- Do you care about the ambience of a Cafe? Then you found a 5 star Cafe. - Do you care about good coffee and pastries? Then this is a 3 star - Price line? 1 star - Attitude of the personnel? 0 stars Overall, I'll go somewhere else next time! read more

Lofty Coffee - Coffee & Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

Stopped to grab a salad to go and almost laughed when they handed me the tiniest salad ever for $20! It didn't even have all the things on it as described on the menu. Super disappointing and my mistake for paying so much, but I just do not understand how prices keep going up for a smaller and smaller amount of food. read more

Nice, open layout with a lot of outdoor seating. You go up to the counter and order and then seat yourself. I had a macchiato and the turkey avocado croissant. They made the macchiato correctly, which I appreciated. The turkey avocado croissant was good and they had a lot of healthier options than your standard breakfast cafe. read more

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I absolutely love this place! Such good coffee. Some of the best I've had in town so far for sure! So far in two visits, I've tried the iced mint latte and the hot vanilla latte. Both were amazing and had such good flavor. The iced mint one hit the spot on a warm nice day out, when they had the windows all open and sunshine just flows through the space. Then I had the vanilla latte yesterday, and it was so creamy and smooth. Perfect temperature, just the right amount of espresso to milk ratio, and so creamy. Yum! The space is super airy, bright and open, and I've heard the food is really great too! Will have to try something off the menu or in the pastry case next time. They're always tempting! The tables here are also huge and provide ample amount of working space for studying, working, or just chatting with a group of friends/colleagues. Street parking can be a challenge to find around here when it's really busy, but if you're lucky to find a spot nearby, you hit the jackpot! read more

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Delicious food! Great location and nice atmosphere. Had a hibiscus iced tea and flower child - both were good!

We went for breakfast on a Friday. The area was nice, we walked from our hotel. The menu seemed a bit limited and my egg was cold. It was very slow. We got our breakfast before the coffee was ready. read more

Still one of my fave places to get an iced vanilla latte! Stopped by to do some work and though it was almost closing, still had time to sit and enjoy the creamy and perfect concoction of a vanilla latte. My friend had a mocha lightly sweetened and loved it per usual read more

Lofty Coffee - Coffee & Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

They need to change their name to Lofty CoffTea. That's too easy. Low hanging fruit. Come on people. Updated my review to account for the time it took to get my drink. The coffee is delicious they just need to speed it up a bit. I shouldn't have to wait 10-15 minutes for a coffee drink. Ambience and music and staff are all very nice. read more

Lofty Coffee - Beautiful swan by crafty barista on a morrocan latte. They truly know and love their craft. - Coffee & Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

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I love the indoor/outdoor seating. The coffee was good but they were out of what I really wanted (the Nola coffee) so the bartista made me something custom. That was great and they are very knowledgeable about their coffee menu. I got the avocado toast and it was a good price for what it was but messy and too much balsamic. But I still enjoyed myself and would go back! I'll just ask for light balsamic read more

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Oat milk has been a huge catalyst to my coffee game and not a lot of coffee shops provide it. Out of town for a concert and found this gem near our hotel. So cute with a nutritious & healthy menu and most importantly bomb coffee with oat milk. Tried "mocha" +2 shots and I'm ready to conquer the world read more

Lofty Coffee - Coffee & Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

Really nicely done outdoor seating perfect for those sunnnny days in SD. Unfortunately, that's where the positives really end. Parking in little Italy is almost always a challenge so no surprise there but we got lured by other yelpers to get the Turkish latte. W everyone claiming it was "soooo good" we all decided to get our own instead of one to share and our own favs. Never forget to diversify. The latte has made my list of top ten terrible things I've tasted. Bleghhh. Reminiscent of lightly sweetened coffee flavored curry? That's as best as I can describe it. Despite being super pricey, I could only force two sips down in hopes it would grow on me the second time. It didn't. We drank the equivalent of a quarter cup between the three. We also got two slices of toast w a quarter of an avocado and three poached eggs. The total w the three drinks was over 30$ and we left in search for second breakfast. Total flop. Now we know. Come from the ambience and the dog friendly patio and order the baked goods and drinks you're familiar with cause they're willing to serve up some funky tasting stuff read more

