This is the elegant yet understated Sister to Lofty's, and it is more of a "showroom" for how coffee is roasted and prepared. Super sweet baristas, open flow natural wood element design, plentiful tables outside, and lovely ocean breeze. It's fun to see the coffee operations behind the clear glass--roasting, packaging, etc. The drinks here are made by the baristas who went through the same rigorous training as the Lofty Beans across the street. This place, however, serves espresso drinks and milk only and no "fancier foofoo" drinks (like caramel sea salt latte, or chai). For those, go back across the street to Lofty Beans. Tips: 1. Open later than Lofty's (10AM) 2. They have an affagato--espresso over homemade vanilla ice cream & espresso brownie. It's sinfully good. So rich that I couldn't finish the brownie part. 3. No to-go cups, so bring your own or enjoy there. :) Bonus: Rhino Art next door is the cutest art store! read more

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This is hands down my favorite coffee shop in San Diego. I love that they only serve for here- it makes the line short and the experience pleasant. Their espresso is perfect every time, never serve expired shots. They use Straus organic barista milk and it's so creamy and delicious. My week can be made with a latte and a croissant. I love bringing my dog and drinking my latte or flat white. Great customer service, love this place. Bring your to-go mug and walk to moonlight. I always wish their hours were longer but if they're closed, I head across the street! read more

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if you are all about Lofty pour over and need more space and less busy-ness (THEY DONT HAVE WIFI) run across the street! AMBIANCE: this space does not seem like a roasting HQ, its actually super rad! Open space, covered and a patio area, with a clean accent of furniture. They have a siphon like across the street displayed at the counter and you can see the roaster behind the counter's glass window. COFFEE: so clean and smooth, ah! i ordered a south american single origin roast (my fave) and couldn't be happier. if you order the pour over, it comes in an awesome clear pot with a ceramic, handle-less mug for you to enjoy at your leisure and served on a wood tray - snazzy! The croissant HAM SANDWICH was uh-mazing too - not sure how you could perfect a ham sandwich but Lofty totally did! SERVICE: they were great, super chill and served us our order after we sat down. read more

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Bakery 5/5 -Gluten-Free, Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie is the best I have ever had, soft and thick with intense flavor with a homemade feel to it -Butter Croissant is soft on the inside with a crunchy outside, flavorful yet simple Service 5/5 -Lamoy as well as all of the other staff members I have encountered offer excellent service -They are kind and welcoming, creating a wonderful atmosphere to enjoy the scenery from the plants to the design or work Beverages 5/5 -They make their own almond milk, which paired with their espresso (roasted on site) creates an excellent Cappuccino Atmosphere 5/5 -Modern vibe -Generally smooth music, happy and light To conclude, I recommend Lofty Coffee due to the excellent service, high-quality cappuccino, and calming atmosphere. read more

Lofty Coffee Roasting Works - Extra Hot Almond Milk Cappuccino Lovelovelove! - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Encinitas, California

Placed my order at 7:50am today for a breakfast sandwich and a latte. The experience was less than ideal. I hope this review serves as a heads up to others that's all. The folks working here are not vocal. They were not telling people how long and what to expect. The line was over 40 people and everyone was concerned or getting angry. It would have been helpful to all 40 people to give an estimate, or explain loudly that all orders are in the que or something, anything.... I did get my sandwich after 40 minutes. I was the 5th person to arrive this morning, getting there at 7:50 and putting my order in on the app. After an hour and 15 minutes I asked for a refund for the drink. Obviously this was not an ideal way to start Sunday, waiting for a latte for 1:15. But it could have been better if The staff would tell people the absurdity they were about to embark on if they order a coffee. read more

Dope spot but no power outlets tho. Super annoying for anyone trying to get work done here

very kind and efficient employees + great coffee! there's usually a lot of seating and it's a beautiful view overlooking Encinitas. Latte art is always incredible! :) read more

Lofty Coffee Roasting Works - cappuccinos - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Encinitas, California

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My new coffee shop in San Diego. Every detail of this place is so well thought out and extremely well executed. I ordered a single origin espresso, and it was sweet and well prepared. The barista actually remade it because she wasn't satisfied with it. The staff is so nice and weren't one bit pretentious. They are genuine and knowledgable and to top it off, make really great coffee. And the baked goods are fresh and delicious. The interior is clean and simple with attention to detail. It is higher up and away from the street, making it much more peaceful than other places off of the 101. My only criticism is that it doesn't open until 10. I would love to come by at 8, so hopefully that can change. Also parking is a little tight, but that's fine, I can walk more. read more

Kind of weird. At 2:15 after waiting for a few minutes for the guy to finish making drinks, he tells the entire line of customers they're closing in 5 minutes. Then, directing everyone to go across the street to their other location. No thanks. read more

