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    Genteel Coffee

    4.6 (135 reviews)
    Open 7:00 am - 4:00 pm

    Genteel Coffee Photos

    Business Info

    GENTEEL COFFEE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Quiet
    Dogs allowed
    Outdoor seating

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    Recommended Reviews - Genteel Coffee

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    Rico M.

    Genteel was a cool experience. The interior was nice, they had a ton of merch, cool stickers, and I became a huge fan of their logo, I love that little fox. The store has these steps or ramp upon entering which I though was cool lol The staff was somewhat "nice" as they were not very welcoming, no eye contact, no thank you or even a hi, I even greeted them and they ignored me. Maybe they were having a bad day or a rough start, I won't base my review off that tho, just the coffee. I ordered a latte and it was pretty good not great. I believe they don't use Califia Barista oat milk but maybe Oatly or something else because the milk had a nutty taste to it. it wasn't a bad taste just something different and a prominent taste to it. Overall it was still a good taste and a good experience, hopefully next time I won't feel unwelcomed upon entering. Come try this place out and overall thank you for the experience Genteel, I even bought a sticker to support.

    Stickers and pin
    Anna H.

    I was excited to try this place because I love supporting local and I love the cool logo and aesthetic of it upon walking in. Disappointed in my experience here. I ordered and watched 6 people get their drinks before me, I went to the counter and reminded them what I ordered and the barista said she accidentally skipped mine. They were apologetic, but nobody acknowledged me waiting for my drink as the next 6 people behind me got theirs. I love their pins and stickers, and I bought those, but I don't think I'll be coming back for their coffee. I ordered the foxtrot iced latte, which tasted so watery with a hint of cinnamon and nothing like an iced latte. It also leaves a terrible taste in your mouth. The matcha looked good, but overall, just bummed out that my Saturday morning coffee I like to go out for was a near 8.00 loss.

    Poached pear scone 1000/10
    Halle J.

    I ordered the seasonal rosemary cappuccino and it was delicious. It wasn't very sweet but -bc it was so light- I could tell the coffee is actually good (not disguised by syrup). Definitely going back to try one of their specialty lattes. Also got the poached pear scone and omg. Scones are hard to get right but the texture of these were perfect. And for the "not too sweet" crowd, the poached pear was perfect and still full of flavor

    Menu
    Jane L.

    Who doesn't love a cute neighborhood caffeine dealer?! Well my new entrepreneur friend researched this spot, which was also new to me. Bonus, it was only a 20 minute walk from me so exercise and reducing my carbon footprint. There is a cute narrow patio seat area but the flies were flying and I didn't want to compete with them for sunshine so we stayed inside and grabbed a stool at the window to people watch. While waiting for Brandon, I chatted up the fellas. They humored me. I'm typically a ceremonial matcha girl but the Blue "Matcha" caught my eye and the barista convinced me to get it iced. There is zero caffeine so, it's aesthetically pleasing and delicious. Brandon's lavender latte was good but had and edible finish. We're there for almost 4 hours and basically shut it down. Short lulls, but when they were busy they were B U S Y!!! Love this neighborhood gem, will be back again soon!

    Iced Matcha Latte
    Meghan W.

    Genteel Coffee is a cool little cafe in the North Park neighborhood of San Diego. I was in the mood for a matcha and happened upon this coffee shop while in the area. I'm so glad I did. The staff was friendly and knowledgeable, and the menu offered specialty items not usually found at your standard coffee shop. My iced matcha was delicious and exactly what I wanted. There is seating inside the shop and outdoor seating on the side of the building. I had a wonderful experience soaking in sunshine and enjoying my drink on the patio. Highly recommended!

    Ali B.

    I love almost any kind of fun coffee or tea drink and this spot has some really cool unique options. I came with my family and there was something for us all! It's super small in here but there's a little patio which is nice! I got the vixen with oat milk. It had activated charcoal and agave. Yum! They make their own syrups in house which is a huge plus. My sister had a tea spritz and loved it! Everyone else enjoyed their drinks as well. They also sell their own beans which is cool. Would recommend if you're in the area!

    Cappuccino with their special "secondary" roast & beautiful artwork.
    Chris H.

    I've had many fantastic coffee experiences here at Genteel. They have some fantastic roasts and the people behind bar are obviously talented, friendly and knowledgeable. Have one of their espresso drinks or their pour over and take it to the outside patio for a nice little getaway. It's great to see this relatively small space impact the community in such a big way! Thanks guys!

    Den Mother latte with almond milk.
    Joe C.