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We waited 25 minutes before even inquiring about our order. In total, we ended up with a 42 minute wait + a cavalier attitude from the staff for avocado toast to go. If this is the normal speed of operation, a little warning would be appreciated. read more

Lofty Coffee - Coffee & Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

Parking: right in the heart of little Italy so be prepared to find street parking, will be harder on Saturday mornings with the farmer's market Coffee: got the Aztec mocha, which was too spicy to drink easily but the barista was nice and re-made me a mocha with cinnamon instead. Wish the coffee was a bit warmer but it was fine. It's about $5 a drink, pretty standard for these type of coffee shops. Service: great, girl who rang me up was nice and so was the barista who remade my coffee. There was a long line and the service was still good, which is hard to find in nice coffee shops like these. Ambience: cool, modern place to sit and have a cup of coffee, tons of tables inside and outside, could work there. Note, the indoor section is open to the outdoor one. Would I go again: maybe read more

Lofty Coffee - Aztec mocha coffee - Coffee & Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

The food here was very fresh . I liked the healthy vegetarian options for breakfast. The servers were knowledgeable about the menu items, which I appreciated. I also enjoyed the fresh matcha latte with non dairy options like almond milk . I came On a busy morning , but the lines moved quickly . The ambiance is nice and the cafe is clean. read more

Lofty Coffee - Super food Bowl - Coffee & Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

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Just missed the mark. The coffee is delicious with plenty of options but if your looking for breakfast you may want to move on to one of the other Little Italy gems. Ordered a beautiful breakfast but the eggs tasted like dish soap and the croissant was stale. The server who brought me my coffee and the cashier were great very helpful and kind. Again good spot for people watching and coffee. read more

Lofty Coffee - Salad and tomato were delish! - Coffee & Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

This is a love letter to lofty. Honestly. The coffee? Amazing. So amazing that we had to buy a bag of beans just to take back with us because we knew we'd miss it. But the real star, the one that lives in my dreams? The açaí bowls. Those things are so freakin good. The sweetness, bht then the salt of the Pb. The freshness of the fruit. I would come here every single day if I lived nearby. I have actually considered flying back just to get lofty. It's THAT good. And so so cute too. read more

Loved the open air seating. The name of the business matches the atmosphere and decor very well. It's open and lofty! I got the Aztec Mocha. It was delicious and plenty spicy and flavorful. Can't wait to try more drinks and food! read more

Lofty Coffee - Aztec Mocha (foreground). - Coffee & Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

Beautiful Place, good Coffee, regular Food, BAD service... Let's just say you are lucky enough not to have your food forgotten (it happened once) you might get a TWO dollar avocado that looks like a squashed piece of gum (that happened to me too). Sorry, i did try, i had a bad experience once and still went back for a second round of horrible service. Sometimes when they try the millennial, organic, different experience too hard, they miss the mark... these guys did! read more

Lofty Coffee - This is what a TWO DOLLAR side of avocado loos like here - Coffee & Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

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If you're looking for a coffee shop where the workers don't know the difference between light roast and medium roast, look no further! Not only are they not knowledgeable when it comes to coffee, they also take 15-20 mins to make your coffee (and this is at a time when there was no more than 3 customers). Coffee Taste: 6/10 Cost: 3/10 Service: 5/10 Would not recommend this place. read more

I have been a fan of the Lofty Coffee Company since they first came around in North County San Diego. This visit to this new beautiful location in Little Italy reaffirms my conviction towards the coffee house. I stopped in for a coffee and a snack before hitting up the Little Italy Mercado for the morning. I ordered the Cafe au Lait and a plain croissant which I devoured rather quickly because it was so delicious. They make them on sight and you can watch they through a glass window making them I thought that was pretty cool. The Cafe au Lait was good. It was a medium roast with a very mild flavor. The croissant was buttery with a moist center and flaky exterior. In addition to the variety of great baked goods they offer, they also make organic salads, paninis, and some interesting casual breakfast items. If you like croissants, theirs is a must try. I like the abundance of outside seating, under the patio and along outside of the coffee house. The staff at this location were very upbeat and the girls delivering the food and drinks to the tables were very nice. read more