We stopped by here to try the nitro cold brew. I'm a big fan of the Lofty salted caramel latte from across the street. Needless to say, Lofty Coffee Roasting Works is not for the sweet toothed coffee drinker, this place means business! So just know you are coming here to try coffee in it's purest form. The nitro didn't mess around, it was very strong! I hate to admit it was a little too strong and I couldn't completely finish it. It had some serious bite. I was buggin' a bit O__O Lofty Roasting Works was a fun coffee adventure, the roastery and seating areas are beautiful, and I'll be back, but it won't replace my beloved Lofty Coffee across the street. :) read more

Lofty Coffee Roasting Works - The nitro cold brew I nursed like a fine wine. - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Encinitas, California

Sweet baristas and always so helpful. I'm a former barista and think the coffee and food are comparable to other local shops, but the lead staff seems so off putting. I sat on my laptop for a few hours and went in periodically for different things and it seemed as there was always somebody just watching over everyone, but like waiting to say something if anyone did anything wrong. I did not like the way that talked to the baristas or even the few customers they helped. You could tell the baristas were annoyed that this happens often. read more

If you like strong coffee or coffee taste, don't come here, if you like sweet coffee, definitely don't come here. If you like slightly sweet, coffee tasting water, this is your spot! I got the Turkish latte which I expected to be strong and sweet, even just a little but it wasn't at all, it tasted water down and had a very strong clove like taste. I also got a Nola style cold brew. It was barely good. I liked that it wasn't too sweet but still a little sweet. But my biggest complaint is it barely tasted like coffee and I think the only reason it didn't taste like straight up water was because I got it with no ice. Honestly, save your money and don't even check this place out, it's really not worth it. I wish more people would leave a review. It's like one of those places that isn't that bad so people probably don't care enough to review it. Like the coffee is good but very watery lol read more

I have been going to the Lofty close to the beach & I found out they have a bigger location across the street. There are alot of distinct differences between the two that everyone should know about. This location is the production area of the coffee so they are limited to just coffee and tea--they have less choices when it comes to drinks & food compared to the other location. & they don't have wifi or outlets for you to charge your phone nor do they have to go cups so come prepared, parking is a bit hard as well since there are limited parking space. The plus side is the quality of the drinks are great I suggest trying the filter coffee blue sweetness. The area is large and spacious plenty of seating & great customer service. My only suggestion is to somehow let customers know in advance or a warning about the limits of this location that I mentioned above to avoid frustrated customers. read more

Lofty Coffee Roasting Works - Work time! - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Encinitas, California

I got the salted caramel cold coffee latte with vanilla and OMG was the best I've ever had! I usually like sweet drinks and hardly like coffee besides frappes but wow next time i am in SD area i will be back! PS please make large sizes!! read more

Coffee and pastries are good, but pricey. Honestly, the WiFi here sucks. So I don't recommend it for studying or working remote. But coffee is good. read more

Coffee with a scowl. First, the espresso. Have been coming here for many years and espresso is one of the best around. It is roasted medium and has high sweet tones. Coffee is brewed perfectly with low bitterness and aftertaste. Second, the service. This has been consistently slow. On a recent visit, one cup of coffee took 20 minutes to be brought. The barista's and the servers do not appear to enjoy their work and appear grumpy regularly. read more

Stopped originally across the street for her to get an iced Kyoto cold brew and some ice cream for me. We noticed the roasting location of Lofty Coffee across the street. The vibe of this shop is mellow with a kinda hipster feel in the modern-industrial sense. Staff was cordial and friendly. Parking was good so we decided to chill here and let some time pass. She'd ordered an iced Americano to accompany the black forest with egg croissant. A well made cup on a slightly light side of roasts that was acceptable, hits mid pack. I had the basic black forest croissant sandwich with arugula salad. Very tasty and the croissant was nicely flaky, so much so each bite was an explosion of flaky croissant trying to avoid going in my mouth. Felt like I was eating like the Cookie Monster-nom-nom. ;) The light here is excellent, I couldn't ask for a better photo op of their tasty food preps. The train runs just in back of this shop so any rail fans you'll get some decent shots of the Amtrack that runs past. Will definitely add them to our coffee list when visiting Encinitas. Pics of the iced Americano, croissant sandwich and arugula salad. Food quality -4.5 Taste- 4.5 Service- 4.5 Value- 4.5 read more

The number one reason why I gave this place a 3star because they don't cater to creatives, no outlets they are a lot of tables but no place to work due to lack of outlets. I felt unwelcome to this coffee shop also. Now don't get me wrong, their cortado and turkey sandwich was really good , but I'm a creative and I need places like coffee shops to where I can seat down, do my work while I drink their coffee, because I'm on the road 24/7, going to gigs after gigs. I guess I can only say that this coffee shop is only meant for people that goes drink coffee, eat and then part ways. Creatives like me drinks coffee edit for few hours maybe till they close then part ways lol. But any how this place is was okay. read more

