Royal Ground Coffees

The Royal Ground just reopened as Moka. It’s been completely remodeled. It’s now much cleaner & more comfortable. The menu has greatly improved (for example, they now make paninis & have high quality teas), & the food preparation area is much larger & apparently more functional.
Have not yet had a chance to determine whether the once-​devoted regulars will return.

Quaint neighboiurhood café… They are closed now, brown paper cover the windows.

I’ve come here to study a few times. It’s a small, cozy coffee shop. My only complaint is this is the only place nearby kinda sorta and it’s packed if I get there late. The man at the counter is nice.
I ordered a pumpkin spice latte once and he didn’t even know it was on the menu and could not make it for me. But, I found that more humorous than anything. :) Their chai tea is very chai tea-​y. Very spicy/​strong?

Love atmosphere of this place, i feel myself as home there ;). I would recommend it for relaxing time in a busy day or for a coffe-​laptop-​work.

I prefer Royal Coffee over Starbucks any day — stronger coffee without tasting bitter or burnt, more customizable (didn’t blink at my triple shot long pull 2 regular, 1 decaf shot). The barista at this location was not friendly though. She was counting money, so I waited until she was done before placing my order (no hello or acknowledgement that I was there), and then proceeded to say nothing to me until she rang up the order. Way to make someone feel welcome… Took my coffee and left :)

This is a nice, cozy coffee shop, with a decent brew, but there’s nothing about it that sets it apart from others in the area. The staff is friendly enough, but the décor is pretty boring.

Great vibe, good muffins, strong wi-​fi and ok coffee

An OK-​coffee spot for a chain. This specific Royal Ground is a bit grungier than the Russian Hill location, but fits in well with the whole Polk Gultch vibe. The place is always decently full of clientele. I have always stopped in to grab a drink, then walk around outside.
I’ve been here maybe three times. All of the staff I’ve interacted with have been pleasant. My first time, the barista made a smiley face latte art for my drink, which was sweet.
The espresso drinks here are just okay. The milk-​based drinks are served overly hot, which makes me a bit wary. I’m sticking to the americanos (which are pretty good). They keep the milk options in the fridge — smart idea.
My preference still stands for the Russian Hill Royal Ground, but I’ll continue to stop in here from time to time.

entered the place only because of the great coffee smell in the street. but when the Russian barista gave me an offended look, saying «we are not Starsucks», in response to my request for extra shots of espresso, i knew it’s not only the coffee’s smell in the air. a good start.
must come back for a more through review.

Eclectic neighborhood coffee shop with artsy types and regular locals. Fairly quiet ambiance, so a great place to get some work and studying done. The coffee wasn’t bad either.
P. S. Free wi-​fi — always a perk!

I love this place, its adjacent to my apartment & it has saved me many a morning.
Coffee here is excellent & both the customers & staff are very friendly no matter what time of day or morning.
I noticed one person complaining about their cappuccino being 50% foam & reflecting that in the star rating.
A true cappuccino is made like follows, espresso shot, liquid from steamed milk i.e. the hot milk filling the cup 50% (that’s the espresso & milk filled to the half way mark)
Then the foam fills the remaining 50%
So in other words you got a correctly made cappuccino so I’m afraid where ever you got the impression its made another way, both that establishment & you are incorrect.

I like this location a lot — great to stop by with a friend or by yourself to relax or get some work done.

Until yesterday, I hadn’t experienced a single bad coffee in San Francisco. In future, the existence of more than one size of cappuccino should be my warning cue — I’ve never had a good, wet capp from one of these places and this was no exception.
I like my cappuccinos wet (ie liquid), not 50% foam. I spooned off about 8 oz. of foam topping my beverage directly into the trash, and what remained uncovered was an acrid, burnt shot of espresso with steamed milk. Revolting. It went promptly into the trash — had I not already walked a mile in the opposite direction I would have asked for a replacement. It’s a shame because the ambiance was cute and the staff seemed sweet. We walked at least a mile from Pacific Heights to get a coffee here among all the other choices on Unilocal just to avoid giving our money to a chain, so it’s a shame the cappuccinos here are done dead wrong. Nob Hill seems to be screaming for a well made brew — who will step up and offer it to its residents?

Gross, dirty, expired juice.
Man, this place was a bummer. The coffee was so strong/​burnt. Behind the counter was crowded with supplies on the shelves, you couldn’t see the coffee beans — which is what it looked like they were meant for. I wanted an Odwalla juice but more than half of them were expired. The place was overall really dirty.
The woman working however was super nice as was the music playing. I won’t be back though.

