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    Drift Cafe

    4.7 (287 reviews)
    Closed 6:30 am - 2:00 pm
    Updated 1 month ago

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    Business Info

    DRIFT CAFE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Dogs allowed
    Outdoor seating

    Recommended Reviews - Drift Cafe

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    Harper F.

    I had a pretty complicated coffee order and the barista here made it perfectly. Good spot for coffee in SD. The interior is very cute.

    Shannon D.

    I adore Drift. Their basic beach latte is my favorite, and the yogurt bowl is tasty and filling. The baristas are always helpful and patient. Parking is not easy on the main road, but you can find parking on the perpendicular streets and walk over. If you are working from home just note there are no power outlets. Definitely recommend Drift for a relaxed get together with friends.

    Sasha D.

    Fresh, real food done right. Everything tastes wholesome and homemade--but somehow even better. The yogurt bowl with peanut butter and granola was one of the best I've ever had, and the California omelet was just as delicious. Relaxed beach vibe, genuinely friendly staff, and the perfect start to any San Diego morning.

    Breakfast Sandwich
    Steve S.

    Cute locally owned cafe offering quality brews and tasty bites. Friendly service. It's bright, clean , and spacious interior make it a winner for catching up with a friend, getting some work done, or just chilling solo. Good merch too.

    Hawaiian Latte

    Food here was GREAT! I was chatting with Alex and he really just made our day with his positivity. I would definitely recommend to go here! I tried the Hawaiian Latte and i have to say it was very good.

    Del S.

    The food here is delicious and nutritious, beautifully presented. The young woman taking the orders at the register had a great attitude and energy. The cafe it self has lots of natural light and a comfortable setting to enjoy. We took our food to go this time, but look forward to coming back and spending some time in the space.

    Anita M.

    Great location right in PB next to Duck Dive. Good variety of standard brunch options and coffee drinks. I ordered the breakfast burrito with bacon. It came out in decent time, had good flavor and was a big portion size. I might come again to order this item though felt the bacon was lacking. Price was $16 since I added bacon. I liked the flavor of the peppers in it. It's a cute spot & more casual. Parking will be challenging as it's in PB. Service was decent too - pretty standard for a casual spot. You'll order at the counter and seat yourself. I do feel the girl at the counter could have been friendlier. Mostly indoor seating, there's a couple tables on the sidewalk though. It's maybe not as cute as other cafes like Palmy's, but still ok!

    Acai Bowl
    Jacquelyn M.

    Visited Drift Cafe in the morning last week with my sister and had a nice time. I ordered an acai bowl and an iced honey lavender latte which were both delicious. There was plenty of seating in the morning and they offer wifi. This cafe would be a nice study spot and the ambiance was very chill, it felt very representative of San Diego.

    Michael B.

    This probably ranks in the bottom third of coffee shops I've been too. The shop itself is cute. It has a handful of tables that can fit maybe 20 people inside. There's a small counter where you can order. Great floral design on the wall. But that's where the nice things I have to say ends. We were just walking by and saw it and decided to give it a shot. We were met by the barista who mumbled what you want and when we asked for a moment, just blankly stared at us. We ordered the Cherry Almond Latte which on first taste wasn't bad. But started to taste less like fruit and nuts and more like cough syrup. While the colors are beautiful, there was a lot of dishes left on the tables along the right wall. Perhaps those people just got up and finished and they had time to bus it. The bathroom was also pretty bad as well and desperately needed to be serviced. All in all. Probably wouldn't come back. It is locally owned so that is a plus.

    Strawberry Matcha

    Just came to Drift for the first time after it was recommended to me by a friend - and WOW was it good! I got a strawberry matcha and it was so refreshing. Breakfast burrito was amazing too, I loved the salsa it came with! 10/10 will be back - thank you, Alex, Spencer and crew for the great service too!

    Mexican mocha!
    John W.

    Mexican mocha! Courteous staff, quick service, clean space! If you're looking for a cool space to chill close to the beach or to get some remote work done, this is your place in Pacific Beach!

    Blackberry matcha and Hawaiian latte
    Nancy P.

    Small, cute café that's great for a quick bite. I tried a few items and overall had a good experience. The breakfast bowl was fresh and refreshing, and the French toast was made perfectly. The avocado toast was a bit mediocre, but the tomato toast was actually really good. I also had the matcha blackberry drink (seasonal, I think), and it was so good--definitely a standout. I didn't try my friend's Hawaiian latte, but she really enjoyed it. Nice spot for a casual breakfast or coffee stop.

    Tomato Toasty
    Raquel D.

