Where do I begin?! Lightbulb has the best pastries, my favorite is the pistachio croissant. I love that they have a cardamom infused coffee. I also love the decorations and how cozy and rustic it is. The service is always great and one of my favorite baristas here is Lana. You can tell she crafts every drink to with so much care, God bless her hands. I recommend lightbulb to friends all the time. read more

I'll keep it short and simple, the girl behind the register was plain out rude and VERY UNFRIENDLY. Maybe needs a refresher in customer service. (Short highlighted hair) Not just to me but to the gentleman that were in front of me. If you're having a bad day, don't take it out on the customer. Not only bad for the company, but it makes you an ugly person. The coffee was basic nothing special about it. Won't be coming here again. read more

Came here for a poetry night for Muslim voices. It was a cool environment with a lot of seating and horse decorations lol. The food and drinks are really expensive. A sandwich and drink was $20, and with tip, $23. I got the large iced chai latte with oat milk. It was good, but I needed to let the ice melt to water down the sweetness a bit. And then I got the chicken arugula panini without onion. Any sandwich with arugula is usually really good for me. Overall I'd come here again for events, but will be more choosey when I pay for food/drinks. read more

I had the iced pistachio latte here and it was such a nice creamy treat. It wasn't too sweet and had a great flavor. They were busy on a Saturday morning but there's still plenty of seating. They also have a lot of latte flavors with great variety. read more

First time coming in and loved it!!!!! Our latte's were perfect! Wish we lived closer to this shop! The atmosphere is very welcoming and calming. I'm always overwhelmed when I have too many good, tasty options in front of me, but the owner gave me a few recommendations and told me of a few popular drinks. I always ask what is in each drink, and it was nice to not feel annoying asking tbh lol, he was so sweet and perfectly described the drinks. I ordered for myself and my household, and everyone thoroughly enjoyed their drinks 10/10. Love the energy, decor, and music in here. Briefly said goodbye to a regular that was dining in, and he told me he hoped to see me again there. I told him, no doubt, I'll see you around! Support local businesses! Ps all employees wore masks when I went in :) read more

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Lox bagel was good. Weird that they put dressing on the arugula in the bagel, but still filling and delicious! The cold brew was very acidic but drinkable. The decor is amazing and has a great vibe for chilling with a group or studying read more

Lightbulb Coffee - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - La Mesa, California

Love this place ! The most friendly staff, great service and of course amazing menu. I have tried several things there and enjoyed them all. The setting is very nice and comfortable. Perfect for chilling and getting work done. read more

Brand new coffee house with a sleek, industrial design and plenty of seating, making it an ideal study spot. Not only do they serve your typical coffee products, but they also have smoothies, paninis, and some breakfast items (e.g. bagels and acai bowls). As mentioned, they are new and that certainly is reflected in the skill of their staff. When I trudged in after a long day trying to tire out two very rambunctious and strong dogs, two young girls were at the helm. I don't venture to these parts often, so while I wanted to cool down with a cold smoothie, I convinced myself that I also needed a pick me up. Those females tired me out after all! I ordered a super basic *White Mocha* and some berry type of smoothie. The mocha was pretty standard, but the smoothie was... interesting. It was more on the slushed side, and my mistake was letting it sit for awhile because it did end up freezing over. I was left with a giant ball of ice in my drink. I did let it melt for an hour before finishing the rest. Mostly an icy flavor, which did serve to cool me down some! Not the best smoothie, but I will give them the benefit of the doubt since they are a coffee house and specialize in that. As a note-- their 'Light Bulb' hot coffee product is offered as a light, medium, or dark roast. Not sure if the beans are their own, but it was something very noteworthy (and sounded too strong at the time)! I believe the worker said it comes with two shots of espresso which I'm sure you can forego if you just want to enjoy the roast. P.S. Thanks Jack M. for always keep me in the 'know' about all the new coffee places. ;) read more

I came into the coffee shop from across town as I had heard such great things about it. When I got in the store I had to use the bathroom pretty badly (there was traffic on the way over) and I asked Malak the barista for the code. She said it was on my receipt. I told her I didn't have one yet but I would be buying a coffee right after I used the bathroom. She said I had to buy something as the code was on the receipt. I told her okay. she then went to the back and got another employee to take my order. After I ordered I went to the bathroom only to find the code WAS NOT on the receipt. I then asked the cashier who rang me out and she said that the code isn't on the receipts. WHAT A TERRIBLE THING TO DO. I left immediately. Ihorrible service. read more

THE BEST CAFE IN SAN DIEGO the whole team is so friendly and brighten up my day. The drinks are amazing I would recommend the lavender matcha latte. Their pastries are all amazing and the vibes are great it's usually busy but with drinks and vibes as amazing as lightbulbs it's understandable. read more

