I'm sure they're doing their best in a tough economic environment but WOW have they changed. Their sandwiches were robust and worth $14 but now they're $18.50 and little filling- they left the turkey off my Club sandwich and even the turkey pesto was very thin. Not worth the money. I'm not going for sandwiches anymore......Beware. read more

Good but not cheap lunch food, decent coffee, often superb soups, a friendly atmosphere and convenient location make this a really solid choice. The recent elimination of the croissants was pretty sad, though, especially the top-notch spinach feta croissant. They also dropped the truly excellent cole slaw they used to serve with sandwiches and such. Those and other cuts from the menu are the main reasons that I don't think they're quite the five-star place I feel they were a few years ago. Still good though. read more

Great food and VIBE here at both Java Beach locations. I highly recommend the Tsunami sandwich, or the curry chicken salad wrap, both are absolutely FIRE... Support your LOCAL SUNSET NATIVE establishments, and you will NOT be disappointed. read more

The sandwiches, beverages and pastries are descent, just a bit pricy. The servers are pleasant. It is located across from the SF Zoo and Ocean beach which is convenient. Street parking is available. read more

Food was great and tasty! The lady's up front were very nice and sweet! Cute spot and not far from the beach! The chips were good and I recommend the butterscotch Latte!!! The pesto and sandwich was good and the bacon was tasty and crisp! read more

Came here with my date. Wanted something light. Decided to try a salad. Salad is huge with lots of grill chicken. It's super delicious. Staff are friendly and very nice. One of the guys was singing the old school hiphop songs from the '80s. Atmosphere is really nice. Good place to bring a date. Decor is nice. Dining area is clean. Restroom is clean too. The latte is super yummy. Perfect. My date and I enjoyed our dinner. I definitely recommend this place and i will definitely return for some more Latte! Parking is a bit challenging but no problem at night ti read more

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The Stacy Mexican Salad was great. The only compliant I have is when the young lady that made my salad, she dropped the first half of the avocado & proceeded to pick it up with the same hand to finish my salad & never removed her gloves. Great atmosphere though. read more

First, the good news. When we stay in the area, this is our go-to breakfast spot. Friendly service, excellent baked goods & coffee, very good (albeit limited) breakfast menu... I love their bacon and egg breakfast burrito, but I miss the sausage and egg breakfast sandwich that remains on the Yelp menu (but is no longer available). I like a bit more variety for multi-day visits. read more

Soda bread was light and fluffy, with a crunchy exterior! Not a lot of fruit on top...teensy bit dry...would have been perfect if the jam and butter that it was supposed to come with were in the bag. Sigh. We first arrived cheerful and excited to be out and about, and a four-star experience sounded so promising...especially at a location chock full of fond memories of chili dogs and fries at what used to be Doggie Diner! And then the disaffected young adult with the "whaddaya want/please leave" attitude. Coffee was mediocre at best...for what we paid for the salmon with our everything bagels, we could have purchased an entire package of smoked salmon, but instead got barely a slice each with a LOT of tomato to cleverly look like you had a generous serving of salmon... No. Bad Doggie. Not a worthwhile experience. read more

Java Beach At The Zoo - Soda bread - Coffee & Tea Near Me - San Francisco, California

We stopped by after our visit to the SF zoo couple of weeks ago. It had some good reviews and it is in a perfect location. Our experience was average. We ordered two different types of salad with "unique" dressings. The dressing of both was okay, maybe even tasteless one one. The ingredients had a really odd proportion, a huge amount of arugula with few pieces of any of the other ingredients. The bread was stale. I mean it seemed like they worked hard and might have good pastries, but nothing would make me want to go back. read more