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This is such a great addition to the downtown / Little Italy area. Not only they have friendly staff, their handcrafted drinks are always on point. The seatings are spacious so it is perfect if you choose this as a business meeting location or fun chilling afternoon working on your own at a coffee shop. Love the fact that half of the space is outdoor so you can totally bring your furry friends along! My dog loves chilling here with me! read more

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I was in town for the Taste of Little Italy event and had a couple of hours to kill, so I picked a coffee shop to settle into and get some work done. This was the nearest one that popped up on the map and boy am I glad it did! The staff were super friendly and conversational - which I appreciated! I got my coffee, asked for the WiFi password, and plopped down on some bar seating facing the street and gave it this wonderful urban feel. I enjoyed the half indoor half outdoor setting and did have both the occasional breeze as well as occasional little bird fly by. Their restroom does have a code you'll have to ask for. I was already a fan of their other location and now it's nice to know that if I'm in little Italy again, I know have a familiar haven! read more

Lofty Coffee - Cold brew - Coffee & Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

My boyfriend was waiting to get his haircut at Black Market Barbershop right around the corner (highly recommend that place too!) and we were hungry after our workout. We were stern on wanting breakfast food at 2pm & they happened to still be serving! We got: *ham & cheese croissant sandwich ($12) *granola w/ yogurt ($9) *french toast ($12) *machiatto ($3.25) *café latte ($4.25) Everything was delicious! It came out pretty quickly, plenty of seating & the staff was friendly. We'll be back when my boyfriend needs his haircut again! read more

We put our name in across the street at Queensland Public House for brunch (which ended up being awesome) so we decided to come across the street and order a coffee from Lofty for the 30 minute wait. It took all 30 minutes to get our mocha's with about 12 people in line ahead of us. There's a ton of staff running around, but the one person taking orders and the two people making beverages (when they get around to it) were not very friendly or what you'd call quick or hustling for the business. The mocha comes in a very small cup and was delicious. Don't think I'd go back though. It's not worth the wait or expense. In this case Starbucks is better and much quicker with nicer people. read more

I love lofty coffee..everything there is delicious and I am a regular customer. However, I ordered Açaí bowel for the first time on Saturday 8/27/22 3ish in the afternoon. It was the prettiest and most delicious açaí bowel I've ever had! The presentation was amazing that I even posted it on my Instagram! Needless to say, I went back Sunday late morning, all excited to get it again while going on and on about it to my daughter! However, the difference was shocking. It's interesting that you can have two completely different experience ordering the same food at the same place only one day apart. I guess the person who made it on Saturday made an effort to justify the $15 açaí bowel while the person who made it on Sunday didn't really care much. See the difference in the pic yourself.. read more

Lofty Coffee - Açaí bowel served on Saturday - Coffee & Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

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A nice lovely half outdoor coffee shop in Little Italy. You will be amazed by their special menu. We tried the geisha coffee, we can't say we love this better than the americano which we usually drink, but it's quite special. You know, sometimes you just need to try something a little bit different than the normal tastes, adding some flavor in your life. read more

Bomb food. Strawberry and avocado toast with balsamic vinaigrette was so damn good. French toast delish!! Service was great and quick! Outdoor seating was nice, felt like sitting on a patio read more

Finally.. This place is open! I've been walking by here for months. This lofty coffee location is conveniently on the corner of Cedar and Columbia in little Italy. Plenty of indoor/outdoor seating. And very dog friendly. I think everyone there had a dog with them today. I ordered the flat white ($3.50) with almond milk and a chocolate chip cookie (which happened to also be gluten free). Total came to $8 and change. The coffee was just the perfect amount of strong and was balanced well with my sweet cookie. I was able to enjoy people watching and nice outdoor weather with a friend.. So I am glad we picked here. read more