This is a nice new coffee shop located in the heart of La Mesa in the old Starbucks location on the La Mesa Blvd., next to Subway. I was at a meeting nearby and during a break I picked up Cafe au Lait via a medium roast. It was a nice coffee with a smooth front and finish. For about three dollars, it was an agreeable price. The place offers a open space with a good amount of seating and room for more actually. There's plenty of room for study groups.The staff was pretty nice but there was not much conversation when I probed. They seem pretty preoccupied with the business at hand which was understandable. read more

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We order from here weekly and the service is always great. I love the chill vibe, comfy sofas and free wifi. There are so many options here for sandwiches and beverages (they make just about every type of coffee you can imagine) but they don't have options for gluten free food or dairy free syrups. I often have the acai bowl here and the lattes. My partner loves the bagel sandwiches. I definitely recommend stopping in for quality coffee and good service. read more

We ordered the cali pistachio and turkish hazelnut with some pastries on the side which paired great with each other. Despite it being a busy time we got our coffee and pastries fairly quick. The inside was pretty and unique with lots of spots to sit at. read more

Lightbulb Coffee - Cali Pistachio Turkish Hazelnut - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - La Mesa, California

Their tables are well spaced out. I think they have lots of seating inside. It's clean inside. The atmosphere is okay, although I don't get a "home-y" feel from it. The workers (female and male) are nice. They have two sizes: regular and large. We got two regular sized coffees and it came out to be $10.75 I ordered an iced caramel latte. I wish that the coffee was stronger, I felt like it was overpowered a little by the caramel they used. Although I cannot taste the flavor of the caramel, it's just like a sweetener in my latte. Rated: 4/10 My friend ordered an iced vanilla caramel, asking for less of a coffee flavor. Although we both agreed that her drink had more coffee than mine. Perhaps they mixed up which one would have less coffee. It almost tastes like a Milky Way (like Duet's Milky Way Coffee) there's also some sugar in the raw at the bottom of the drink, I had received some crunch in the coffee. (We traded lattes) Rated: 7.5/10 Their coffee sleeves are pretty, but they are super thin. They only have one size for their straws. The straws are made for their large cups. read more

Lightbulb Coffee - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - La Mesa, California

I've been here a couple times before they remodeled the place, personally i loved the "weird" and funky decorations they had before, but now after their remodel... it lacks the interesting personality the shop had that was so fun. I ordered my favorite panini i used to get all the time, (muenster mushroom chicken panini) before, it was a delicious, crispy toasted bread and packed inside with so much flavor. instead, my bread was cold. crumbly and thick. it was more bread portion than anything else. no sauce or anything to go with it, just what tasted like old bread. at first i assumed it was just a one time thing, but my sister also got a panini and her bread's quality was also the same cold crumbly and dry texture, and lacking any fillings. really disappointed, i loved telling people about this place but now have to unfortunately reconsider. staff friendly at least. coffee decent. read more

The muffins are especially delicious here. There are 20 or 30 drink options, so expect a bit of thinking before attempting to order. The cafe has nice decor and a friendly staff. read more

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This place just opened and is definitely a step up from Starbucks! The ice blended Cali pistachio is unique. It was delicious and not overly sweet. Great flavor! The white chocolate mocha was tasty and my dad said the americano was very good, very good flavor. My mom noted that they prewarmed the cups which is a good sign. Lol. The portions of the cups for there are huge. The place is super spacious. Parents said baklava was good. Will definitely be back and hope to get to know this place better. Welcome to town, Lightbulb! read more

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I tried an iced Turkish hazelnut coffee. It was delicious my favorite coffee. It is very nicely decorated the staff was nice

Came here this morning and spend half of my day, reeeally nice and quite place, great atmosphere and customer service! My coffee was GREAT, Lox Bagel and tea was really good too. I'd give this place 10 starts if I could! Definitely coming back. read more

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My first time here. Close to my house so I decided to check it out. Arrived a little after 8am, it wasn't busy but it sure did pick up pace within the hour. I enjoyed the music. Short wait time for food. Service friendly. The bread was soft and the sandwich big enough for two to split. The latte was a smooth surprise. I'm used to hot lattes. Also, there was ice--- and this latte wasn't cold. In an odd way it was just perfect temp and literally smooth. The coffee didn't give me an upset stomach after (some coffees give you that acidic feeling). Really enjoyed my morning reading in the corner. Also, appreciated the Halloween decor. Good luck to this business! Definitely coming back. Gave it 4 stars as I only had 1 visit. read more

Lightbulb Coffee - Cali Pistachio and Turkey Pesto . - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - La Mesa, California

This shop serves a huge selection of delicious coffee drinks at an affordable price. With a variety of ways to customize your drink (and patient baristas), we left extremely satisfied with our experience here. The decor on the inside was outstanding and was both classy and trendy. The floors are constantly kept clean by an elderly gentleman, and I would not hesitate to spend a day working remotely from this location. read more

