Cafe Stretto

Iced latte was amazing. YUM! There was only one lady working the counter/​store so service was a little slow. Nothing to fret about. They had other grab and go food items (salads/​sandwiches/​fruit). I’ll be back tomorrow morning to grab something and another divine illy latte!

I wanted to stop being a Starbucks junkie and give a smaller place a chance. I ordered the cocoa/​hot chocolate. The drink sizes are much smaller than Starbucks and more expensive. At first I looked past that as a smaller place cannot compete with a huge chain on price. I figured the quality would be superior though.
I was wrong. The chocolate was cheap-​tasting and I felt that my money was wasted. The drink was also lukewarm and not hot. I really felt dissapointed. The service was good but who cares really if the core products aren’t. I will stick to what I know… Starbucks.

Café Stretto is owned by the Fairmont Hotel. It sits right across from Bijan. They only have one kind of coffee. Illy baby! So cool!
So we sauntered over and had to order more coffee. We also found some Cappuccino and Espresso cups that are so worth the money! So I got two sets of each.
Awesome coffee. A little counter facing the street was very inviting. The red chair that was there beckoned for me to sit.
The lady that helped us was friendly and helpful. I also noticed some Gelatos I plan to try on my next visit. Next summer we plan to return to enjoy their outdoor sitting area.

Stopped in here twice during my recent visit to San Jose. It was around 100 degrees out both days — so I opted for an iced, triple shot latte with whole milk.
Drinks were strong and delicious! Hit the spot and got my brain cells firing to keep me going through an afternoon of training!
Lots of outdoor seating here!

I absolutely LOVE Illy coffee which is the only reason I would give Café Stretto 2 stars and the only reason I went back a second and third time. The service is AWFUL. We went in 3 days in a row and each time the baristas (and boy do I use that term loosely) were busy yakking on the phone and acted totatally put out that she had to take our order. One actually set down the phone long enough to ring up the order and then immediately picked the phone back up while making our drinks and never even put it down while giving us our order. We might as well have been using an automated coffee machine for the «service» we given. It is hard to make a bad cup of Illy coffee and this place sure proves that fact. What a shame to because it is a great location and a cute little café.

My old review still stands, on a good day. Service varies depending on who is there, and now they are closed in the mid afternoon. Crap. That’s when I need a little pick-​me-​up!
It’s still one of my top 3 coffee places in downtown.

Why did I do this again?! «Fool me once, blame on you; Fool me twice… you can’t get fooled again!!» I was mesmerized by the afternoon sun to its outside patio, and so I walked in to ordered a Mocha. I should’ve left right away when I sense things are getting fishy. The barista didn’t know what she was doing. She was chatting away with her friend, and she just put the coffee machine on auto mode to make all the drinks. Anyway, the drink SUCKED, tasted like water, and cost almost $ 4 for a regular size Mocha.
I dumped the drink again after 3 sips. Fool me no more.

Great coffee here! This is the only place I know that uses illy coffee. I also like the pesto sandwich here. They have daily baked goods delivered from the Fairmont’s bakery.
Difficult to access. No curb parking on second st curb only on Market +200ft walk.

The line was too long at Bijan and we were only looking for caffeine to fuel us throughout the day, so we decided to grab a coffee at Stretto. I’m glad we took our little detour from Bijan, my cappuccino was excellent. The café itself is pretty small, but there are cute tables and chairs set up for outdoor seating.

I would say this place is the cuter and cheaper version of Starbucks.
I came here twice before, both times had coffee that is too plain for me. So if you are a black coffee drinker or you are picky about coffee bean, this place might not be an ideal coffee shop for you. However, I have to say the location is just great. It is right in the center of San Jose downtown. The outdoor seats face towards the fancy bakeries and restaurants, so it’s really enjoyable to sit here and have your afternoon coffee break here.
Another thing I have to mention is that, there is a girl staff working here is really cute! (both me and my brother agree on this). I’m a girl too and I’m straight, but she just so cute that I have to bring it up in my Unilocal review.

Wow it’s windy this morning.
Yes this place is definitely really cute with all their little coffee cups :). It’s small, which would make it hard for a crowd to sit inside if it got too cold outside.
Basically I got sick of going to Starbucks in my cranky mornings since my orders have gotten pretty inconsistent. One minute too sweet, one minute incredibly bitter, therefore I had to find myself another coffee place for the morning.
Entered Stretto Café, the barista was really sweet. As she made my caramelito, I stared at their tiny cake display to see what I may get the next time I come in. (Let’s face it, cake at 10:30AM?) Coffee was great though, good balance in flavor without having me to add anything extra on my own.

