The Coffee Corner

Open on Memorial Day until 2 pm!…read more We came here on Memorial Day to pleasantly find this place was open. The coffee sells itself here. They have açaí bowls and lemonade here now. I like this place because it's off the busy streets near this industrial part of town. The coffee grinds could not be any fresher, the roasting is done behind the counter. This place also has a location downtown which I have been to also.

One of the best horchata lattes I've ever had…read more Cute decor and great customer service. The location was a bit off but glad I checked this place out. Will most definitely return to try others and the pastries.

Staging a bit:)

Fun figurine!

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Fake olive tree so cute

Kaffee Meister

4.2(406 reviews)

0.7 mi

I came to this coffee shop on a Friday evening for a card show/ trade show. The shop stayed open…read morepast their business hours and trading card vendors were set up around the shop. Inside the shop they allowed people to bring their own trading card collection to trade with each other. They had specialty drinks made specifically for the show, Pokemon themed. There's a good amount of seating inside and seems like a good place to hang out or study. They have different books and board games around the shop too. I tried two drinks when I came. I got the coconut matcha because it was one of the themed drinks but wasn't impressed with it. I probably should've known better than to order matcha at a coffee shop but I'm a sucker for coconut. For my second (redemption) drink I got the Samoa which was a mocha, coconut, and caramel latte. This one was delicious. It had a great coffee flavor with a nice smooth caramel companion. It wasn't overly sweet and not bitter at all. The baristas were all great too. My drinks came out quickly despite it being busy with the show. Definitely a great coffee shop to check out!

Becky and I only get fancy coffee from a fancy coffee shop if we are with people who want fancy…read morecoffee from a fancy coffee shop. Becky and I are not well versed in the world of fancy coffee, so we typically rely on those we are with to provide recommendations. Saturday we were on our own. We wanted a late afternoon pick-me-up and Kaffee Meister is a very short distance from our house. I walked in and was warmly greeted by the pleasant young woman behind the counter (I did not catch her name). I asked for two caramel iced coffees. She very nicely and patiently explained to me the different options of my generic "iced coffees" term. Lattes, cold brews, espressos, etc. Her recommendation was Caramel Frappes, so that is what I ordered. One with whipped cream (for Becky) and mine without. As I waited, I looked around the room. It was really cool. Very homey, neighborhood cafe vibe. A few tables and a couch and comfy chairs along with some tables and chairs dotted the room. The room was really nicely decorated. I liked the spiral staircase shelving. They have some outdoor seating as well. In addition to coffees, they offer a food menu. Pastries, bagels, açaí bowls, sandwiches and the like. I drive by Kaffee Meister almost daily and often I will see that they have live music which is cool. I waited maybe three or four minutes for my name to be called, and I was handed my two frappes. I like a simple cup o' Joe. Black, no sugar, no sweeteners. At home I drink Kirkland brand ground coffee from a drip coffee maker. That said, I really enjoyed the Caramel Frappe. It was not too sweet and retained subtle coffee flavor. Becky very much enjoyed hers too. Neither of us had ever had a frappe before. We were surprised by the milkshake-like creamy texture. They provided the perfect pick-me up we were looking for. About 17 bucks after tip. We'd return for sure.

Inside

Carrot cake muffin, YUM

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Inside

The Lean Bean

4.5(288 reviews)

0.8 mi

1,2,3 bowls please!! 10/10! Must try!…read more *Support local spots!* I write a lot of reviews, and this spot stands out. The açaí has a great texture--thick, smooth, and not watered down. The balance is what keeps me coming back: fresh fruit, crunchy granola, and a rich base in every bite. Everything tastes fresh and well put together. Honestly, I'm lucky this place is only 3 minutes from home. It's an easy go-to.

Nice quick drive through spot for some coffee and açaí or pitaya bowl. Prices are on point…read more Tried: Funky monkey - good Vanilla latte half sweet - good, nice strong coffee flavor. Pitaya bowl - good Banana açaí delight bowl - good The bowls melted super fast (took it to the park nearby) so eat quickly!

Açaí bowl

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Daboba

4.5(205 reviews)

0.6 mi

I love it here. The inside is so quaint! They make the most of the space they have. It smells…read moredelish inside. They offer roasted brown sugar boba, milk teas, coffees fruit teas, smoothies and yogurt series bobas. Everything I've tried is delish and I've tried at least one menu item in each category. You can't go wrong! Shhhhh... I think it's my fave boba spot in Santee! Stop in!