Pretty consistently, orders at Light Bulb take a very long time. I recently waited over 25 minutes for cold brew for example. I hadn't written a review prior to my experience today because I totally understand and can empathize with the fact that everyone is severely understaffed right now. Today I placed an order for pickup on their website around 10:45 am. The order was paid for and marked confirmed. After the status hadn't changed for 15 minutes I called just to make sure it was received. Unfortunately, it had not been so she had to start the order at that time. The order was not ready until 11: 25 am. Almost 45 minutes from the time of my original order. For a sandwich... What is frustrating is that there was no indication that their online system wasn't working or that they weren't currently using it. What would have happened if I hadn't called to check on the status of my order? What I have just paid and never received my order? Would I have had to have gone in and waited the normal 25 minutes for an item? The whole point of ordering online and picking up is for convenience and this was definitely not convenient. I will not be using the online service again. read more

Super cute spot. Love the decor, and really liked the strawberry banana smoothie. There's outside seating and parking. Will definitely come back. read more

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Light Bulb Coffee is located in a strip mall in La Mesa. Walking in, the first thing I noticed was how spacious the place was. There was a lot of seating and the decor was eclectic and nice. They even have a few couches for customers to sit at. I walked up to order and saw there was a HUUUUGE menu. I don't think I've ever seen so many options for coffee at a coffee shop. They literally had 20-30 different latte flavors, so it was so hard to pick just one. I went with the Almond Joy Latte and Turkey Bagel Sandwich. I took a seat at one of the comfy sofas and waited maybe 5-10 minutes for my coffee and bagel sandwich. When they called me up to pick up my order, to my surprise, the barista had my HUGE sandwich and coffee ready for me. The Turkey Bagel Sandwich was MASSIVE and looked really appetizing, with fresh arugula, egg whites, and Boar's Head turkey. The sandwich tasted fresh and delicious! Also, for $5.50, that sandwich was a great deal! The Almond Joy Latte tasted like I was drinking an Almond Joy. The subtle, but not overpowering, chocolate flavor was very good and it had bits of coconut in every sip. The food, the coffee, the ambience, and the customer service exceeded my expectations. I wish I had found out about this hidden gem a long time ago. I've been wasting my time with production line coffee and pre-frozen microwaved sandwiches from Starbucks, what a mistake! Light Bulb Coffee is one of those local businesses that is an asset to the city. They will continue to have my business! I was in heaven with the coffee and the sandwich that I forgot to take pictures. I'll make another post with pictures for my next visit. read more

Delicious coffee. I had the Iced charcoal mocha coffee today. It was amazing. Workers here seem happy and are always willing to answer questions. read more

Lightbulb Coffee - Menu - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - La Mesa, California

Light Bulb Coffee is my all time favorite place! I'm addicted to their Turkish Hazelnut and Pistachio coffee. I get their drink specialties on days I want to change it up, but I usually go with their Cafe Latte with coconut milk! It tastes better than any other latte from different coffee shops I've tried! The new owner is sufriendly and welcoming every time I go in to study or simply hang out with friends. All the staff are super nice especially, Jeremiah! He once offered to remake the entire drink when I simply asked for a little more milk. They always want to do better! I've been coming here for 2 months now and will most definitely stick to this place! It's clean and nicely organized with outlets/extension cords for charging devices. They have a nice variety of pastries and delicious Açaí bowls! Including panini's and other refrigerated quick lunches. They have the most delicious chocolate (way better than any I've ever tried) that they sell by the piece or boxes and their baklava isn't overall sweet, but just enough to enjoy! read more

Lightbulb Coffee - Strawberry ice cream with almonds and wafers. Delicious - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - La Mesa, California

The coffee selection is amazing. I ordered the Turkish hazelnut latte and it was amazing. The light bulb cups you can buy that are reusable are so unique too. Great idea. Their paninis and sandwiches awesome...try the raspberry turkey panini. You won't be sorry!! read more

This place was recommended by my niece who said it was really good and not gonna lie the cute light bulb bottles got me. Lol. I asked for a hazelnut iced latte with oatmilk, and the kind lady at the counter recommended the Turkish hazelnut. She said it was really popular so I decided to try it.. I can see why it's popular cause it was really good. Sweet and creamy just how I like my latte. My sis in law who went with me got a Vietnamese iced coffee and thought it was okay, she tried my drink and liked it much better. We also shared the Turkey avocado wrap and a cheese danish. They didn't skimp on the meat in the wrap, I definitely appreciate that. Inside was also cute, clean, and had a vibe that was just calming. I would for sure come here again. read more

My MIL came into town to visit and her and I are both coffee lovers and wanted to try a new place. We decided on Light Bulb Coffee. It is a super cute & clean coffee shop in a good location. The bagels and pastries were sooo delicious, coffee was okay but the customer service or lack there of was terrible. Both employees I talked to/encountered were incredibly rude. For that reason I probably will not be back. read more