Awesome small coffee place, nears the heart of san jose. having it next to the hotel, it has the international coffee store atmosphere. They also serve wine which gives the place another star. The baristas asked me if i wanted milk on my coffee and they gave me my coffee with it. I like this place, the small-​ness of it is pretty awesome.

this place is awesome.
it’s really cute and small.
the patio is in it’s own little fenced area which is right from all the people walking down the paseo.
everything is really clean and neat.
i was going to order a coffee drink.
i asked her what wasn’t too sweet she offered me a vanilla latte.
eh, i asked her what was popular.
she said the pistachio white mocha. pistachio? they make that? awesome.
i kind of regret not trying it.
i ended up getting a green tea. the girl was really informative. she offered me a jasmine or japan green tea and told me the jasmine was a floral green tea. so, it’s good to know that the baristas know what they’re talking about.
so, they have lots of different syrups to choose from so I’m sure your favorite flavor is there.
this place is a mix of a whole lotta things.
ice cream, i believe.
cigarettes.
pastries.
coffee liquor.
interesting.
the service was really nice.
i would definitely come back again.

I was in San Jose for a work event at the local Tech Museum and since I was a bit early, stopped by this little café since it was on way plus it was quiet enough in that a 15 minute side route would not put me out.
Cute, small and quaint, the large triple cappuccino I ordered was smooth and strong (it kept me going and communicative for the next 3 hours schmoozing) although not too hot (ask for extra hot next time). A small assortment of pastries, although I’d probably trot over to the store right across for any sweets.
A bunch of German students were sitting on the inside (small) and two groups outside (more space) so I can imagine on a sunny day, it would be the perfect place to people watch.
Barista is nice and took my order nonchalant. I don’t care, I was floating on the sudden rush of caffeinated senses.

OMFG! This place is great. They use the best coffee in all of the world «illy». Its the secret to making some of the best drinks ever. I ordered a cappuccino and it was fantastic.
I walked in behind a guy that ordered 50 drinks and the guy in there took my order and then literally 3 minutes later, I had my drink.
Rock on!

Attention coffee lovers!!!
This tiny coffee shop is ‘número uno’! There are other competitors nearby, such as: Starbuks, Peets coffee, etc. But nothing taste like their ‘Café Latte’. Great atmosphere with outdoor seating area and free internet access. Last but not least, they have a wonderfull dessert daily baked from ‘Fairmont Hotel’s Chef’. You gotta try it!

Typical plight of a San Francisco techie: you finally score a job in the city, only to learn that first day orientation is in (you guessed it) San Jose.
So, knowing nothing about the traffic, I played it extra safe and got up at 6:30. And sure enough I got there a good hour early. But it gave me the perfect opportunity to explore downtown SJ… provided I had something to wake me up while I walked. Enter Café Stretto. Very centrally located (it’s actually a part of the Fairmont hotel), with nice outdoor tables on a pedestrian promenade. People always mention the Illy coffee here, but I didn’t find it that exceptional.

At any rate, a great way to say Good Morning, San Jose.

I came here after getting my haircut next door. Although I didnt order any beverages, I ordered some croissants and they were delicious. The croissants were buttery, flaky and a little crusty/​crunchy on the outside but it was delicate in the inside. Yum. The place was very small but it also looked very neat and clean. I say, its a good alternative to starbucks.
I’ll try a latte next time.

Terrific, very small coffee shop in downtown San Jose. The coffee is good, service is good, and they offer limited but snazzy desserts. Be aware, though — their coffee is more expensive than most are used to, and the sizes run REALLY small. For instance, a «medium» is about eight ounces and, currently, two bucks.
Mostly outside seating, which can be pleasant or not — it’s a nice little plaza near the Fairmont and Art Museum and some restaurants, but there’s the occasional challenging person now and again who needs a bath and/​or handcuffs as well.
Credit cards accepted.
No restrooms in the café, but ask for directions and use the hotel’s — Stretto and the Fairmont are under one fiscal umbrella. Also, they’ve discontinued their buy-​ten-​get-​one-​free coffee card program, w hich kinda stinks.

Illy espresso is so absolutely incredible! Smooth, not bitter, way better than anything else I’ve ever tasted. And I discovered it by accident one morning when I wandered into this little shop on the Paseo side of the Fairmont looking for my morning caffeine fix.
But aside from really wonderful coffee, Stretto has normal coffee-​shop pastries and to-​die-​for yogurt parfaits, with some of the freshest, best-​tasting fruit I’ve ever seen mixed with yogurt. The only thing I’m not a huge fan of is the rather pedestrian gelatto.
However, the service is really wonderful. The baristas quickly learn your «regular» drink and will start making it as soon as you walk in the door. And once, when I came in later in the day and was bummed that they were out of yogurt parfaits, the barista offered to make one for me right then. Now THAT is what I call service!