FYI, if you order the Brown Sugar Pearl Fresh Milk with sugar-free sweetness, you're essentially…read morejust ordering a cup of milk. I was really disappointed when I got my drink because there was absolutely no tea flavor, just a big cup of sweet milk (see photo). I ended up ordering another drink because I didn't come here to drink a glass of milk, but the woman at the counter wouldn't let me swap the drink out at no charge. She wasn't rude, but she also wasn't particularly empathetic or apologetic about the situation. I had to pay for an entirely new drink, which also wasn't made at the 25% sugar level I had originally requested. I ended up throwing the milk drink away. :( That said, the new drink brown sugar Pearl milk tea was much closer to what I wanted, and the boba pearls had a great texture and came in a good portion. I just wish the first drink had been explained better and that there had been some willingness to replace it, since I definitely wasn't expecting to receive an entire cup of milk instead of a milk tea. The ambiance of the place is cute.

Strawberry smoothie with brown sugar pearls, Thai tea with honey pearls and Taro smoothie with brown sugar pearls. So yummy!!!

Mango Kumquat Green Tea

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Strawberry Yogurt with Boba and Creme Brulee

The Coffee Bar

4.8(24 reviews)

2.0 mi

Lovely place! Great study space with amazing prices and delicious beverages + food. Wish I found…read moreout about this place sooner :)

Ambience is great and the seating is comfortable. However, when I arrived I had a small window of…read moretime, and it happened to be when the barista was on break. It would have been nice to know that there was a "closed for break" time. Breaks are valid and necessary, but so is communication.

Crushed that churro latte. And I did have an amazing day. Thanks guys.

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Public Square

4.5(1.2k reviews)

5.6 mi

Portions here are huge, so definitely come hungry. I had the chia pudding, and my sisters and…read morehusband enjoyed their meals. I did find the Not-So-Old-Fashioned Biscuits and Gravy to have an overpowering rosemary flavor. If you like rosemary, you might enjoy them. The breakfast sandwich was tasty, and I loved the Black Sesame Latte. They provide non-dairy milk, which I appreciate. Service was great, and the restaurant setting was warm and inviting.

Public Square has been closed since April after staff walked out and eventually quit due to unpaid…read morewages. Unfortunately, this place was on the decline leading up to these events. It would usually take a half hour to get a simple drink order. Food that was previously wow turned into meh (I'm looking at you, shashuka). I don't blame the baristas. I don't think the business owners ever properly streamlined their ordering process / menu to get items out effectively. I hope we get something nice to replace this space.

Their logo

This wall

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It's so beautiful inside!

The Simple Coffee House

4.6(333 reviews)

4.3 mi•San Carlos

First time trying this place through DoorDash, and definitely won't be the last (need to visit in…read moreperson). Their acai bowl is so simple but it's perfectly portioned especially the Nutella on top. You get exact portion per spoonful. Their coffee is also very good I grabbed the 16oz hot Nutella latte with oatmilk it was also very tasty. I realize now that I was in a Nutella morning kick.

I found myself in San Carlos mid-day, mid-week. I was running between work and a hair…read moreappointment. I had barely had a chance to have lunch so was really happy to randomly see a coffee shop to grab a cold coffee on a hot day to bring with me to my hair appointment. Parking was easy and I walked into the coffee shop. There was no wait at all at that time. I browsed the menu and decided on an iced Simple Special which was basically an iced mint latte. I ordered it with nonfat milk I waited for only a couple of minutes for my drink to be made. During that time I saw that they were playing records and had several records for sale. That was really cool. If I lived in the area I would definitely hang out and listen to records while sipping on coffee. The reason for only 4 stars.... my charge was abut $8 which felt a bit stiff for only the 16 oz drink. It made me wary of what a 20 oz would cost. All in all, I had a good experience at The Simple Coffee House. My drink had good flavor without being overly sweet. I liked the records and the vibe at the coffeehouse.

Indoors

Toasted iced coffee! wish i took a shot before i started drinking! ‍

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Jalapeño bagel with cream cheese

The Coffee Corner

4.2(125 reviews)

1.1 mi

This place is still one of those small, locally owned businesses, and I love it. The staff is…read morealways friendly and helpful. I enjoy their signature lattes when I'm in the mood for a sweet treat. On my recent visit, I ordered the Havana Latte. The vanilla powder helps give the drink a slightly creamer texture, and the caramel adds a nice touch. Obviously this drink is on the sweeter side, but I'd also say it's not overpowering, you can still get some of that coffee taste. Their americanos are strong, and their drip coffee is good. When I'm ordering those, I like to keep them black and avoid the creams and sugars, but they do offer simple creamer and sugars at their coffee station if you want to doctor hours up a bit. I haven't been to their other location, but this one does have some small food items and prepackaged pastries if you need a quick bite. My friends have also purchased their retail coffee beans and enjoyed them. I'll have to grab some myself and update when I do. If you're going to get a sweet drink, I'd highly recommend ditching the Starbucks usual and give this place a try instead. They do have a drive-thru as well, but PLENTY of parking is available.