What I like:
free wi-​fi
friendly service
can work there as long as you want
interesting crowd, seem like they are regulars
What I don’t like:
bitter regular coffee
not so good pastries
only 2 place to plug in your laptop and the 2 place suck — right by the door, not easily accessible, always taken

Strongest cup of coffee in the neighborhood.
Fast, friendly service and a free cup of coffee when you buy a pound.
I can’t live without my Max’s Blend.
This has been my coffee spot since 1996.

Inexpensive, nice and strong… and they don’t complain if you bring in a bag of Bob’s.

Thank you Royal Ground. You make getting up for work a little easier when I know that I can count on you. You are consistent. No matter who makes my white mocha, you guys never ever fail me. EVER. EVER! Strong and never too sweet. Royal Ground spoils me; when I hit up Starbucks, I can’t order white mochas anymore. Starbucks is consistent — consistently disgusting! They always make it so sugary, I can’t drink it at all. I’ve thrown away drinks before, had people remake them, etc. Also the price at Royal Ground is very reasonable compared to many other places — most smalls cost at least $ 3.50 — $ 3.95, but I can get a medium here for $ 3.50. DONE. I also got assraped by Café Greco once. Never again. Don’t ask me how much I paid for a Medium White Mocha there.
I also love that one dude who knows my order. I’m consistent too. :P LOVE LOVE LOVE YOU!

Royal Ground on Polk is decent for two reasons.
One: its a convenient location and there usually aren’t any long lines.
Two: the guys who work here have orders ready on the fly.
Ahab, Maurice and Perry are cool guys who keep things on a downtempo mellow vibe in this place. Plus one of them is from Bethlehem. Yes, that Bethlehem… So its fun to joke around with the guys there. They also play some eclectic music.
The place used to be owned by this amazing guy, Fred. But, he got fed up with the cost of living in SF, (private schools for the kids, expensive housing, etc.), and he moved out of state… Best of luck to you Fred. We had some friendly wagers going on baseball games which made it fun to come in here in the morning.
So now the place is owned by the guy who owns the Royal on Fillmore. Ahab makes a strong double cappuccino extra dry, and the prices are reasonable. They also serve bagles and a breakfast sandwich if you want to hang around with your coffee. And they offer cheap refills.
RG is a decent coffee shop on Polk with dark wooden benches, a few computers in the back, and a cast of quirky locals. Plus, its right next door to Bob’s Donuts. This is the olé’ coffee and donut corner of Polk. It’s a better bet than going to the nearest Starbucks in wells fargo.

HI, my name is Vanessa and I’m an addict.
I get headaches. I start getting jitters. I can’t focus — I’m a c-​whore. Not a crackwhore, but a serial caffeine whore.
Since yesterday morning, I’ve been trying to lay off my little habit. But after getting my nails done across the street at City Beauty Salon, I started to feel the symptoms. the lady doing my nails started to look at me funny — I don’t blame her — I was shaking like a leaf. I started to get a massive headache. I started hallucinating — I couldn’t lie to myself. I needed my coffee.
After paying and bum-​rushing out of the nail salon, I sprinted across the street to Royal Ground Coffees — I had been eyeing the coffee shop located conveniently across the salon. I had been trying to ignore it the entire 40 minutes of my manicure. but I couldn’t resist. It was calling my name. It knew of my addiction.
I dashed in and frantically searched for the barista. He had been chatting it up with a local. He must have seen that I was a little panicked-​looking and rushed behind the bar. I smiled gratefully and immediately ordered a single white chocolate mocha. The barista asked me if I wanted whipped cream. Of course, I declined. Hadn’t he seen my thighs?
He must have forgot what I said when he asked if I wanted whipped cream on my single white chocolate mocha. Again, I declined. Hadn’t he seen my belly?
He made my day.
1) That white chocolate mocha is the best I have ever had — it wasn’t too sweet at all. I didn’t feel like I was drinking a liquified white chocolate bar. It was creamy, yet it had enough coffee that my jitters went away. I regained focus and came back to life. That barista made me realize that I can’t beat my habit & I’m not even gonna try — so if I can’t beat it, I’ll drink it.
2) He asked me TWICE if I wanted whipped cream. That was flattering. Sure you could say that he asked because the drink usually comes with whipped cream, but to me, that’s like him saying, you need the whipped cream, honey, you’re skinny. And that’s really like asking a 50 year old woman to see her I.D. TWICE when she wants to buy some alcohol.