Went here because it was HALF the cost of all other cafes in the area. I didn't realize it was on the Calvary Chapel (Christian Church Campus). This made it even better! Everyone was so kind and friendly. It has a warm and inviting area to sit inside and out. I would absolutely come back here. It was a quick easy and budget friendly place. Not to mention the warmth of the people and the beauty of the upper seating area. read more

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It's a church coffee shop not open during the week. Very misleading!! I tried to meet up with my niece there and it's a church school.

Cutest cafe in Carlsbad area! My friends and I came here for pastries and coffee when we were staying nearby. It had the cutest ambiance, European like outside and upstairs on the balcony. So peaceful and beautiful. The coffee was absolute delicious, I got a pumpkin pie cappuccino , YUM!! My friends enjoyed their drinks also. I got a danish and it was equally as good. Friendly owners and staff. read more

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I made a quick stop here for espresso as it was near my work meeting in the area. That's a new surrounding property with good indoor and out or seating. I didn't realize it until getting to the café, but it appears to be part of a religious school campus. Prices were fairly cheap and staff was friendly. It was not noisy at all, and there was zero wait time. read more

Orange syrup with coffee is really good here. Great barista usually. Nice setting. Peaceful to sit around and talk or work. read more

Great atmosphere and a kind service, Coffee and food were great. Will definitely come again. read more

Overall, The Story Caffè feels like a wonderful community hub rather than just a place to get coffee -- a true hidden gem in Carlsbad's coffee scene. Highly recommended if you're nearby and craving a cozy, quality café experience. read more

The ambiance was cool, perfect to study or work. I had the small batch single origin ice coffee and it was great and a fair price. The staff was helpful and friendly! I'll definitely be back. read more

This is a small but lovely cafe filled with couches and other seating arrangements that make it feel warm and cozy. The one thing to note is this is ON a Church campus - which we were unaware of when going. The staff was friendly and the drinks were incredible. I had the lavendar lemonade as I don't drink coffee and it was quite tasty. But, we did feel as though everyone was staring and making us feel slightly unwelcome as we were not members of the church. People seemed to wonder why we were there, so something to note if stopping by! read more

Great experience here today. Was staying at the Hyatt nearby. Wonderful to be able to get a basic breakfast on a budget. Luke was super friendly. The oats, coffee and muffins were awesome. My wife enjoyed her chicken pesto sandwich as well. Great location to relax. read more

The Story Caffe - Cafes Near Me - Carlsbad, California

I just discovered this place and obsessed! If you like or need to work at a cafe, this is a prime spot in Carlsbad! I came up for a doctors appointment and working here to avoid the traffic. I was looking for a warm, indoor, cozy experience given its winter right now. The Story has lots of windows and doors so very bright inside! All wood leather and steel furniture, really beautifully put together! Couches and comfortable seating everywhere. Plenty of space and seating options if you're meeting as group of people. I will be back. The coffee is good (I'm a coffee snob but it's decent. I got a cappuccino). I'm also gluten free and they have a couple of options; I got the overnight oats which are delicious! Sweet but not too sweet. The staff is friendly and wonderful! Can't wait to come back! read more

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Ok! I just had one of the best breakfast sandwiches, hands down! Luke the barista and Georgia made it! It had greens, avocado, sausage, bacon and a house dressing that it took over the top! And my London Fog was one of the best I've had in the area. read more

Cutest "little" coffee shop with a ton of remote working / study / relax stations. Came across this place leaving Carlsbad and I'm glad I stopped by. I ordered a spinach quiche and the spiced latte. The latte tasted amazing! Scott the barista had amazing energy and gave off Santa Claus vibes. I learned more about the shop (a part of the church) and the church itself. Such a beautiful lounge area and I will definitely be back when I can. read more

The Story Caffe - a fireplace in a living room - Cafes Near Me - Carlsbad, California

Great coffee in the awesome location, we loved it. It was 5 minutes away from our hotel and once we found it we came every day. Definitely recommend. read more

Welcoming people. Delicious guns and roses latte and avocado toast w fresh greens and balsamic. Thought-provoking curated book selection. A great find after we birded at Batiquitos. read more