Amazing! I got the Black Forest signature drink blended and it was the best coffee I've had! I will…read moredefinitely be back! Service was excellent and the ambiance is like a coffee shop. Nice coffee shops aren't too different from each other in terms of ambiance I think :)

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Jaunt Coffee Roasters

I love this place and that's I have to stop by here at least 2-3 times a week. From their service…read moreto their drinks they really do give a damn about how people feel. One of the girls literally remembers me and my brothers. Him and I never been there together. She just knew by looking at us haha. Honestly she really does give off good energy in the morning to start your day. Theres also a couple of guys always being attentive to giving you any extra things you need behind the counter! The other thing I love about this place is the food! The burritos and pastries are amazing. A bonus I really like is their support for other businesses for example like a local hot sauce company with their food. Or the chocolate they use for their drinks is from a local San Diego company. This is truly amazing!!! You have to stop by and give it a try. The only down side I would say is the parking spaces are very tight but this isn't their fault!

I love the creations that this coffee shop comes up with! I tried their seasonal salted vanilla…read morelatte with pistachio cold foam, and it was outstanding. If you're bringing your furry friend the outside space is limited. It's a canopy tent with four tables underneath. It does look like this place gets crowded so might be better to leave the pups at home. Additionally I saw that since this place has to negotiate parking space with the other tenants they recommend parking your car on the street if you're planning on working/studying. The parking in the lot is difficult to come by even if you're just swinging by to pick up a beverage. For this reason I give this place a 4, but for their drinks alone it's a solid 5

Freshly baked empanadas are available in beef, chicken, mushroom & goat cheese, sweet corn & basil, bacon & egg, and ham & cheese.

Five different breakfast burritos! Comes with a side of salsa.

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Flat White

Red White and Badass Brew

4.7(130 reviews)

5.0 mi

Veteran-owned & operated

Drive-thru

I searched up best coffee in La Mesa, picked the first recommended place, and am happy I did so…read more I just moved to San Diego from San Francisco and found myself in La Mesa applying for jobs. I needed a quick coffee to end my day and after searching the best coffee in La Mesa, Red White and Badass Brew was the first to pop up. The owner was super nice-I didn't get his name-and he walked with me through the menu as I haven't had specialty coffee drinks like these before. I went with his recommendation of the whiskey latte (iced) and also decided to try the toasted tan lines (iced) When I tell you, my first sip transported me back to the 2013-2016 era of coffee culture when specialty drinks were first starting to get popular, I am being so serious. Both the whiskey latte and toasted tan lines were full of so much flavor. The toasted tan lines took me straight back to my trip to Kauai in 2013 and the whiskey latte was reminiscent of a latte I would get in middle school from a Brazilian small business. There was just something so nostalgic about these lattes that I had to immediately write a review. So many coffee shops lack the flavor of the 2010s before companies cut corners and scraped for our pennies, but not here Thanks for the coffee! (No pics because I inhaled them in like 5 mins on my drive home)

It's been a while since I've been back but decided to stop by with my husband this time. We also…read morerealized we could order ahead so we did that. Unfortunately there isn't an online order line so you end up waiting anyways and they made our drinks only after we arrived and told them we had the online order. That being said everyone working was really friendly and they were working hard as it was busy on Sunday around 8. I got the gone bananas half sweet and an extra shot. My partner got the horchata matcha with extra matcha. Even my drink at half sweet was too sweet for my taste but still enjoyable. Not a strong banana flavor though. More caramel forward. My partner loved his drink but did say it was more horchata than matcha.

Jalapeño bagel

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Why does Yelp recommend reviews?

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9 reviews that are not currently recommended

The reviews below are not factored into the business's overall star rating.

Kayla S.

2 years ago

My neighbor raves about this place so I decided to give it a try, boy was I disappointed. Its a cute little shop, nice and clean. I walk in and a lady with blonde hair and glasses behind the register is yelling at one of the delivery drivers there. Telling her to stop leaning on the counter and breathing over the food. I ordered a coffee and took a seat. As I waited for my order I hear the same women on the phone asking someone to remove the delivery driver off the order, after she gave her the order and let her leave the store. After hearing this I got up and walked out without getting my order or money back(it was only a few bucks), someone who is that vindictive I don't want handling my food or drinks. read more

Bastian C.

