My travels brought me up this way and I couldn't wait to stop by here. I found them a year ago and…read moreit is one of the best coffee places in San Jose. The last time I wanted the Santiago and ordered something different, which was good. But I got Santiago on this visit and it is one delicious signature coffees! The staff is really friendly! Especially so early in the morning. Luckily, they had just opened and it wasn't very crowded. This was a great way to start the morning!

Popped in to grab a matcha & 2 TGTG bags…read more * Line moved quickly, staff was friendly * Iced Tokyo matcha latte had a taste of cherry blossom, but it felt unbalanced b/c I asked for it without sugar syrup. Nice but I would likely skip it in favor of an Americano next time Tip: If using TGTG, check your purchased bag type & description vs. the contents of the bag you receive. We purchased meal bags but received 100% pastries, coworkers were happy for the unexpected treats.

Stopped in on a Monday morning and was so thankful there wasn't a line. I ordered the strawberry…read morematcha and my partner ordered a coffee (can't remember name). My matcha was AMAZING. I also got the passion fruit scone, yum! Service was very friendly and efficient. Lots of seating inside and out, so bring your furry friend.

I haven't been here for quite awhile. They have a shared parking lot. At noon on a Friday, there…read morewere two parking spaces left. At least four employees working that should have lots of energy. It's always good to see they're enjoying the coffee they sell behind the counter. There are 12 small tables, one huge shareable table, a small bar counter, and outdoor tables with whitish umbrellas. People in and out with tables opening up. Small wait for our lattes. They have concrete floors, pink & off white walls, with some tile work. This was really cool decor when they first opened. We got the Santiago latte - dark chocolate, blend of cayenne, ginger, and cinnamon. It was spicy and reminded me of Tajin. We also got the Lexington latte - sweetened reduced bourbon, plus vanilla accent. We got both with oat milk. I'm not a latte person but I like trying different flavors. Both were okay.

I went early morning, interestingly this coffee shop is attached to a seafood restaurant…read more But the ambience is a little dark but cozy. There was one lady working what appears to be both sides so I gave her grace to come get my order. She acknowledged me as soon as I walked in so I was okay waiting. I ordered the cookie butter cold brew which was be try smooth and the balance is nice here it's not milky or creamy from the cold foam. I really enjoy that it's not just plastered in sweet so I really enjoyed it.

Ordered a small hot lavender honey with oat milk and a sesame beagle with cream cheese…read more Total $11.00 Coffee was okay. Nothing special, you could really taste the lavender but did not blow me away. Beagle was eh. I wasn't anticipating the cream cheese spread to come in the pre-packaged small 1oz. (glen view farms) The atmosphere was blah, I came in early morning on a Tuesday and the vibes were not it. There was an older lady (I am assuming the manager) who brought out my drink and food. She was quite rude when I had asked for napkins (stating there was already some inside the beagle bag. There was ONE napkin). I didn't feel welcomed. I was in town visiting and figured I check out a local coffee shop instead of Starbucks. I should've just stopped at Starbucks. Don't recommend. Take your money elsewhere.

Really lovely little coffee shop that leans into that industrial warehouse vibe in the best way…read more The coffee was great--I ended up trying both on-tap cold brews on the day we went because I didn't realize that buying a bag of whole bean coffee came with a free coffee drink. With some coffees a second cup will give me a stomach ache (especially since I drink my cold brews black and bitter like my soul), but I had no problems with their cold brews! I also got the vegan stonefruit scone (baked by Sweet Dragon) and while a little on the dry side (common with scones), paired extremely well with the coffee and had good flavor. Husband got a cappuccino and a strawberry mini pie and was extremely pleased with his order. The service is friendly, but some things may have been new on the day we went. They almost forgot my cold brew until we asked at the counter, as well as stating that they didn't have anything to heat up my husband's strawberry pie (which seems odd, since a little toaster oven seems like a simple fix for that), but apparently it was fantastic at room temperature anyway. Seating was absolutely full when we got there and we were lucky to snag a table as another couple left, so it seems like a popular Saturday morning spot. Several folks were working on laptops, and it seems like a kid-friendly place. The decor is a clean and modern/trendy industrial style, which works well for the space, and the windows provide nice daylight. Overall, a good coffee shop and I am really happy to see vegan pastry options! My husband is getting into pinball, which was part of the motivation to come out and try Chromatic, so I am sure we'll be back again next time he wants to hit up Slingshot (in the same building), and I look forward to the coffee and treats!