Java Beach At The Zoo - Coffee & Tea Near Me - San Francisco, California

We were walking to the beach and decided we should grab some food and have our lunch at the beach. We happened to be walking right by Java Beach at the Zoo. We walked in with low expectations. (We've found that delis and restaurants near sights and tourist spots tend to dial down their quality and service since they've already got a captive audience of folks who don't know where else to go.) Our order was taken by a smiling and friendly woman. We didn't wait long for our three sandwiches. Two were hot sandwiches and one was cold. They were well wrapped, and placed in a bag to go. They provided free chips with each order too. The sandwiches were massive. They had correctly added/subtracted all our customizations. The quality of the filings were superb. I had the Tsunami, but asked for it cold. My friends, respectively, had a hot Tsunami and a turkey club. We were all very happy with our order. Two of us saved half of our sandwiches and had the other half for dinner - that's how big the sandwiches were! Kudos to their great service and good food! read more

An order at the counter and find a table place. Food is basic but good. There is care in the food preparation. They have Irish soda bread which looks good. Sort of looking like a scone. Service is conducted by friendly staff. Ambiance is a hard one to put a finger on, but not bad. Kind of an international flair in the mornings at least. Next to an Irish Society type building. Seems like there could be a few retired guys, from the old country may hang out. I would give it 3.5 stars because it is a pretty good value for the money. read more

If you come early in the morning it's easy to find parking. Super friendly staff, but the place isn't that clean. Enough sitting space to eat your delicious treat. Hummus Veggie Bagel: 4.6/5 I had this on an Asiago bagel. Very creamy and crunchy. You could taste every single fresh ingredient. It was filling, but if you're super hungry you might want to get an additional item. Onion bagel with pesto cream cheese and hummus: 4.4 A great snack before a walk/run. The hummus was delicious- lots of flavor. The pesto cream cheese was a little overwhelming, but it's pretty good and fresh. This bagel was super small. Dark Roast Coffee: 2.9/5 Personally, their dark roast was intensely strong and bitter. I couldn't drink it black so I had to add milk and a whole packet of Splenda. Even then, it was hard to drink. If you love strong coffee this is for you- not me. I'll try their medium and lighter roast next time! read more

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I have been coming here since they opened by the Zoo. It's usually to try to get a moments peace from my own job. BOTH Java Beach places do a nice job keeping a slightly rustic look and fresh food. I LOVE them both surviving in SF neighborhoods! Drinks: All coffee drinks are 3 to 4/5 - black coffee is on the dark-dark tasting side. The latte is stronger w 4 shots (for a big coffee drinker) but frothy. Chai latte is sweet and had good flavor. Soda Bread: good heated and w a pad of butter. It is usually crisp on the edges and a little moist in the middle that way, rather than on the dry side ...but you need the butter. 5/5 as far as soda breads go. Salads: always very good. Greens are always perky! We tried them all. 5/5 Sandwiches: always generous and tasers after a walk at the Zoo or the beach. 4 to 5/5 - some breads used in their sandwiches used to be better and I still miss the tall Kelly Gold "blocks"! Service: can be touchy at the Zoo location, unlike at the end of Irving Street. Ugh ... lost points here. Well, gosh, I hate to take off a star ... and it's because of uncalled for tension served to us an another visitor along with our orders ... for the young pony-tailed gal making the coffee drinks ... quite rude as she pushed the drinks towards us, then stormed out loudly complaining (on a cell phone) about how employees should be treated "as humans". Maybe she was having a bad day but the patrons are trying to get away from theirs and paying much for that experience. Though not Java Beach's fault per se, perhaps some "interaction" training for younger hires may be a good thing. read more

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COVID review -- I'm shocked that it took me 16 years to try out Java Beach At The Zoo! Ever since I was little, I have always seen this spot packed but never bothered to try the place out. I figured it was always close by so I would always have the chance to try it some day. Does better late than never count? **What we ordered: -1 Cold Press/Cold Brew (7/10 rating) -1 Smoked Salmon Sunrise Bagel (8/10 rating) -1 Vegetarian Breakfast Burrito (8/10) -Total: approx. $30 Ordering process: Order inside, wait outside, go up to the window when they yell out your order Customer service was very friendly! I really appreciated the girl giving me options on how I wanted my cold brew made. Considering I am not a fan of cold brew due to the after taste, she actually made it pretty good to where I was willing to finish it. Considering there were few people waiting and infant of us that ordered, we did not have to wait long. We waited about 10 minutes. Parking is pretty decent even though it is next to a busy street. I wouldn't mind coming back here to get my coffee fix and a quick bite to start the morning! read more