    Tomato Toasty with bacon. OH MY GOD. So delicious, cashew cheese is on point, AND they cut it into the shape of a heart.

    Mushroom and Spinach Scramble

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    My favorite coffee shop in pb! Drinks are super good and quick, staff is super nice and it is decorated super cute.

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    Drift Cafe Reviews in Other Languages

    Ask the Community - Drift Cafe

    Hi! I'm planning my sister's bachelorette party and trying to find coffee shops near the Air Bnb and this one popped up. She is allergic to gluten. Do you guys have yummy…

    Hi Jillian, we have gluten free options on our menu. I could also make something special for you ladies if you wanted to pre order for the day. When are you all in town?… 

    View All 2 Questions

    Better Buzz Coffee Mission Beach - Oat milk latte

    Better Buzz Coffee Mission Beach

    4.2(823 reviews)
    1.1 mi
    $$

    do not be deterred by the line, I came in on a Saturday morning at about 10 AM to a line out the…read moredoor but as soon as I sat down to wait after I ordered my food and drink was basically ready It was a solid operation of people working in tandem to get orders out as quickly as possible. The food was really good, better than I would've thought, had some egg bites and a breakfast burrito, a smoothie and an iced Americano basically everything I needed to survive, well worth it.

    To echo what others have said, parking is probably the biggest downside. The shop is located along…read morethe sidewalk in front of residential complexes, so there's no dedicated parking lot. Street parking is your best bet, though it may take a little patience. That said, once you walk in, the experience gets much better. I was immediately greeted with a smile, and the women working behind the counter were incredibly friendly and welcoming. The space is bright, clean, and has plenty of tables, making it a nice spot to study, work, or catch up with a friend. There was a small mix-up with my order- they made my drink hot instead of iced, but they fixed it right away with no issues. I ordered the lavender tea latte and was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. The lavender flavor was noticeable without being overpowering, and the drink itself was light and smooth. Overall, aside from the minor order mix-up, I had a pretty positive experience. Great customer service, a cozy atmosphere, and a delicious drink.

    Photos
    Better Buzz Coffee Mission Beach - Menu

    Menu

    Better Buzz Coffee Mission Beach - Loving this location on Memorial Day!

    Loving this location on Memorial Day!

    Better Buzz Coffee Mission Beach

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    Molly's

    Molly's

    4.2(171 reviews)
    1.0 mi
    $$

    Best turkey sandwich. Get the turkey sandwich…read more Okay other stuff... sandwich comes with a side and you should get the cauliflower salad to go with it. It's a big place with multiple indoor/outdoor seating options. Cute. We ate there every morning for breakfast because it's the best option nearby and opens early. It has baked goods, all do the coffee options, a full bar that opens later in the day, and good prepared meals. Didn't like the waffle as much as I thought I would, maybe 4 or 5 on the star scale. The fruit, whipped cream, and syrup for it were solid. My friends tried chai bowls, fresh fruit, banana bread, breakfast burritos, and other pastries if not enjoying the (delicious!!!) turkey sandwich. I did find myself wishing there were fresh juice options. A fresh OJ or green juice would have hit the spot and I couldn't find plain fresh squeezed I the area. All and all, super delighted by this find and scores a 5.

    I will preface this review with the acknowledgment that this is the epitome of first world…read moreproblems. I actually love this place (I could have sworn I had reviewed positively before). I'm just extremely disappointed with how poor my experience was today because I had only super positive experiences previously and was looking forward to dining there this morning after sometime away, but holy hell ....today's experience has been so profoundly bad. Firstly, my husband ordered two breakfast burritos - one with bacon and the other with bacon on the side. I'll chalk this one up to miscommunication, but they put bacon in one, and bacon in the other too - and then added bacon on the side to the other and charged us $5.50 for the extra bacon. Again, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt here and will be sure to communicate explicitly next time. They kindly made me a new one, but the new one had potatoes that weren't cooked thoroughly (likely to rush the food to me, so I acknowledge the difficulty here), however there was hardly any avocado. I literally had to complain again because I didn't believe there was any avocado at all. I wouldn't be as pissed if this weren't an EIGHTEEN DOLLAR breakfast burrito. Lastly, the coffee lids don't fit on the cups. We tried to put one on and ended up spilling the entire coffee. I chalked this up to an accident on our part, however another patron who observed our incident said "their lids don't fit the cup, right??" And I was like "oh so it wasn't just us??" And she was like "no, I almost spilled mine all over too." This random patron encouraged us to ask for a new cup of coffee as a result (thanks, random patron!). The Molly's team did kindly make us a new (albeit quite bitter) drink, which I appreciate. However, the lid was still an issue - it would spill out of the cup all over the rim between the cup and the lid when I'd try to take a sip, so I took off the lid entirely, but then was stuck with dealing with spills while walking around - I had to move at a snail's pace to prevent spills altogether. This was easier to deal with random leakage around the entire cup every time I'd sip with the lid on. Ultimately It was just a lose-lose with the ill fitting lid situation. All this to say - Molly's Team, yall were fantastic just a month ago. What happened? I understand food and services in the beach area stuff are often expensive and rarely good, but you guys are *too* expensive for this poor of service and quality. Two stars because at least the folks there are generally nice.