Very impressed with Lightbulb Coffee. I was sketch since they have Torani syrup but they really know how to make a good specialty coffee that's perfectly balanced, smooth and not cloyingly sweet. I had the Cali Pistachio, iced, which was delightful and so satisfying. My hubby had an iced vanilla latte and was just as impressed as I was. The service was top notch. The ladies behind the counter were super friendly, chatty and helpful in recommending their favorites. I'll definitely be back. read more

The peanut butter latte here is delicious ! It was pretty sweet so I probably wouldn't make it my daily go to, but every now and then I'll definitely be back for it read more

First time here today, after the young women and older man who I'm assuming was the owner stopped arguing about who was working when... I ordered a lemon poppyseed muffin, an iced dirty chai with oatmilk. The muffin has so much food coloring in it that I cannot eat it because that is all I can taste . The dirty chai is chunky and way too sweet. I will give them another try and try something else next time. read more

Lightbulb Coffee - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - La Mesa, California

Standard coffee spot. I personally would go again due to my love of coffee, but I wouldn't say it was anything extraordinary.

4 stars because I ordered online 20mjns before my arrival just to find out that they haven't started my order yet and there was no one in the shop so i dont know what was taking them so long. Otherwise, they have pretty good lattes! read more

Really special menu. Sandwiches, Paninis, Bagels, Croissants, and of course delicious coffee choices. We got the iced cinnamon bun coffee that was so perfectly sweet it hit the spot. We also got a Spanish latte hot and that had a nice kick of cinnamon as well. Avocado bagel was fresh and fantastic. Not to mention, their layout of the place is very big yet cozy. Will be coming back for sure! read more

Lightbulb Coffee - Cinnamon Bun iced coffee - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - La Mesa, California

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Soooo good ! The Pitcraft Turkey is amazing ! The Lox & Bagel ! And the coffee and sweets . Great atmosphere .

First time here and it was a pretty good experience. Updated interior has a trendy feel. I ordered the Cali Pistacho and it was excellent. It isn't too noisy inside so it's a great place to have a conversation. Of course, I went on a Monday night so who knows what this place looks like on the weekends. They have a few paninis on their menu and a few other things too. Lots of indoor seating and a couple of tables outside. They also have a cool little library in the corner. One thing, if you're paying with card, they charge a 5% device fee. read more

Lightbulb Coffee - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - La Mesa, California

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New ownership alert!!! Highly recommended!!! The new owners have taken this place to the next level. They provide a fantastic variety of quality drink options and they serve delicious deli sandwiches using Boar's Head meat. My favorite 2 drinks are the Cali Pistachio and Turkish Hazelnut coffee :) I love coming here because the owner is welcoming and the staff, especially Jeremiah and Jocelyn, are very friendly and welcoming which creates a wonderful atmosphere! They make sure that the coffee is made exactly how you like it and are very courteous! All ages are welcomed, great taste in music, super clean, and very nice decor. On Saturday evenings at 6:00pm, they have an open mic for anyone to join (per reservation). It is my go to place for coffee, to study, or to hangout! read more

Lightbulb Coffee - The interior of the coffee shop - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - La Mesa, California

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This is a cute spot in La Mesa, an ideal place to go study or get some work done. I believe they have WiFi but I don't remember what their outlet count was like. I ordered an iced matcha latte & it was mediocre. I think they use a green tea concentrate and it's waaay too sweet for my preferred taste. If you're sensitive to sweetness in your matcha too then, I don't think this is the matcha for you. I ordered it in the lightbulb which is an added $7!! I personally don't think it's worth it, it makes for a cute picture but that's about it. The food was also okay, I ordered a bagel breakfast sandwich and it was alright, certainly nothing to brag about. Overall, I definitely didn't have a bad experience but everything to me was simply mediocre. They did have some baked goods that looked yummy that I might consider going back to try. read more

Lightbulb Coffee - Match Green Tea - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - La Mesa, California

I used to go here a lot for group projects last semester. They have a long high table that's perfect for group studying. It's a large and spacious coffee joint with outlets everywhere. Perfect for students! Today is my first time here since finishing finals last December, and they've revamped it quite a bit. It used to have a more minimalist look, but they've added local artwork, 2 loveseat sofas, a plethora of decorations, and lots of signage about catering and delivering to local businesses. The coffee menu is still the same, but they've added acai bowls and other snacks such as gourmet chocolates by the pound. I'm a fan of their old minimalist look, but I'm also glad that they're getting more business and that things are more lively now :) Their coffee is still the same, which is great! I usually order the blended vanilla latte with soy. Their drinks are more on the sweeter side, so if you like your coffee less sweet, I would specify beforehand. Also check in on yelp for a 10% discount! read more