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For under 15 bucks I don't know where you could have a better bfast sandwich and latte. The from "scratch" bakery that a-joins the chill coffee house is fostering perfection as it delights are served with your coffee if you do order a meal or pastry. Overall the damn food here in Carlsbad gets an A+! Boo yeah 5paw read more

I love a good cortado and theirs did not disappoint. Also had the bacon and egg on a croissant and it was delicious, light flaky crust on the croissant and surprisingly sweet jam made it more than an average breakfast sandwich. I also enjoyed the decor and ambiance read more

Lofty Coffee Roasting Works - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Encinitas, California

This place always delivers. I don't typically drink coffee, but when I do, it's at Lofty! If you like baked goods, then don't miss any of their treats, they are always delicious. I'm partial to their breakfast croissant, with a pour over central american coffee - give it a try! read more

I am so happy that I finally found a good north county coffee roaster! This company really values locally sourced ingredients, organic products, and serving the local community with a place to gather and enjoy great food and drinks. This is not a grab-and-go coffee shop; people here like to come to chat with friends, get work done, and appreciate quality made coffee. I love supporting small businesses like these. It also doesn't hurt that their coffee is amazing. I had the Guatemala pour over - great blueberry and chocolate flavors! I like to make my own coffee during the weekdays, so I bought their sweet blue blend to take home. I didn't have the chance to try one of their homemade croissants (I just completed the Whole30!) but I definitely will when I return. I did, however, try a sample of their house made macadamia nut milk - BOMB!!! North county residents, check this place out! It's larger and less busy than their coffee shop across the street read more

Lofty Coffee Roasting Works - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Encinitas, California

Best friend and I stopped here on a girls day out. It was a quiet Thursday morning which allowed us to fully peruse the menu to decide what we wanted. I chose the Salted Caramel Latte and the Smoked Turkey and Avocado Croissant. Holy delicious! First the Latte - perfectly sweet with an almost nutty flavor. It's been a couple weeks and I'm still dreaming about it. The croissant had the perfect amount of turkey, avocado, arugula and balsamic glaze. The combination of flavors was outstanding! Well done Lofty! read more

My husband and I have been loyal customers of Lofty (since they opened their very first location in Encinitas years ago) often visiting on a daily basis. Their extraordinary customer service, exceptional drinks and outstanding food have made the Lofty brand a favorite among our family and friends....which is why this is so disheartening to write. Recently, myself and others, have noticed a significant decrease in their quality - in both customer service and with the quality and consistency of their drinks. It's taken significantly more than a single bad experience for me to resort to writing here on Yelp. Today was the third time (in a row) where I have ordered a Chai Tea Latte and I received what tasted like warm cup of almond milk (no Chai tea taste at all). I called the store to let them know that my drink was made incorrectly (again) and the person who answered was indifferent, not apologetic and did not offer to make it right. As someone who is a champion of the Lofty brand and the products they make, this made me very sad. In the world of retail, it's the people that you hire and train who help keep your customers coming back and referring others. If you can't get that right, you will lose your customers. My hope is that by writing this, the owners and store management can align their employees and bring Lofty Coffee back to what it used to be - one of the best places to gather for food and coffee in San Diego. read more

The place was cute but came here to work with a friend and we were super bummed to find out they didn't have any outlets to charge our laptops so we had to find somewhere else to go. read more

Worst coffee I've ever had. Tasted like burnt coffee and I paid 5.25 for a small cup. Never going back

For a coffee roasting plant with phenomenal espresso I'm amazed that the employees don't know how or possible don't care to pull espresso correctly. It's super disappointing because the potential is there. I literally own a Lofty coffee mug and get an espresso or long black 5x per at Solana Beach Lofty where they do a phenomenal job with customer service and pulling espresso. It's the upper Lofty only that consistently has below average customer service and below average espresso. I post this so that the owner/manager can get everyone in the store on board with being positive and taking pride in there craft. read more

I didn't notice this place until one day I randomly looked up & eastward while driving on the 101 near Encinitas Blvd., so I made it a point to take an adventure and see what's up. I've been to Lofty Coffee Co. across the street and was pleased with their preparation of the coffee (mostly sweeter drinks). When I walked near the building where they do their roasting, I was surprised to see a fully functional coffee shop with plenty of seats (indoor and outdoor) compared to the other store front across the street. I got the vibe that coffee had a heavier emphasis on this side (not just because of the roasting), whereas across the street it's coffee+food. I had a 12oz latte and had substituted in their house-made Hazelnut milk (+$3). I asked the barista if the hazelnut milk was too sweet, and instead he let me have a sample of it before making my choice, that was pretty cool. I decided that it wasn't and continued. I loved it. It reminded me of Superba Food + Bread's version near Venice Beach, it was excellent. I'm glad I have a closer location to get this combination (even though it sums up to a $7 latte). Definitely a cool spot to hang out - plus the coffee is amazing. read more

