Very good coffee, very good espresso drinks - and not the longest wait for coffee in SF. So, if this is all there were to a coffee place, then we'd be at 4.5 stars.
The espresso drinks are well done and arrive as quickly as can be expected (a line is a line, and if its crowded, there will be a looong wait.). The mocha is exceptionally good if you like a less-sweet chocolate balance.The filtered coffees take forever...yes you can watch the slow, methodical approach they take, stirring each filtered batch as they pour...and hope none of the espresso drinkers slip around you and take the last seat... So to recap: espresso drinks very good, filtered coffee very good, the wait can be a drag.
UPDATE: I wrote a review about a year or so ago, that complained about how dark the place was in the back and how this, combined with the bright street light, made it pretty unpleasant to sit and work. BUT the interior space is much changed now (2013)...its brighter, with better lighting, and overall much less bright/dark contrast..(i obsess a little over this because I think space and design have a lot to do with how enjoyable a place can be..). So, well, I'll keep the old rant here, just so i can come back and admire my own writing from time to time, but i do feel that the Ritual people have taken steps to really improve the space, and i for one, appreciate the changes..
Original, now-out-of-date rant: "If you choose to stay, and are particular about the atmosphere and space wherein you drink your over-priced cup of Joe, then this place drops a full 2 stars. What works about it is that overall, its a fairly relaxed atmosphere...and overall that is a very good thing when drinking a cup, in my opinion. Is the atmosphere pretentious? Not really..but the space, furniture and lighting are not expertly thought out and kind of a drag now that I think on it...because for a place that celebrates the ritual of coffee making, and coffee flavor, they should pay attention to the experience of sitting in the space and drinking the stuff. Am I mad about this? - a little, yes I am. Design and space is important. So I'm just saying that the space, lighting and furniture, taken together, fall flat. There is one big wooden table which is cool...that's it...and the individual tables, as actual single-stem wooden-topped tables are fine...what doesn't work: the really dark and light walls, against the bright glare of the street-side window is actually disconcerting if you are in the darker, back half of the place. Combine these high-contrast light-levels with a computer screen and its kind of stressful. The eye can't adjust to stark differences in light like this. This is basic design lighting 101 - cut down the glare, even-out the the contrasts or the eye will be stressed and lose details. Try sitting in the back and looking towards someone in the front - you feel like a Chilean miner emerging from the pit. Also, everyone in the place is on a laptop, so one would think the place had enough outlets...it doesn't. They should just go on Angie's list, get an electrical contractor and add a circuit with 3 outlets...why is that not important to the owners? Everyone during the day seems to be diligently working...one wall has zero outlets, but 3 tables, and the middle tables are out of luck. Its not trivial if you want to utilize the flow of electrons to run your machine called a computer...as you move towards the back, where about 15 patrons usually sit, the whole space is just...blah...there's a couch, with a half-sized table sort of in front of it, and the open back door makes the space feel like a forgotten back porch that dad will get around to fixing up once the kids are grown. So, the space falls pretty flat, and takes away from the experience, rather than creating, enhancing, supporting the experience of drinking coffee." read more