Front Cafe

One of my top three go-​to coffee shops in SF. Always guaranteed a fantastically well-​crafted cup. Cold brew is also delicious. Great pastries from a bakery in the Dogpatch.
Important notes: Only outdoor seating, no WiFi, no bathroom.

it was a nice idea when it first opened and I did like the simplicity of the perfect espresso delivery system, but it was downhill from there. a little bit too «precious» really.
no affiliation to any one roasted bean provider meant that you never knew what your espresso was going to taste like from day to day.
given that there were no real tables or benches within, there was no real café.
there are a few benches outside where you are treated to the exhaust fumes from the cars waiting to get up and onto the freeway, except when the benches are full of people partaking of the pizza truck parked in the driveway for hours, or when it is pissing down with rain.
No, not sad to see you go…

It’s 2:31 on Saturday and they are completely closed. Not sure what’s going on. Chairs and tables and the door are all closed up.

design + craft + coffee: perfect combination.
Excellent prep and great bean.
Sad that they’ll be moving soon. Get there while you still can!

Great hidden gem in the city. I’d frequent if I lived closer cause the space is lovely. I had a coffee and a pastry. Sat in the sun and realized that it’s probably located in one of the cleaner parts of SF.

Super cool. Super chic store! Love, love the cool choices from chips to power bars. Great variety of drinks, desserts and sandwiches even gift items like tea pots, mugs, etc. And the décor and friendly service makes this place way better than any deli out there. Stumbled upon this café while attending to an appointment. Very nice shop, clean, friendly. I had their tomato soup and rocket salad, it was great, delicious. Good job guys.

It’s another hipster, drip coffee joint. Clever branding and logos with their mark even cemented into the pavement, so props for whomever thought that up, but there’s nothing remarkable about their coffee. When asking the barista about their most popular drink or his favorite, he was evasive and said that it constantly changes. Tastes like strong coffee with a touch of tight pants, bicycles, and over-​priced merchandise. What happened, Dogpatch? They have rickety benches outside if you want to hang out with your drip coffee and spend some time watching cars go by.

Really awesome coffee here. I don’t know much about coffee, but when I came here the other day, they had special blends that were imported. One was called Ader Recinos, which was from Guatemala, and my bf had San Jose, from Colombia. These were types of coffee that you drink black without any cream or half and half. They were so smooth, and had interesting flavors, not your typical cup of Joe. I remember the Ader Recinos had a sweet taste to it, although it was described as «Bright and juicy» and rather it was the San Jose that was «sweet and complex.»
I wouldn’t recommend coming here to catch up with a friend, since their seating is only outdoors, and thus freezing. More of a grab and go place!

This place is pretty unique because I’ve never seen a coffee shop that’s situated in a garage. The décor is really nice and right when you start walking, you can literally smell the freshly brewed coffee.
I ordered the ice brewed coffee just cause I know it comes in a mason jar. The coffee is $ 4 + $ 1.25 for the mason jar but if you return the jar it’ll be $ 4. They put a big ice cube into your coffee just like if you were to order an old fashioned. All of the barista were very friendly also!
I’ll be back!

Solid coffee, and the espresso float is money. Front café is a pretty small space, and I guess they rent out space in the back for people that want to stick around to work for hours. The storefront itself is built in what looks like a garage, with a few picnic tables outside for customers to sit at. They sell a bunch of [what looks like local] stuff peppered throughout the tiny store — mints, backpacks, etc. There was no one when I arrived on a Saturday morning, but they received a steady flow of people coming in, and by the time I left there were a few [probably kindred Unilocal] folks snapping pics of the storefront and ordering their coffees.
The espresso float is a minimum of 2 scoops of vanilla ice cream from Mr. & Mrs. Misc, with espresso and tonic water. Once that vanilla ice cream melts… MMMm-​Mm! The only criticism I have to say is that their coffee tastes pretty acidic to me, but that is melted away by the ice cream. That’s all personal preference though.
Their pastries are from neighbor bakehouse, so those are great too — if you’re ever craving neighbor bakehouse (like I was… the original plan was to stop there, but they were closed so I found Front café instead!) this is a good alternative to stop by, especially because they are open later and there’s plenty of parking out front.

Real review: 3.5 stars.
Front Café has a neat ambiance. It was cool to be drinking coffee right outside a garage, but note that the few wooden benches outside are a wee bit skimpy.
I got cold brew here and it was pretty good. I was happy to see that it’s served off of tap and that they used really large square ice cubes: D There’s a deposit for the glass mason jars that they serve the cold brew in. Return the glasses back when you’re done and you get $ 1.25 back!
Location here isn’t exactly the greatest and feels a bit out of the way from a lot of other things, but nice to stop by for coffee when you’re in the neighborhood!

What a bummer: Front is closing! My fav coffee spot is soon to be no more. Front has such a cool vibe… Where will I go now?

Cute hipster café that’s located in a garage. I recommend the affogato. Who doesn’t love an excuse to eat ice cream for breakfast?
Cold brew was also great. Slightly pricey but typical of SF cafes.