Chromatic Coffee has convenient parking, though the space itself had a bit of a grunge, industrial…read morelook during my visit, likely made more apparent by ongoing construction nearby. The seating area is quite limited for the large crowd it attracts, making the atmosphere inside feel a bit chaotic at peak times. Fortunately, the baristas are super polite and work fast, keeping the long lines moving efficiently. The coffee menu and the retail bean selection are both impressive. I decided to try a dulce de leche coffee. While I was expecting a strong caramel profile of dulce de leche, the flavor turned out to be fairly subtle rather than prominent. It added a significant sweetness, but without knowing the order beforehand, identifying the exact flavor would have been tough. That said, the coffee itself was still refreshing The high quality of the coffee bean really shone through, delivering a rich aroma and the ideal caffeine kick for a breezy morning. Great coffee beans and fast service make it worth dropping in, even if the indoor seating situation is a bit tight.

After dinner, we found ourselves on the hunt for something sweet. As we were walking by Cafe Maiko,…read morethe matcha-themed menu immediately caught our attention, as none of us can resist a good matcha treat. Originally, I was planning to order a matcha latte, but one person in our group was craving ice cream while another wanted tapioca. Thankfully, we found the perfect compromise: a matcha soft serve topped with tapioca that managed to satisfy everyone's cravings in a single order. I was pleasantly surprised by how bold the matcha flavor was. It had a rich, authentic matcha taste without feeling overly heavy or bitter, and the soft serve itself was smooth and refreshing. The tapioca was another pleasant surprise. Even sitting on top of the ice cream, the pearls remained wonderfully chewy rather than hardening, which is something I've experienced at other shops. Overall, it was a simple treat that really hit the spot. If you're a matcha lover looking for a refreshing dessert, Cafe Maiko is definitely worth a stop.

Got a matcha frappe for like $7 and it was good! Not icy, still creamy. The only thing I wished was…read moremore matcha and less sweet, but I don't think they let you customized because they didn't ask me. Went on a Friday at 1:00pm and line wasn't long and waited like 5 mins for it to be done. Wished I could add toppings, but again they didn't asked.

People are so nice and pleasant!…read more Excellent coffee - perfect and pretty Cortado and I always appreciate glass for that drink. Love the just off campus vibe. Put this in your rotation.

Personally feel like I'm living a fever dream where everyone loves this place and enjoys the coffee…read moreand I'm the lone Scrooge who hates it. I don't think their coffee is any good. At all. I've enjoyed a few of their specialty seasonal drinks but those have never become core menu items. I am talking some really great items like mango matcha's, strawberry matcha's, lavendar latte's etc that I have thoroughly enjoyed but their core menu is not something I ever want to order from. They have really great stuffed croissants but those are also seasonal! My office catered pastries from here once and I still think about the spinach and cheese croissant we had alll the time! I have never seen it in their case though. And while they are really great, ~$8 for a pastry is highway robbery. Parking here is very difficult and I think most people who come here live nearby enough to walk. You gotta hope to get lucky with some street parking as they have no designated parking areas. I've had several odd cashier interactions where I am met with blank stares and no dialogue as I order. Today took the cake, however. When I ordered, the cashier looked at me confused. I picked up their menu and pointed to the item one I wanted. The cashier had to come find me again after placing my order to confirm it again. They have a seasonal chai listed and 'can be made into a pumpkin chai by request.' There was confusion around it coming with a shot of espresso and because my stomach has been completely wrecked since I had it, I think the they must have put two shots into my drink. In the past 5 hours, I've used the restrooms 4 times and eventually projectile vomited. I don't drink coffee often and had this in ONE sitting. I realize this is a unique experience as I do not drink espresso often but wanted to share so you all understand how strong their coffee is and seeing as how its across SCU, it DOES make sense why so many people come here. Upset is the least of what I feel right now and can confidently share I will not be back. Shits fucked up. No pun intended

Love that this location is in the middle of outdoor seating. Nice place to get coffee and hang out…read moreon a nice sunny day. Ordered an iced miso and it took a little longer than expected but the coffee was creamy and not bad.

They have one primary job: make good coffee drinks. The rest are cute details but don't neglect the…read moremission. My experience, after the hell that is trying to park at Santana row when you just want a coffee: I waited 20 min in line because, if I'm going to a cafe, I prefer human interaction to ordering on the app. Got to the window and ordered a regular whole milk latte, only to learn that they were out of cows milk. No sign for customers waiting in line. Kind of an important detail, no? A shrug from the barista that they planned to get more on the weekend?! Maybe I misheard. But... did I want oat milk instead? No.... Mooooooo. I mean boooo. Where my attitude comes from: 1) probably just being an old cranky person but possibly 2) I used to work at a cafe as a barista. If we ran out of milk, we basically ran out of our businesses' entire purpose. Sure mistakes happen when you're anticipating inventory needs. But when you notice the mistake, fix it quickly or you literally are losing business. I'd have gotten a manager to run to the grocery store to grab some milk to get though the day and keep things going. Obviously a large chain can't necessarily do that. I get it. But that is a big flop for a cafe not to have milk. My snobby judgement doesn't stop there. One of the employees who was headed out on break yelled to her coworker that she almost forgot her redbull. It struck me as surprising that a person who works at a top tier coffee chain would be drinking an energy drink and not...coffee? But that is 100% me being snobby and judgmental. It just capped the impression that this specific branch of Blue Bottle doesn't get the integrity of brand. I miss the original one in Oakland.