Waste of time and money. Order 2 sandwiches and 3 drinks= $44.76 Friend was was allergic to tomatoes and they still had tomatoes. Asked for ham, got only bacon. Waited for 20 minutes to be called to pick up our orders, left in front of the cashier table in front of other people paying. Asked where drinks were at, was asked what drinks I had ordered. Do not buy the chocolate cold dew, tastes more sour than soy sauce. Order ice cream and root beer , paid 18.20. Overpriced and not even a receipted. Just a bunch of kids workin without any experience when it comes to rush hour. read more

Java Beach At The Zoo - Only bacon, no ham - Coffee & Tea Near Me - San Francisco, California

Great food. Everything is always very fresh. Good, strong coffee. Indoor and outdoor seating. Friendly service. Java Beach is run by a family with deep roots in the neighborhood. It's a great place, especially if you're on the way to the zoo or the beach. read more

Great little cafe with indoor & outdoor seating. Right across from the zoo and walking distance to the beach. Service was fast and friendly. I had the Turkey lavash wrap it perfect to share and delicious. read more

Java Beach is a cute little rustic cafe a few blocks away from the beach and SF Zoo. If you're looking to enjoy a nice cup of joe and/or a lunch, then this will do nicely. It's a little small so it can get cramped, particularly on weekends. Aside from coffee, Java Beach also offers decent sandwiches and salads. Maybe grab a bagel or pastry instead. If none of that fancies you, you could get soft serve ice cream or draft beer. Yeah, surprise, this coffee shop also serves beer too! So while nothing here is going to blow your mind in terms of flavor, it's consistent and good enough to get you through the day. Prices are a little on the higher end but what's new? Parking is limited to street parking but what else is new? read more

Java Beach At The Zoo - San Patricio Sandwich - Coffee & Tea Near Me - San Francisco, California

Love Java Beach at The Zoo, favorite breakfast spot the soup is yummy and we're big fans of their ham & cheese croissant , bagels , and coffees! I really like their vanilla latte or the butterscotch one! Great service always smiles and nice warm atmosphere read more

I had a mediocre breakfast burrito that had already been pre made since earlier in the morning. I could tell because of the textured of the flour tortilla being wrapped in aluminum wrap. It was also awfully small for what it cost, $14 I wouldn't even recommend this place to my worst enemy, that's how personal I took this crappy place. read more

Blonde Cashier clerk was pretty rude, seemed annoyed and had a rude tone. Would just have a nice morning if people at least act happy when speaking to customers:/ read more

Aloha Friday! We got our last coffee before heading back to San Clemente. We really enjoyed our stay and love coming to Java Beach each morning. The staff very welcoming "Aloha served here." Paige is awesome. read more

Java Beach At The Zoo - Small Mocha Espresso - Coffee & Tea Near Me - San Francisco, California

My oldest daughter and I are in San Francisco visiting my youngest daughter and wanted to grab a light snack so we found Java Beach on Yelp. Good ratings so we checked it out! I got the cinnamon roll shaped like a huge piece of square French toast. I asked the server what were the ingredients and she said, "a whole lot of butter and sugar." I said, "I'll take it!" I had it warmed too. It was definitely buttery, sugary, lots of cinnamon, and DELISH!!! I ate half because it was really rich and too much for one person. We sat outside and it was very nice but the angle of the sun zeroed in on my big forehead...lol so we had to move. Very cute, down-home, beach-side cafe. The staff was friendly and accommodating - if anyone is in the area definitely stop by as they had a lot of breakfast and lunch menu selections! Happy Yelping #SYOY read more

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Oh no!! I love this place so it pains me to have to give you a two star rating but how on earth can you charge 975 for this little stub of a sandwich? I am appalled that you are price gouging your customers. I've come here for years and I've never received such a skinny sandwich. Two small Italian sodas, one ham and cheese croissant, and two heated subs for $36? Oh my goodness something is wrong. For a small sandwich, I barely see any meat. Ps. My hands are fairly small (just like trump) What's going on? read more

Java Beach At The Zoo - Coffee & Tea Near Me - San Francisco, California

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This place is really solid. Gets popular, so recommend calling ahead. Particularly like the bagels with lox (and yummy coffee drinks).