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Came in to this sister location since I had my dog and there were no outdoor seats open. Parking lot was kind of a mess, hard to find parking. I was really craving a decaf iced coffee with some flavor, since I knew the lofty across the street has amazing flavor combos. Go to order one of loftys drinks I'd had before ...and nope not available. This location has a very bare bones menu, which is fine, but be forewarned. Barista at the counter wasn't overly nice. I had asked if there was any flavor I could put in my iced drink and he looked at me like I was an alien and told me "no, we don't use artificial or fake ingredients here". Sorry dude, I didn't know. My iced Americano was really good, but I'd have to say I prefer the lofty across the street. Wayyyyy better selection. Also, NO wifi...which kinda confused me. If you need Internet to get work done, this isn't your place. I really like the seating and ambience here. It's beautiful with great views. In summary, both locations have pretentious staff, but what are you going to do? At least the coffee is good! read more

They no longer serve brewed coffee at this location. Gotta go across the street instead

Locals, ban this place, they don't like you and just want your money. Their coffee was never anything to write home about and their bakery goods are no joke, God's honest truth, disgusting, they honestly can't even make a loaf of bread right much less pull of even one single pastry or baked good item. The world would be a much better place if this and all the other locations closed or moved out of state. The workers don't (not all but some) like the patrons that come in and would rather they leave. After confirming this again on Sunday I won't be back to this or any of their other locations, from Solana Beach, to little italy and definitely not either of their Encinitas locations. Please sell your business and for the sake of humanity stay far away from the food service industry and for the love of god and all that is holy in the world of baking please stop making your crappy baked good items. Thx y'all. read more

y'all this place is so good! i've lived in encinitas my whole life and for some reason have never been here but today i went and way blown away at my latte and shook to my core at the hummus avo toast. you guys have to try this place the vibes were so good and everyone was so nice sitting here eating the toast and wish y'all to taste to too that's how good it is - J Thomas read more

Place is awesome always come here to meet clients and work on my computer. Very good coffee and super friendly employees. Can't beat it

I appreciate the reaching out and correction of yelp information. I was not aware that there was a second location across the street. Yelp did not show it or show it as open at the time. A sign on the window of this one would have been helpful. read more

Fantastic coffee for people who really care about the quality of both the beans and preparation. This is not the place to get your double shot mocha chip frappuccino on your way to work. This is a place to chill out and savor really delicious coffee prepared in the best possible ways (Kyoto cold brew, vacuum, pour over, etc). I had a decaf latte prepared with their house made hazelnut milk. Best I've ever had! And for those of you like me who can't drink caffeine but still love coffee, they use the swiss water method of removing the caffeine so it actually still tastes like delicious coffee. Bring a friend or a book and stop by to unwind. :) read more

Love this place. Disappointed that they got rid of the macadamia nut milk--i would drive all the way from LA for my salted caramel latte with the macadamia nut milk! It's not the same without it but still pretty delicious. They actually had something unique and Delicous tho. Their baked goods a great and unique too. read more

A few weeks ago I ordered a vanilla latte with oat milk. The drink was bitter and borderline sour. I didn't taste like the typical bitterness you get with some coffees- it seemed like the milk had gone off. My sister's drink, which also contained oat milk, was also sour. My parents' drinks did not contain oat milk and both tasted fine. Unfortunately, we were just stopping by to grab our drinks, so by the time we tasted our drinks we were no longer at the coffee shop and could not ask for adjustments. If the oat milk was indeed off, hopefully other customers did not experience any stomach issues! Wondering if I should go back to try an oat milk drink again, just to see if they're normally sour at this location, or if the milk was bad when I went.. read more

This place is my new spot for sure. Aesthetically pleasing with a great cool breeze. Lots of open seating. Amazingly wonderful staff. Super good food and of course an exceptional tea and coffee selection. Quiet and open most of the time - not crowded 24/7 like the original Lofty across the street. And the best part is parking is way more accessible!! read more

Lofty Coffee Roasting Works - Costa Rican black coffee - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Encinitas, California

Sshh, when line is crazy across the St, hop in here for the Lofty essence. Keep in mind, no to-go cups and they may not make your fav drink from across the way. But if you're traditional and easy, and enjoy a quality cuppa, this is the spot. Not only is it always less busy, but ambiance much more laid back. And they have a little parking lot. read more

Absolutely love this place. My go to coffee cafe!! Also their avocado toast is perfection. My favorite part is the amazing staff...they are all so kind. They always make sure I'm taken care of and loving my coffee. Patrick is also a stand out for me, he always has a smile on his face and seems like a great team member. read more