    The "Den Mother" latte was amazing. Subtly sweet and full of flavor. It had the perfect balance for my style of coffee. The service was good. The barista said, "Foxtrot or Den Mother" were the crowd favorites. My co-worker got the "Foxtrot" it was good, but I'm not a huge fan of cardamom so I went with the "Den Mother."

    Heather C.

    Good coffee and nice seating outside! Not much seating inside, but there are some really unique flavors and I love the idea behind this place! They were very friendly. Their drinks are a bit costly but they have all house made syrups and creative drinks

    Pastry case
    Casey D.

    Popped on over around lunch time and had no trouble finding street parking and snagging a table. Loooved the ambiance/aesthetic of this place! I ordered a capp & cafe de olla concha. The concha was delicciousss and the capp was good but nothing to really write home about. As for studying, there's outlets by the window seats. I'd advice to come before/around lunch time in order to grab a seat, as tables start to fill up around 1-2pm.

    Menu
    Jiansen W.

    AMBIANCE Charming, comfortable, lots of light, lots of tables outside, something about the space makes me want to stay for a while. SERVICE Friendly, knowledgeable. Customers order at the counter and my name was called when my dine-in order was ready for pickup. DRINK 5/5 Foxtrot Latte: hot is served at the perfect drinking temperature. It's flavored with cardamom, orange, and cinnamon and is just the right amount of sweetness (not too sweet) for me.

    Catrina R.

    Stopped by on a walk one day. It was a a Friday at around 2 but it was still super packed. We got their seasonal drinks. One was a maple brown butter latte and the rosemary cappuccino. Both were very tasty! We also got their scone. Apparently twice a week (Friday being one of those days) they have fresh scones. Honestly one of the best scones I've ever had. 15/10 would eat like ten of them. There are a few spots inside but mostly outside seating. We walked but I could foresee parking being a pain but there are also side streets. Wish this place was closer to my own place so it could be my neighborhood spot!

    Matcha latte iced with oat milk

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    Page 1 of 4

    Ask the Community - Genteel Coffee

    Are there a few tables with outlets to get some work done here?

    Yes! There are some outlets at least near the bar stools at the window. Not sure about outside though

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    Extraordinary Desserts

    Extraordinary Desserts

    4.0
    (9.2k reviews)
    2.6 mi
    $$$

    This place is properly named extraordinary dessert for a reason. They are known for their desserts…read moreboth in taste and in aesthetics. Desserts: 5/5 We got a blood orange scone and a strawberry danish. The scone was warm and delicious. The orange essence was well infused. The danish was crispy and creamy. Everything was so picturesque. Food: 3/5 Unfortunately, the food was not the best. We got the smoked salmon sandwich which was not very flavorful. The salmon was also slimy. The pesto spread was good though. It was creamy and the artisan bread it was served had great variety. Ambiance: 5/5 This place is such super cute. When you walk in, the desserts all look super appetizing. The seating areas are super cute and the floral decor are stunning. Service: 5/5 It is an order then sit down establishment. There is great attention to their dessert. I saw them heat up a knife just to cleanly cut the cake. The food service however did take some time to come out.

    The sugar bun was delicious! I might be a bigger fan of their pastries than their cake…read more The Shrang-la cake was decorated so beautifully! I loved the white chocolate shavings all around. Unfortunately the cake didn't hold well in my commute to Temecula (esp during the heat wave). The dairy ended up hurting our stomachs.

    Photos
    Spinach dip and chips and tomato and basil soup
    Spinach dip and chips and tomato and basil soup
    One of our 'go to' dessert places in San Diego.
    One of our 'go to' dessert places in San Diego.
    Chocolate lemon bon bon

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    Chocolate lemon bon bon
    Flour Atelier

    Flour Atelier

    4.4
    (266 reviews)
    5.0 mi

    Love the ube cheesecake and need it back asap please! The banana matcha pudding cupcakes are to die…read morefor! The sunset drink was a little overly sweet and unlike sweet, but she was accommodating to what I felt like. Love the vibe and aesthetic beautiful and cute! Hojicha and matcha are good here. The mochi and cookies yum!!!!!!!! Love how they put samples out to try new stuff that's how I tried the mochi and cookies and yummmmmmmmmm... thank you! One of my spots in convoy

    I'd been seeing Atelier Flour all over Instagram, so I decided to stop by and see what the hype was…read moreabout. I ordered the Island Girl Coffee, a macadamia latte, and asked for it less sweet. To me, it tasted very similar to a flavored hazelnut latte from Starbucks. Even with reduced sweetness, it was still sweeter than I prefer and had a slightly artificial flavor. If you enjoy flavored Starbucks-style coffee, you'll probably like it, but it's just not my personal preference. I actually didn't finish my drink because the flavor wasn't for me. That said, the cashier was very sweet, and the dessert display looked beautiful and tempting. While the coffee didn't win me over, I'd still come back to give their desserts a try since they looked much more appealing than the drink I ordered. Overall, a nice spot with friendly service, but next time I'll be skipping the flavored coffee and trying one of the desserts instead.