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I have to give this place 20 stars because they made me without any doubt the best breakfast croissant I've ever had, incredibly crispy, buttery, has beautiful sweetness-savory balance, and the presentation is outstanding, just pure perfection. High quality coffee/expresso drinks are top notch, I ordered dark mocha, it was so on point, and the organic chocolate in it tasted soooo good. All organic food and drinks and definitely 100% recommended. Gorgeous indoor and outdoor seating area with convertible roof open to the street in middle of beautiful little Italy neighborhood. read more

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I had bookmarked this spot on Yelp. While I was in town yesterday, I was looking for a local coffee shop to get some coffee. I noticed the great reviews and my bookmark so I decided to give it a try!!! Wow what a beautiful place, great atmosphere and delicious coffee. It was amazing!! I love coffee and I have hard time trying to find good coffee spots but this spot has done an amazing job that I would absolutely love to come back here and another cup of coffee. I had their salted Carmel ice drink which was recommended by the barista. Great choice. I tried some of the Turkish Latte with my friend and it was great. If you like the cardamom taste, this is the drink for you. Loved the atmosphere, outside seating area is beautiful!!! I could go there to study. They have inside area also but its limited. Highly highly recommend it!! read more

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The coffee lids don't adequately fit on the coffee cups. As such, your beverage spills everywhere. This is really poor QA. The cold brew and chai latte are decent though. read more

Lofty Coffee - Cold brew - Coffee & Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

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I'm totally lost on the hype. Let's go through the list of why this place isn't great: 1. One midget size coffee (I got an americano) for $3.25. I guess they are too cool to sell larger drink sizes. 2. They had no raw sugar, really??? Is this McDonald's??? 3. Everything, lids, stir sticks, sugar all sitting out getting COVIDized... 4. Last and not least the coffee was mediocre at best. I wanted to give this place a try because it had so much business. What a mistake. I'll stick with Pappalecco. There is no comparison. read more

Wow....wow wow! We were a little early wanting to go for our lunch and had some time to kill. Why not stop for a quick coffee. Talk about a coffee that makes us contemplating moving to San Diego. So I'll get past the negatives which are not even negatives. Was a bit busy.. well why are they busy... because they are awesome! Limited seating... why? Because every seat is filled up with happy patrons, and there is a lot of seating for a coffee house. My Turkish coffee wasn't made in the Turkish fashion as I have visited turkey and had both the showboat style latte and the stove top version. However the flavor is RIGHT ON. My wife from Mexico had the Aztec coffee and she LOVED IT. Our local coffee house she admired so much just told me we're driving to little Italy from here on out for coffee. It busy... However the people are polite and still have time to speak a few words to you. They are not rude and they are really good at their job. It would be a shame... no a crime to miss this gem. I am impatient and have very high exceptions in my eating establishments however I felt comfortable and at home in line watching them at their trade and interacting with customers before me. read more

Lofty Coffee - Perfect Aztec latte! - Coffee & Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

Great design. Love that you can sit outside and inside with an open view of downtown. Lots of big wooden tables for working, meeting, etc. and smaller tables for solo. Super clean and organized. Great space for working (except that there are NO outlets) and for meeting up with someone. They have a wide variety of coffees, teas (Morrocan mint on tap; sooo good), bakery items, and cafe foods. I've gotten the chocolate croissant which is really good. The only drawback to this place is that it seems a little expensive (But they honestly might have quality coffee so it may be priced well for it's quality) and that there are no chargers for working, which is unfortunate because it's such a great working space. Pros: Great space, good coffee. Clean. Cons: Pricey. No outlets. read more

Lofty Coffee - Workspace - Coffee & Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

This place is such a cute little spot. I love the Solana location as well. Parking can be a bit tough here. Everyone that works here is fantastic. The breakfast options are great! Really fresh and different than your typical coffee shop. I love how they use sustainable options for your items you order. It is super airy and open here and you can bring your fury friend - they even have treats for them. read more

Lofty Coffee - The Quickie with a poached egg - Coffee & Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

Fabulous vibe ! Awesome breakfast options and really tasty drinks. Great for a quick meet up or to finish typing up a last minute editorial