    Photos
    Molly's
    Molly's
    Molly's - Chia Pudding

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    Chia Pudding

    Olive Cafe - Cinnamon Roll French Toast

    Olive Cafe

    4.3(937 reviews)
    1.1 mi
    $$

    Great prices and GREAT FOOD!!! The line moves quickly and not a long wait for food, even on a busy…read moreFriday. Less than $10 for a big sandwich and specialty fries. The fries are crispy waffle fries with a gentle sprinkle of seasoning. Generous servings of delicious meat. I'd add a picture, but we were hungry and dug in fast. We both ended up taking half of the gyro and bowl home. Can't wait to try the other items on the menu. Thanks for bringing an affordable Mediterranean cafe to Topeka.

    I really enjoyed this place. My coworkers and I came here after a volunteer event and we were…read moreworried about finding parking, but luckily, there's a parking lot down Santa Clara Place. I suggested this place because they have pastries and looked like a good brunch menu. It has a nice outdoor patio which was perfect on a beautiful beach day. I ordered the chilaquiles and requested if I could have any chorizo. It's not listed as an option, but I saw that they had it on other menu items. The chilaquiles is made with a red salsa, and you can ask for their house salsa on the side. The eggs come scrambled, plus a side of sour cream and avocado. I really enjoyed it. It had just the right amount of spice. I also ordered an iced soy milk pistachio coconut latte and I couldn't leave without trying their pastries. I ordered a chocolate croissant and a chocolate chip & blueberry scone. They also offer day-old scones for $2, which I love that they offer to reduce food waste.

    Photos
    Olive Cafe - Fireplace

    Fireplace

    Olive Cafe - Breakfast Burrito with Gluten Free tortilla

    Breakfast Burrito with Gluten Free tortilla

    Olive Cafe

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    Pump Coffee - Coconut white mocha 100/10

    Pump Coffee

    4.7(281 reviews)
    0.5 miPacific Beach
    $$

    We stayed in Mission Beach, but I walked here every day to pick up coffee. I prefer to support…read morelocal coffee shops (non chains) that have a selection of espresso beverages. I unfortunately loved the honey cinnamon latte so much that I never tried anything else. Hubs had the dirty chai latte every day. Their ham and cheese croissant is great! Regular croissant is skippable and so is the chocolate one. The vegan desserts are actually pretty good. At least the blueberry muffin that we had was excellent. The crumb was blue, not fake blue, but like they had mixed crushed or blueberry juice with the dough.

    I feel badly for this review but not bad enough not to write it because people should know what…read morethey're getting into here. I came here because I had been given recommendations to try this place. First things first, before grabbing a coffee I asked to use their restroom. The woman working behind the counter handed me an espresso handle with a key attached and gave me directions for how to get to the bathroom. I couldn't believe they didn't have one in their shop, I thought all businesses that served food and drink had to have a bathroom but as I spent more and more time in California I realized this was not the case. So the bathroom was down the street, past a gym, up three stair cases and down the balcony, down a hall, the entire ordeal took 15 minutes getting there and back, it was honestly insane. When I got back there was a guy in the same boat as me, he was given the key and he came back 10 minutes later and said he couldn't find the bathroom and that it was too complicated. And he's right - it was. If it wasn't an emergency I would have given up all together. I grabbed a drip coffee and took a seat in the back and every second the ceiling and coffee shop would shake with a loud boom. I couldn't understand what was happening until I realized we were underneath a gym. Clearly the area with the weights and all you heard were people dropping dumbbells on the ground and subsequent shakes and bangs on the ceiling of this shop. It was honestly, terrible. I would not come back here because of that. It would be impossible to study or get work done. I guess that's why it's called Pump?

    Photos
    Pump Coffee - Ham croissant

    Ham croissant

    Pump Coffee - Pour over + a book on the beach = heaven

    Pour over + a book on the beach = heaven

    Pump Coffee - Pastries

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    Pastries

    Drift Cafe - coffee - Updated August 2026

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