    Photos
    Cupcakes (Halo-Halo, Ube & Flan, Turon)
    Cupcakes (Halo-Halo, Ube & Flan, Turon)
    Bite of strawberry cheesecake matcha bar.
    Bite of strawberry cheesecake matcha bar.
    Work of art. Monogram puff pastry cake.

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    Work of art. Monogram puff pastry cake.
    Yiko Yiko

    Yiko Yiko

    4.3
    (516 reviews)
    5.9 mi
    $$

    Never knew this place existed until the bf recommended that we give this a try after dinner. This…read moreis a cute Japanese cafe specializing in not so sweet desserts. My best friend wanted to order a cake with a hand piped message but the cake artist wasn't available. Ambiance was minimalist and clean. We tried a few things - Green Tea Matcha Mochi Balls - This wasn't sweet at all, but I liked it! It was dusted in matcha & you dip it into a creamy matcha and then into the matcha flakes. Such a fun dessert! The snowball mochis are the star of the show with pillowy soft mochi filled with a light custard and fresh fruit. The strawberry and mango are my faves! The Sea Salt Oreo Cake was cute and light with fluffy whip cream and melt in your mouth chiffon cake. There were several things already gone by the time we came, so if you have a favorite, reserve ahead of time or come early!

    After eating way too much savory food in San Diego, we needed something sweet to balance things…read moreout, so we stopped by Yiko Yiko for dessert. The shop is super cute and offers individual cakes that are the perfect size to share... or keep all to yourself--I won't judge! My sister and I shared the mango cake, and it was delicious. The cake was light and fluffy with fresh mangoes layered between whipped cream. I also loved that it wasn't overly sweet. The crunchy waffle cone crumbles on top added a nice texture and made each bite even better. We also wanted to try the mango mochi balls, but we got there later in the evening and someone bought the last order right before we checked out. Talk about bad timing! We ended up trying the matcha mochi balls instead. I'm personally not a matcha fan, so they weren't for me, but if you enjoy matcha, you'll probably like them. My sister was more than happy to finish them for me. Next time I'll definitely come earlier so I can snag the mango mochi before someone else beats me to it! Overall, Yuki Yuki is a cute dessert spot with light, delicious cakes that are the perfect ending to a great meal. I'll definitely be back.

    Photos
    Soy Milk Custard Cake
    Soy Milk Custard Cake
    Inside seating
    Inside seating
    Oct 2024 Organic Chocolate Crepe Slice

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    Oct 2024 Organic Chocolate Crepe Slice
    Michi Michi

    Michi Michi

    4.4
    (247 reviews)
    1.7 mi
    $$

    Everything was so good (besides matcha lattes but that was expected) the line is well worth it I…read morefear. Best to come within an hr of opening for shortest wait experience Egg Sando - soft fluffy eggs on soft fluffy bread, topped with chili oil. we really enjoyed this. Pistachio Praline Double-Baked Chocolate Croissant - heavenly. sweet. crunchy. pistachio chocolate dream. Turon Kouign Amann - personally my #1. banana pastry cream filling is not too sweet, the banana is like a sweet crispy brown sugar coating, i loved this so much Mango Maritozzi - sooo fluffy and airy and light, the mango whip is amazing! calamansi curd is tart but not overwhelming at all. fresh mango. she's 5 stars Cinnamon Roll - how can u go wrong The variety of pastries is unique and it's clear they put so much care and thought into them all. I truly can't wait to return

    Came on a Sunday afternoon and the line was out the door! Tends to move quickly though and they…read morehave a menu outside for you to look at which is super helpful. Some highlights: -Cinnamon roll with cream cheese: this isn't on their menu but I saw they had two kinds of cinnamon rolls- one with cream cheese frosting and the other with buttermilk frosting. I ended up going with cream cheese and I'm so glad I did! It looks a little intense, but the frosting was actually really light, creamy, and not too sweet. The cinnamon roll itself was also really soft and pillowy. It's decently sized too, definitely share with your group! -Whoopie pie: forgot what the full name of this pastry was but it was essentially two green tea cookies that sandwiched a marshmallow filling. So good! -Black Sesame croissant: the black sesame filling was so good! Not grainy and spread evenly throughout the pastry. I would skip the drinks and cookies. Drinks were very standard and not worth the price (each pastry is $7-$10 already) and there's better matcha at other places. Cookies were a little underwhelming- too crunchy for my taste.