Such a cute and good coffee and breakfast spot! They have a lot of cute images and pictures in the…read moreshop with limited seating. They had a good selection of fun and different drinks and the AAron and matcha horchata drink is what we got and both not overly sweet and so good! For food, we got the green eggs and ham sandwich and it was so filling and good that I could only eat half! Altogether a solid spot for breakfast food and drinks and would definitely come back!

This was my first time visit here and I am pretty disappointed. I was really excited to try the…read moresourdough bagel, but it was actually two slices of sourdough bread with cream cheese...I know they're both bread but it is very different, and I did not like it! I honestly would've preferred a plain bagel instead. I ordered a vanilla iced latte with one pump of cardamom. I like cardamom, but even one pump was incredibly overpowering and ruined the drink for me. I did order ahead my drink, and "bagel" were ready. There happened to be a race downtown, which obviously isn't the café's fault, but after dealing with parking and walking over to pick everything up, it was extra disappointing to not enjoy either thing I ordered. The inside is cute, but overall this felt like a waste of time and money. I would've rather just gone to Starbucks or Peet's, and I'm not sure I'd come back.

I love the Mont Blanc. It's really creamy and sweet. It's probably too sweet for others but I enjoy…read moreit. They have two kiosks to order and live people for help. I don't know what happened. Am I getting too old? The ambiance has changed since my last visit. They took out the open book case separating half the cafe so it wasn't just open space. The long table was there and same with the bench seat against the wall but it just doesn't seem as cozy and cool as before. They moved the rack for used dishes by the door. The menu board is very white. It's a place you go with someone you're familiar with not someone you want to date or impress.

Honestly, I can't keep supporting this business with how bad the customer service is when the owner…read moreis around. He's always rude to me as a customer, and the employees look stressed when he's present / aren't friendly like usual. One time I forgot the restroom code and threw out my receipt already (same code is always printed on the bottom). I asked one of the baristas for the code, and the owner swooped over and scolded me for losing my receipt. He then told the barista that she can't give me the code unless she checks the transaction history on their computer to verify that I was a customer. Never mind that my boyfriend and I were dining in and clearly had food and coffee at the table that I just walked away from, or that the barista just gave us our order minutes prior- such a weird way to treat your regular customers. It's embarrassing that I kept going back after that. I like how their coffee tastes though, and especially that I order for here and get it in a "big mug." It's literally the only reason I pick this place over other coffee shops. Today I received my overpriced coffee (~$9 each!) in cheap paper cups and mentioned that I ordered for here. The owner immediately lied and said the mugs were only for regular sized coffees, not large size. I was literally here yesterday drinking a large coffee from a mug. He could have just said the mugs were dirty, or the dishwasher was broken. He said that after I pointed out the lie, ha. I would have still given 2/5 stars because the food and coffee are REALLY good despite how unpleasant the owner is, but they also recently changed their menu photos to AI slop. 0/5 if I could.

I was pretty nervous trying this place since it was hyped up quite a bit on YouTube. For a lot of…read morematcha places I've tried that were "hyped" up in the past, they usually aren't good. There's street parking (if you're willing to walk a few minutes). They also have parking behind the cafe though it's limited. I was pleasantly surprised. My sister and I went yesterday afternoon and there was no line. I asked for the staff member's recommendation who said that I try their banana matcha (what I ended up ordering). My sister ordered the guava matcha. Both drinks were soooo good! From what I read from reviews, it's really a hit or miss depending on the day. The banana matcha was absolutely delicious! You can still taste the matcha while having a hint of real banana. Definitely not some artificial banana flavoring. My sister isn't the biggest fan of guava and she enjoyed her matcha too! 10/10. There's lots of seating indoors and outdoors. It's also next to the Valleyfair mall.

I've had Academic a few times already. This was my first time at this location. Parking was awful,…read moreeven for a Friday morning at 10AM.. Ain't y'all got work or something (I was coming home from the dentist). Luckily I found a spot after circling the lot one time, got my drinks, and was in and out within 15 minutes. I finally got to try the Melon Matcha, which was delicious! I recently had the King Jasmine Melon matcha from Heytea or something, and it just did not hit. I know these aren't identical drinks, but I've been craving something good with melon flavor, and this hit the spot. For the 2nd drink, I got one of our usual go-to's, the guava matcha. Pretty good overall. I've knocked on their prices before. Still steep and more than I'd like to pay for my matcha, but it IS good. Still, costs about $1.5-2+ more than other places in my experience.