6 years ago

This is my go-to drive through AM coffee. Friendly baristas/staff always greet with a smile, they are very fast, and they understand what I mean when I say "large coffee, black, little bit of ice so it's not burning hot", which is more than I can say for almost anywhere else... read more

Ryan R.

9 years ago

Love these guys! Consistently cheerful service. Great Acai bowls, and equally good coffee, tea and blended drinks. Always cool on hot days...an awesome spot to study, meet with people and just hang out! (both locations in Towne Center and Pathways Center) read more

Brent Z.

10 years ago

Small never open when it says its open. They have 2 locations that are too close to each other. So even when this location hours says it should be open it's not because they don't seem to have enough staff for 2 locations read more

Tyson B.

8 years ago

Much better place than Starbucks and I fully support anhyone that challenges Starbux. Service is a bit slow but overall wonderful experience read more

Maggie S.

11 years ago

Best local coffee house in town! Great atmosphere and great employees. Everyone knows exactly what we like to order when we walk in!

Remy L.

1 year ago

They have a job listed below federal minimum wage which is illegal by the way ...............:...

David M.

10 years ago

Best coffee in San Diego hands down love this place !

Darryl J.

12 years ago

Great coffee and friendly service! Love this place

The Coffee Corner - coffee - Updated October 2026

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My first time trying Brook's was Monday. I did the online order and my drink was perfect. It was so…read moregood I text my bestie who is a coffee lover to tell her she needs to try it out! I went back the next day and my drink was awful. It was also a different barista. I went back Wednesday and my drink was perfect again. Then again Thursday & Friday, my drink was awful again. Tasted just like milk, no flavor at all. * edit review* Thanks for reaching out! I received the gift card & look forward to the perfect coffee :-)

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Bubbles & Brews Cafe

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I went with friends for a birthday. We enjoyed it. The…read moredrinks were very good. My friend had the mini crepes with fruit and it looked amazing. It was big and she ate the whole thing, saying it was delicious. A couple of other friends shared a luscious looking sandwich that they loved. We sat visiting quite a while as the seats were comfy and inviting. We liked the large overhead doors that opened up to make it feel very spacious and airy. This was my first time there. The barista was friendly and very efficient. All in all a very pleasant experience and we will be back.

A cute rustic cabin vibe of a cafe in Alpine. We were welcomed in and got our order pretty quickly…read more I think over $16 for a full order of toast is a bit steep in pricing. I also think that my strawberry matcha was very sweet. It seems that most of their drinks are more on the sugary sweet side. I think it's a bit pricey for what it is which is part of the reason for 3 stars. Another reason is when my husband and I were there on a Saturday morning, we could hear a worker talking loudly gossiping where we could clear as day hear her talking about others and it was distracting to me as I tried to enjoy breakfast with my husband. I used to be a barista too, but I think that you should have professionalism where customers shouldn't be able to hear you loudly talking to coworkers. I think it really made the experience here not as great and not as enjoyable. For that, I have to give this place 3 stars and don't see myself stopping here again unfortunately.

Rancho Cafe

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What an adorable spot! We stopped in on a Friday morning for a drink and a pastry and this was such…read morea good find! The recommendations on Yelp talked about the great service and reasonable prices and they weren't wrong! Two medium drinks and a tasty apple turnover for less than $13! Great seating options inside and on the courtyard out back. Restroom available - clean and good size. I had the "Crow" drink which was a dark chocolate mocha and my husband had the Rooibos Latte and he loved it! This place felt comfortable, relaxed, and welcoming. Loved it!

Brew Coffee Spot

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For a few years now, I've been buying my beans, five pounds at a time, from Brew Coffee Spot in La…read moreMesa. I like the roasting profile they use, and for a while, they've stocked a Costa Rica Sonora Black-Honey Natural that is just fantastic. Joe Paraiso, the owner, is a very experienced coffee purveyor, and he's been incredibly kind to me, sharing his time and knowledge to make sure I get what I want. And, not for nothing, when I'm at Brew Coffee Spot picking up the beans I ordered online, I always have a coffee. Joe either does a great job of training his baristas, or he's REALLY good at hiring talent, or both. Seriously... his folks make my coffees, usually a cortado or a straight espresso, with a downtown San Francisco or Rome level of competence.

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