    Photos
    Great vibes outdoor seatings
    Great vibes outdoor seatings
    Friendly Service :)
    Friendly Service :)
    This is what we got for breakfast

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    This is what we got for breakfast
    Bonjour Bakery & Patisserie

    Bonjour Bakery & Patisserie

    4.7
    (277 reviews)
    2.5 mi
    $$

    This place has the most insanely delicious vegan pastries omg. In one of their display cases they…read morehave an entire shelf that is labelled as all vegan, and luckily I asked an employee if there were any other vegan options because he told me that one of their two rows of rolled croissants were also vegan. I ended up getting a vegan almond croissant and a vegan chocolate hazelnut rolled croissant, both of which were ridiculously good. The almond croissant was nice and flaky yet still buttery inside, and the almond filling was lovely. However my favorite was definitely the rolled croissant, the hazelnut creme inside was so light and creamy and when taken in a bite with the croissant and chocolate shell coating was heavenly. They had so many other options that looked incredible, in particular if I came back I would definitely want to try the vegan kouign amann. The inside is cute and has a small amount of seating, however the place is quite busy and fills up very fast. Me and my friend were lucky to get there early and be able to claim a table, and so they plated the pastries for us quite nicely and heated up her pizza croissant. Everyone we interacted with was lovely. This place is actually perfection I cannot recommend enough.

    One of my best friends who is on a lookout for a vegan croissant brought me here and I must say…read morethat the rave about a good, buttery, flaky croissant is true. We went during a busy day so a lot of their options were running out so we were lucky to get a chocolate almond croissant and a vegan almond croissant. My friend was also able to get a vegan chocolate croissant to go (which she told me she enjoyed after our night out of drinking haha). I am going to come back to this place because I loved it. I also tried the our vegan croissant order and I seriously will not be able to tell (but we trust the kind staff!). Amazing service despite a busy Friday early afternoon.

    Photos
    Ham and cheese croissant everything with medium roast coffee and flowers
    Ham and cheese croissant everything with medium roast coffee and flowers
    The inside of the Tiramisu filled croissant. There is actually 2 different creams inside.
    The inside of the Tiramisu filled croissant. There is actually 2 different creams inside.
    Chocolate croissant

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    Chocolate croissant
    Parisien Gourmandises

    Parisien Gourmandises

    4.5
    (371 reviews)
    10.3 mi
    $$

    When people talk about the magic of La Jolla Village, this is exactly what they mean. Nestled among…read morethe walkable, sun-drenched streets lined with palm trees and ocean breezes, this boutique café captures that rare blend of upscale SoCal charm and effortless European sophistication. It's an absolute staple of what makes exploring the Village so special. Walking through the front entrance, you're greeted by a curated retail space that feels like Crate & Barrel met a boutique shop in the heart of Paris. It's packed with unique home goods, chic trinkets, and aesthetic lifestyle items. Be sure to wander all the way to the back shelves--there are so many hidden gems worth taking home! The staff upfront and on the floor were incredibly warm, welcoming, and happy to chat while you browse. As you head toward the back, the space opens up into a dream of a café. One of the cutest touches is being able to actually watch the bakers rolling out fresh dough and crafting pastries right before your eyes. The smell of rich espresso and buttery pastry crust filling the air is irresistible. I grabbed a coffee and a fresh pastry, waited a short bit for a table on the patio, and pulled out my journal. Listening to the ambient music and ocean breeze in the courtyard while writing was pure heaven. Whether you're stopping in to shop for home decor, grab a top-tier espresso, or just soak in the slow, luxurious rhythm of La Jolla, this place is perfection.

    Why??? Why did I not know about this patisserie? It is like walking down the street in Paris from…read moreour Airbnb and grabbing a bite to eat. This is an amazing bakery, the desserts were out of this world, and the savory tarts were even better. I am not going to even tell you which ones we bought, because honestly you need to just walk in here, look at which one fills your eyes with joy and buy that one. They are all delicious. Beautiful to for all your senses. Now I will have to find the quickest route of Ramona to La Jolla, just to enjoy these delicacies more often.

    Photos
    Towards the back June 25, 2025
    Towards the back June 25, 2025
    Awesome coffees and a $10 tiny stick eclair.
    Awesome coffees and a $10 tiny stick eclair.
    Towards the back June 25, 2025

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    Towards the back June 25, 2025

    Genteel Coffee - coffee - Updated August 2026

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