Quote:
Originally Posted by El Diablo
Al,
They just opened a location in the neighborhood: Blue Bottle SOMA. I'll check it out soon.
I checked it out today. It's clear that they're trying to make coffee more upscale, given the design of the cafe and the way the staff are being trained. If you're going to have the espresso, try it from the gold machine on the left, which I believe is single source. I ignored the siphon.
I had my usual cup of drip and also had some of my buddy's espresso. It's excellent stuff, but I prefer the far less pretentious vibe of the Hayes Valley location. The coffee is clearly a cut above Ritual and (definitely) Philz, but that's long been the case. A lot of good bay area restaurants are switching to Blue Bottle, and I know they have the google contract.
Also, I tried the Coffee Bar on Mariposa and Bryant. I really liked the vibe there, and the coffee is on par with Blue Bottle. It's a nice place to have an informal meeting or get some work done. Parking seems pretty easy too.