In this illustrated guide to San Francisco’s coffee shops and cafes, Untapped Cities illustrator Charlotte Vallance shares some of her favorite spots.

Spin City Launderette 

Who would of guessed?  A coffee shop in a launderette! When you sit back and think about it, it actually makes perfect sense. People have time to kill while waiting for their laundry, and therefore have time for a coffee or other beverage. As you can see from the outside they also stock the amazing ‘Dynamo Donuts’ and have a selection of locally made cake/granola bars.

Corner of Sanchez Street and 24th Street. There are also lots of unique laundromat combinations in NYC too, as we previously covered.

Atlas Cafe

 

Stop by Atlas Cafe on the corner of 20th Street and Alabama Street. for a place to study with a good breakfast bagel and coffee. It has a great airy space to chill out or chat with friends, and has a nice outside courtyard area for those sunny days.

Cafe St Jorge

 

What a selection of cakes! Nice high ceiling and friendly staff, the waitress recommended the lemon cake. They’ve also got some cute products for sale, like tote bags, postcards, etc as well as coffee and other local foods.

Corner of Mission Street and Kingston Street.

Jane

Such a buzzing cafe!  We hid away in the smaller upper area above the bar and sunk down in one of their comfy chairs with a great latte.  They also have great menu choice for both breakfast and lunch. We recommend the quinoa toast with rhubarb compote

On Filmore Street, a great place to shop and lunch, and also do a spot of yoga or pilates.

Cha Cha Cha

Great sangria – by the glass or by the pitcher – and the wonderful Spanish Caribbean food  No bookings taken so you might have to wait for a table but there is a nice bar area and a great atmosphere.  There are two of these in the city, the other being on Mission Street.

On Haight Street (Golden Gate Park end).

Bi Rite

There is often a queue down the street for the ice cream here, but a little tip is to look for the ‘soft serve’ window, where the queue is a bit shorter and the ice cream just as delicious!  Prime location next to Dolores Park, which if you walk to the far end from Bi Rite, has amazing views of the city.

Get in touch with the author @charlsvallance and check out her blog. Check back every other Wednesday for the next installation of (Art)chitecture by Charlotte Vallance.