3.5 stars for espresso float that comes in a mason jar. Be prepared to pay the $ 1.25 jar deposit, but I believe everything tastes better served in glass than paper cups.
2 stars for the cold brew matcha. It just tasted like simple green tea with a big block of ice in it. I’m a huge fan of tea and matcha and when I saw this on the menu I knew I had to order it. But it really disappointed, especially since it was so expensive.
5 stars for the décor. Absolutely gorgeous and unique concept. Pastries are covered lab-​beaker-​shaped glass.
Pastries: Got the coffee cake and it was meh.
I will be coming back for another espresso float and to try their affogato, and pistachio croissant which is always sold out when I go ! I’ll post an update on these when I do.

It was my first time here & this is one of the cutest coffee shops I’ve been to! I originally wanted to order either a cold brew or cold brew matcha, but I didn’t want to have to put a $ 1.25 for the jar deposit. The main reason for that was I already have one too many mason jars, and secondly, I didn’t plan on sitting down with my coffee and then returning the cup. In conclusion, I ended up getting the batched brewed drip, which I enjoyed very much.
~Location
At first, I thought I entered the wrong address into my GPS because I was in a neighborhood. I thought it wasn’t going to be as crowded since it was in an isolated area, but it was pretty busy when I went. For one thing, I like how there’s free parking!
~Service
The service was okay. There were two workers and they were quite busy when I arrived. The girl welcomed me with a smile, but I had to wait at least 5 minutes before they took my order.
~Coffee
My coffee was aamaazing! There was a slight tangy flavor which was very unusual for me, but I enjoyed it very much! I will definitely come back !
~Cleanliness
Overall, this place felt very clean, EXCEPT for the little table where they put the milk, sugar, etc. This is the reason why I did not give them 5 stars. The table felt dirty. Is was sticky, filled with spilled coffee, and sugar scattered throughout the entire table. Another thing that I was not pleased about was how the sugar & honey container was wide open.
Overall, I would come back, but please, keep the milk & sugar area cleaner!!! And I’d like to order a cold drink to go without having to put a deposit on the jar!

Though hand sawed ice is one of Front Café’s shticks, good luck getting them to throw one of those big, trendy cubes in an espresso beverage. No iced mochas? But it’s a sweltering 80 degrees in the city!
I settled for their cold brew. One of the worst tasting ones I’ve tried, even with copious amounts of their almond milk & raw sugar.
Their strawberry shrub soda, made with fruit, vinegar, & sugar, had an unpleasantly sour flavor. Front Café sacrifices taste in their attempt at being au naturale.
A cool (or is «ironic» a less offensive adjective?) concept running a fully-​functioning café out of a loading dock, however their end product didn’t satisfy our tastebuds.
No to-​go cups, plan on spending ~$ 1.25 for each mason jar deposit (if you don’t bring your own cup.)

Tried their shrub soda-​I have never ever heard anything like this and was amazed at the taste-it’s basically jam and soda. can u believe it? They have 2 flavors: quince and strawberry. I tried the latter and loved it.
This item wasn’t listed on their main board-​it was mentioned somewhere on their counter. hidden behind some vase. so glad it just caught my eye by chance. will come back to try quince and take back home a bottle.

Sweet aesthetically pleasing «café,» which is actually just a spot out of a garage, typical for a lot of shops in the Potrero & mission. It’s hard to miss but look for a bunch of folks eating on benches/​tables outside on Mississippi & you’ll find it. I got the pour over Colombian, nutty & strong. Didn’t get a chance to try the pastries but they looked good (& a little pricey). And also saw a bunch of folks eating some delicious looking pizza — didn’t see it on the menu but will definitely be back for that!
Overall, sweet spot to drink coffee under the sun, people watch & read a book (they don’t have wifi).

«NEVER EVER EVER PARK HERE»
Front Café is the size of a two-​three car garage. They are located in literally (for me) in the middle of who-​knows-​where, which made me fall in love with this place. My jaw dropped from how well they made use of the space, which, made me fall in love even more. I couldn’t stop taking pictures! I seriously felt like a sad tourist that the hipsters continued to laugh at from outside (I’m serious, they were laughing at me). I love their display, high ceilings, and clean crisp design of their logo, menu, and placement of materials in the café.
It was early morning. I’ve been leaning towards an iced coffee and a regular drip for a while so I decided to give their affogato a try. It was a fair scoop of vanilla bean ice cream with a shot of espresso on the side. I was very happy with how it was presented and served and I was even happier that I was able to mix in the espresso myself. And I must say, the combination was very smooth and satisfying. The espresso was very bold and smooth, but added into the vanilla bean ice cream gave it an amazing creamy texture. I waited for it to melt to a thick liquid state and swirled it around and sipped it out of the bowl like a small bowl of soup. And let me tell you, it was amazing and I have to say I have never had something so amazing in my life.
P. S. Super thumbs up for having outdoor seating

Another craft/​hipster/​yuppie/​gourmet/​specialty coffee joint in San Francisco. I always opt for the almond latte at these places and look forward to the latte art surprises. My barista topped my almond latte with the cutest little flowing HEART — extra star for that detail!
The décor of the place is really cute — open garage setting with high ceilings. They roast their own blends on location and have fresh grounds ready for purchase. Their coffee roast is similar to that of Four Barrel — medium roast. I tend to like my coffee espresso a bit darker and bolder.
Service was friendly. Prices are decent for craft coffee. My almond latte was about $ 4 for 8oz. They offer limited outdoor seating, where two communal tables with benches are set up on the sidewalk space in front. It’s nice to sit and chat on a sunnier day but the city is a bit chilly.
Definitely worth a try if you’re looking for a cute coffee date spot or coffee on the go, but not so good for studying.