I love the Java Beach locations. They are consistently consistent in their foods and everything served there is locally sourced. Not only that, but both of these locations have a local neighborhood vibe that just seems "right". Even with all the weekend out-of-neighborhooders, it still tends to keep that local neighborhood beach vibe. The added benefit (or downside depending on your opinion of kids in general) of this location is that it's constantly full of happy kids since it's right across the street from the zoo. I would say that the only downside is that it is a bit overpriced especially for the Sunset. A 3-star rating is good from me so I do recommend this place. I'd rate it higher if the prices were closer to other establishments in the area. read more

This place is so cozy! The staff is friendly and attentive. The food is delish! I got the BBQ hot sub with chips and it was yummy!

WOW, Thanks Java Beach at the Zoo for making the perfect bacon breakfast burritos! We placed our order online and it was ready in minutes. The burritos had a good amount of bacon, eggs, and cheese all snuggled I. a perfectly warmed tortilla. I appreciate that hot sauce was offered at the pickup window too. Can't wait to come back to try the other varieties! read more

Java Beach At The Zoo - Bacon Breakfast Burrito - Coffee & Tea Near Me - San Francisco, California

My family loves coming here for sandwiches and soft serve. Especially on a hot day, lots of people come here for the soft serve. Pricing here are pretty reasonable! My favor here is the hot veggie sandwich. Comes with avocado and veggies on toasted baguette. Tsunami sandwich is also very popular here! If you have a dog, they've outdoor seating. Also provide water outside for your pet. read more

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A bit pricey, but awesome location and food/drink selection! Three stars solely from my experience with a drink (no food order). Located right across from the SF Zoo and down the street from Ocean Beach, this cafe is conveniently located to grab a bite or coffee in the area. I don't know about parking during zoo hours, but during the late afternoon on a weekday, it was a breeze to get parking along Sloat. There are small tables outside to enjoy nice weather as well as tables for 2-4 inside as well as high single bar stools. Free wifi also makes this a nice place to work when it's not extremely packed. The great thing about this cafe on top of the location is that they have an extensive sandwich and bagel menu. And based on the amount of crumbs on the tables, these are super popular items! While the prices of these items seem more expensive than others (between $6-10), they seem good to try. They also have soft-serve ice cream that is great for the kids that come through with their parents. I opted solely for a large (16oz) chai latte. It was warm and comforting on a windy though sunny day. However, it wasn't anything overly special. At $4.75, I thought it was a bit pricey, but worth paying if you plan to work here or head to the beach. Maybe I'll try one of their sandwiches next time! read more

Java Beach At The Zoo - Menu - Coffee & Tea Near Me - San Francisco, California

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I paid $20 for a mediocre sandwich and chips. The place felt like there was a layer of grime on the tables and chairs. I ordered a Java club at the register and told him I wanted turkey. I ended up with a chicken Java club, which was fine, I guess. I didn't want to send it back. Note that the chicken was fresh chicken, but it was cut up into cubes. Made it a bit hard to eat because the cube pieces kept falling out of the sandwich. I realize the turkey version was fresh turkey, not deli turkey in case that's something you're interested in. The sandwich was fine but for $20 I felt like I could get something elsewhere. And I think I could've received better service with the cleaner environment. read more

A warm, wonderfully friendly, happy neighborhood joint. Staff are great. Special mention: the soft serve there is especially good (and has been for years). May well be the best I have had anywhere. Much love to the team -- keep doing whatever you are doing! read more

