nut loaf. I was concerned when the woman behind the cash register turned to her coworker and said «can we make lattes?». Really? After what seemed like some confusion among the baristas, they reassured me that they could make me an iced vanilla latte and I paid and proceeded to wait for my drink. They called my name and handed me black iced coffee. I obviously handed it back to them assuming it was a mistake… It wasn’t. I had two of the baristas argue with me telling me that the cup of iced black coffee was in fact a latte and that I just needed to add creamer. They were so obviously wrong, but whatever. I didn’t want to start my morning arguing, so I added creamer to the iced coffee. And there I had it; iced coffee with creamer. Not a latte. No vanilla. No espresso flavor. Great! Ended up throwing it out, and was overjoyed when I landed in Oakland to find a Starbucks right outside of my terminal! Step it up terminal one! Get a real coffee shop!

No. Just no.
For starters, the system they have working here doesn’t seem to be, well, working. There’s a section on the right where they make pizzas and sandwiches. On the left is two cash registers. The problem is there’s a rather large post between the two sections, making unclear to patrons how to queue up for the food. The staff doesn’t do much in the way of directing traffic.
Actually, to be fair, the staff doesn’t do much in the way of anything. When I was standing around waiting to order my premade sandwich, I had to flag down three different people before I was finally able to secure a sandwich. I then made my way around to the registers to grab fruit and check out.
Once on the plane I busted open my bounty. Well, the sandwich was flavorless at best. On top of that, I’m pretty sure the fruit was spoiled as well — or at the very least wasn’t fresh.
The problem is with Terminal One being what it there really isn’t much else in the way of food options here. If you’re stuck and just need sustenance, this is going to be it. And you have my pity.

Airport concessions seem to go in and out all the time, and those at San Diego Airport are no exception. Take the main cluster of Southwest gates (3 – 10) in Terminal 1. I could swear there used to be a Starbucks there.
Now, Gate 3 has a kiosk called Artisan Café. They have the standard airport options including coffee & tea, pastries, muffins, bagels, scones, breakfast sandwiches, lunchmeat sandwiches, salads, parfait yogurts, all the regular water, juice and soft drinks — nothing special, right? Maybe the improvement is hard to notice at first, but I thought the sandwiches looked a little better than those sold elsewhere, and I saw the coffee & tea is from Pannikin, a San Diego institution. The sign on top advertises espresso — I know, right, at an airport terminal? Check out the branding on the food wrappers and the bright green trim on the kiosk — I think this kiosk looks, dare I say, stylish? Current?
Let’s not get too excited yet — my bagel tasted like a typical airport bagel, and I hate schmearing the cream cheese out of that little portion-​controlled tub. Maybe they just aren’t good at bagels yet. I can’t tell if Artisan Café is there temporarily or if their installation is permanent. I did notice that Einstein Brothers Bagels is under construction adjacent to Artisan Café. I’m excited that the food options at the Southwest gates do seem to be improving.