9 Insta-Worthy Delicious Coffee and Tea Cafes in San Diego (2021)
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*This post was last updated on February 24, 2021.
We love visiting trendy and cute cafes so much that one of our readers commented on how much we love coffee. Yes, we love coffee but just as much as the decor at these adorable cafes. With each new cafe we visit, we're always in awe of the interior decor and food presentation. Here are our top seven cafes in San Diego that we think you'll love too.
1. Better Buzz Coffee - Hillcrest
LOCATION: 801 University Ave. (MAP)
This coffee shop is huge and is located in one of San Diego's diverse and vibrant neighborhoods in Hillcrest. The moment we walked in, we were in awe of the gorgeous hanging light fixtures, the fun patterns along with the counters, and the bright "Buzz Life" neon sign. Our Rose Water Latte was beautifully decorated with rose petals and it had a wonderful aroma. The pastries we ordered were fresh and paired perfectly with our drinks. There is plenty of room here to bring a laptop and work for a few hours as well.
2. Holy Matcha - North Park
LOCATION: 3118 University Ave. (MAP)
Being half Japanese, I was always surrounded by matcha products, so when North Park San Diego opened their first Matcha Cafe, I was there shortly after their grand opening. I'm a huge fan of matcha lattes and was super excited when they also had matcha donuts on their menu. The decor and food presentation here is what Instagram dreams are made of. I seriously wanted to take all the furniture and wallpaper home with me too.
3. Cafe Madeleine - South Park
LOCATION: 2248 30th St. (MAP)
Right next door to North Park is a historic neighborhood with a mix of independently owned small businesses called South Park. Cafe Madeleine is a French cafe that is located right in the center of this charming neighborhood. They specialize in sweet and savory crepes and paninis, but we went for breakfast and had a healthy yogurt parfait, rose water latte, and almond croissant. We've never been to France, but we imagine coffee shops like this all over Paris.
4. Communal Coffee - North Park
LOCATION: 2335 University Ave. (MAP)
The idea of combining a flower business and a coffee shop is simply genius. We think all coffee shops should implement this. The flower arrangements here are gorgeous and the coffee menu is quite unique. I'm used to seeing "beer flights" on a menu, but this was the first time I came across a "coffee flight". They stay true to their name and host an array of community events and pop-up shops so it's worth checking out their events calendar.
5. Communal Coffee - South Park
LOCATION: 2221 Fern St. (MAP)
If you love the Communal Coffee North Park location, you'll adore their second location in South Park. The cafe was initially an outdoor patio space, but it didn’t take long for them to expand and add an indoor space. It's situated in a quaint tree-lined neighborhood and nestled in between a vinyl record shop and a vintage clothing boutique. The best part about this cafe is the adorable vintage Shasta trailer that adds so much character to the cafe.
6. The Forum Coffee House - Clairemont Mesa
LOCATION: 4340 Genessee Ave., Unit 10 (MAP)
Clairemont Mesa is in the top twenty best neighborhoods for millennials in San Diego and we found this hip cafe on Yelp. We fell in love with the unique drink names like the Digital Detox and 404 Error. Crystal ordered the Elite (White Chocolate Mocha with Pink Rose Petals) and took a million pictures of the gorgeous pink rose petals that were beautifully scattered on top. They bake their pastries in-house and the service is super friendly and attentive.
7. Parakeet Cafe - La Jolla
LOCATION: 927 Silverado St. (MAP)
This parakeet wall-covered cafe is located in the seaside town of La Jolla. It's a cute little cafe with an all-day breakfast menu and a ton of healthy food options. We really enjoyed their turmeric latte and gluten-free matcha waffles. Their emoji bathroom sign made us laugh and we even got to take home a cute parakeet pin as a souvenir (it was free!).
8. Frost Me Cafe - Little Italy
LOCATION: 555 W Date St. (MAP)
If you love pastries with your morning coffee or tea, Frost Me Cafe & Bakery is a must. Their pastries are made in-house so when we went in for breakfast our Morning Buns came straight out of the oven. It was warm and flaky and just want we needed to start off our morning.
9. The Grounds Bean Bar - Pacific Beach
LOCATION: 1571 La Playa Ave. (MAP)
The Grounds Bean Bar is located in a great spot in Crown Point close to the beach. It’s a coffee shop, but they also whip up an amazing acai bowl that is loaded with healthy goodness. The Grounds Bean Bar serves their acai bowl a little differently and instead of fresh bananas, they top it with crunchy banana chips. That crunch is a much-needed layer of texture that gives this bowl some pizazz.
I'm sure we'll be adding more to this list since we are cafe junkies. We didn't even realize we were junkies until one of our viewers on YouTube commented how we are always reviewing coffee shops and cafes.