*EDITED* {The owner reached out to me as soon as I posted this and approached the situation with professionalism. Given that I've never had a bad experience at Java Beach before, I'm inclined to believe that this was a one-time mistake with someone who was not an employee, and that they'll do better at enforcing their mask policy in the future. I've amended my rating to reflect that.} I've been coming to this cafe on and off for years now. Generally good/sometimes excellent food, slightly high prices, great ambiance. Unfortunately, on my most recent visit, I observed numerous Covid safety lapses that left me feeling unsafe and, quite frankly, angry and concerned. The first thing I noticed was that their outdoor dining area (basically a bench on the sidewalk) was not only still open but was fully occupied by a family eating and talking maskless. With them on one side of the sidewalk, and the line to order forming on the other side, you had to pass right next to the maskless diners in order to get by. Then, as I was standing in line, I noticed a man going back and forth from inside the restaurant to his pickup truck, not wearing a mask. He walked right past the barriers they had put up in between the ordering area and the indoors dining area, and none of the employees said anything. Although all of the employees were wearing masks and following Covid protocols, this man walked maskless multiple times past/close to customers in line and stayed inside the cafe for about 5 minutes, totally maskless, endangering staff and customers. I was shocked and super disappointed to see such behavior. read more

Update: the cafe closes at 9pm now (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/iRmdKzcbdFLIp3s9e4xrHA?select=JmgJUzPCA_vodSMQw8_fAw). The service is still good. There are not that m(any) cafes in the Outer Sunset by Ocean Beach, let alone one that opens late into evenings...everyday. Java Beach is one. This place also serves beers and wines, yep, so also useful and cool! For seating, there are a few stools by the order-counter with a wine-by-the-glass list posted on a chalkboard (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/iRmdKzcbdFLIp3s9e4xrHA?select=YEtt8139P6XdhPrKUSg59w). Otherwise, it's all wooden chairs and bench-style seatings but those are usually occupied, making a visit hit or miss if you want to hang around. The tables are all sticky though, probably due to wood type more than dirtyness. There are two doors, the main one leads to the order counter (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/iRmdKzcbdFLIp3s9e4xrHA?select=KqsAsREGADtylaR2wndIGQ) - the other door leads to the seating section. Also, there's just one unisex restroom. Easy to get to and find, it is located at the edge of Sloat Blvd (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/iRmdKzcbdFLIp3s9e4xrHA?select=ijUxdph8yTfoDeFrl8ItwA) near Ocean Beach, and right across from the SF Zoo's side entryway. I'll be stopping by frequently if anywhere near the area. read more

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I am beyond upset at the fact that today I ordered a latte and ended up with hardware from their machine in my cup. I didn't realize it till I had drank half of my drink. Thankfully I got it to go and this used a lid/cover, because that's the only reason I didn't end up at the ER. I will be calling to speak to management tomorrow and will be happy to bring back their piece of equipment. Very sad to have this be one of my first updates in 2019. read more

Java Beach At The Zoo - WTH???!!! - Coffee & Tea Near Me - San Francisco, California

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The perfect, little beachside cafe. This place is cute, and great for a quick coffee and snack on your way to or from the beach. We grabbed a bagel sandwich and a ham and cheese croissant, and both were quite good, really satisfied the craving. When we were here on a weekend morning, it was quite busy so we had to hurry and order, so I can't speak to the service. Overall, it was a good experience. read more

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Neighborhood cafe. First choice for breakfast. Cheap price, great coffee & nice staffs read more

Java Beach At The Zoo - Chocolate - Coffee & Tea Near Me - San Francisco, California

Love love this place. It is by the beach and there's plenty of parking!! Double stars just for that cuz parking is ridicilous in SF! Now onto the food, i got the San Patricio and its HUGEEEE i was full after eating half and had to give the rest to my friend. I also got Arnorld Palmer and it was more on the sour side but still OK, i'd probably get the ice tea next time. Oh downside is that there aren't many seating areas and it filled up fast since people come here in the laptops and stay for awhile. Unless its sunny outside then they have tables outside too! Can't wait to be back and try their salads! read more

Java Beach At The Zoo - Big portions! Yummmm - Coffee & Tea Near Me - San Francisco, California

Once again...perfect little coffee shop with a great cup of joe. Next to a decent hotel ..across from SF zoo...ocean view from seats outside. Clean, fresh morning ocean breeze and Beatles playing...good morning to me! read more

Java Beach At The Zoo - View at 7:15am on a Monday...holiday. - Coffee & Tea Near Me - San Francisco, California

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