Visiting San Diego and looking for some quick and healthy breakfast before going to touristy spots. Found this place with nice decor and didn't have a line, so decided to give it a try. This place is order first then find seats yourself kind restaurant. initially I was gonna get croissant, cashier reminded that it'll take 15-20 mins so we decided to go with something quicker, açaí bowl and yogurt with granola. Cashier then said they are out of granola but will add additional fruit in the yogurt, which sounded ok. Even though without a line, it was pretty hard to find seat. Finally someone left and we got the table, however, no service person was around so it didn't get sanitized. Waited for 15 mins anyway, then the food was brought over. There was the SAD SAD yogurt bowl. It was just a super thin layer of yogurt, no granola like cashier mentioned. And where's the extra fruit??!! Or was this already extra fruit?! And it's $9!!! Now açaí bowl had three scoops of half frozen açaí which tasted fine. But coming from the Bay Area things are more pricey in general, but $14 açaí bowl has at least twice as much açaí than this. This place is ridiculously expensive for the amount and quality you get, I would not recommend it to anyone who's looking for a proper breakfast. And since it's order ahead, you tip ahead too, but it barely has any service. read more

I had a lofty goal of checking this place out and now that I've done so I'd say this is a winner. Love the way they did the architecture of this space, it's totally open with no windows and the cafe bar in the center. Basically simple steel columns, brick, and weathered wood on the ceilings. Lots of seating in the courtyard, around the bar, and even a few spots on the street to hang out. The menu here is more extensive than I have seen at most coffee shops and it geared towards vegetarian and even some vegan choices. I really appreciate they offer all the menu items all hours that they are open. You'd be surprised how many places will not let you order a salad during their breakfast offerings, crazy. They have a whole selection of pastries including 3 vegan choices. From the kitchen the menu is pretty straight forward and well rounded. Everything from avocado toast to an Açaí bowls with PJ and GF granola. A few salad options and they also have an a la carte options like plant based sausage, toast and smears etc. The two items that most interested me was an Ancient Grains Farro Bowl and a Superfood bowl. I was told one is veggie oriented and one is more grains. Since I love the flower of Cauli I decided the superfood it was going to be. I was intrigued though with the cilantro lime sauce in the AGF bowl so asked them to swap it for the lemon dig thyme instead. No up-charge and they gave me the fig lime one also which was nice. I could not resist the vegan Strawberry pop tart looking pastry so had to get that also. I also got a latte with almond mylk but they have many interesting specialty coffee drinks such as Aztec Mocha, Turkish Latte, and two cold brews one made with chicory and one called Kyoto. Chicory is kind of like a substitute for coffee and has no caffeine and tastes earthy. They blend with the cold brew and it's really tasty on ice with almond mylk. I highly recommend this drink. In terms of the taste of my dishes everything was Yelpy good. The latte was smooth and tasty, the triangle strawberry pop tart was crunchy flakey had almost a butter consistency but vegan and then the strawberry sweetness inside hits you yumm. The superfood bowl was also delicious with so many layers of flavors. I was playing with the three side sauces I got with the dish. The avocado was super creamy and I loved the lime cilantro dressing. The fig dressing was ok but I normally don't like sweet in my salads so recommend if you are like me to make the substitution. Finally I really think the service here is way better than I get in my area. Super nice, knows the menu, deliver your food with a smile. All good things to put this place in 5 star territory. Can't wait to go back soon. read more

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Glad the rain held off this morning when I came by here. The entire place is on open air concept. So one big porch with the barista station in the middle. Ordered a salted caramel latte and croissant sandwich for bfast. First off, the latte was soooo yummy! The first thought I had when I took a sip was "yes". Like a warm hug on a rainy, gloomy morning. The croissant sandwich was bomb. Perfect croissant with scrambled eggs, Black Forest ham, cheddar, arugula and a tomato jelly. Piping hot and oh so delicious. Cool vibe here. Will definitely come back when I'm in town again. Also bought a bag of their espresso beans to take back with me to NC! read more

Lofty Coffee - Coffee & Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

Absolutely terrible service. I've been here several times so I've begin them plenty of chances. The coffee is not good the food is so small and overpriced but worst of all it takes for ever to come out. Last time we were there we waited for about 35 minutes for our food before cancelling the order and receiving a refund. All for porches eggs and some bread. Not even a complicated dish. read more