Cute coffee place we visited while in San diego for the weekend. Loved the vanilla oat chai and GF cookie. Relaxing ambiance to hang or study. Great customer service. Do not recommend hiking from Home2suites....just Uber it. read more

The Story Caffe - Vanilla chai oatmilk and GF cookie - Cafes Near Me - Carlsbad, California

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Cute little cafe hidden amongst the North Coast Calvary Chapel campus. The cafe is beautiful, warm, and inviting. Lots of tables for studying or small meetings, which I was there for, and big comfy couches and chairs next to the fireplace if you're simply lounging. I was waiting for my colleague so I ordered their special turmeric ginger latte with oat milk. It was perfectly hot and frothy and the turmeric gave it a beautiful golden color. The ginger gave it a touch of spice and sharpness. I'll definitely be coming back to do some work on my laptop and to sip a hot latte. read more

The Story Caffe - Chill Friday morning - Cafes Near Me - Carlsbad, California

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Nice vibe, great food. Would definitely recommend. Visited twice during my stay.

Had a Guns n Roses latte which was delicious. I do really enjoy the ambiance, there's plenty of room to sit-- we chose to sit next to the fireplace. We shared a gluten free cookie which was also tasty. I would definitely come back to study since it was really peaceful. read more

A well hidden gem of a cafe!! Excellent, simple and reasonably priced food. Don't blink or you will miss the turn.

This place looked great on Yelp but the service, food and restaurant was horrible. I have it one star for the friendly girls that served us. The seats were broken. The food was bad and they did not have everything on the menu. Very poorly managed. We utilized the tables outside to eat and it got real windy out. The wind pulled one of the umbrellas of the table and hit my wife on her shoulder. I told the employees about it and they really showed no concern. One of them did state she will have the manager come out and pull down the umbrellas, which he never did. My wife had a black and blue from the umbrella. read more

I love the community feel of this place. The staff had great energy and their matcha was really good and not too sweet. Plenty of great seating. Knocking one star because they have only open WiFi which is a bummer. I had planned to work there for an hour but didn't feel comfortable on an open network. Also it is kind a trick to get to requiring a u turn and a right that is a bit early. I missed it the first time. read more

Great food, drink and atmosphere that is a wonderful place to gather. Meet before or after church...or any time during the week...You will not be disappointed read more

I love this spot for the times I can hang out and have a coffee. They have incredible seating options, indoor and outdoor. All the drinks have also been really tasty. And the staff have been fun and friendly. 5 stars for the ambiance and environment, along with the great drinks. read more

Definitely a hidden gem, great for studying or working AND great to have a mommy and kid date! There's plenty of areas to chill with couches or tables. It's so beautiful outside too. I want to come back here with my kids and just chill and build legos. Also there's plenty of parking and the staff was so nice. read more

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It's a very quiet and comfortable small cafe located in an upscale church compound. I originally thought this was part of the North Coast Carlsbad church but apparently there are two North Coast Churches that have no relation to one-another. We stopped by on a Saturday afternoon and it was pretty dead inside. I will say that The Story Caffe has some of the most comfortable and eclectic chair styles out there. Artwork dresses the walls and definitely gives it a nice warm feel to it. The artwork is much nicer here than at Vinaka cafe. The food / dessert case is pretty good and should satisfy everyone in your group. Cakes, cookies, and brownies are the main sweet offerings. The Coffee seemed cheaper than Starbucks ( Especially on the hot chocolate drinks). I will say that the coffee is on the lighter side. All in all, I would come back because of the atmosphere and the chairs over the coffee. Nice friendly place... read more

The Story Caffe - Cafes Near Me - Carlsbad, California

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This is a very nice and quiet coffee shop and cafe located in the North Coast Calvary Chapel grounds. I can see have many will come back to this place, not just for its coffees, teas, and eats, but its peaceful and laid back atmosphere. When I stopped in, I was greeted with a comforting feel, a pretend fireplace, plush leather couches, and yes, free Wi-Fi. I was in the mood for some tea, so I ordered the Chamomile hot tea and a toasted and buttered everything bagel with a drizzle of honey which I applied. With out the cream cheese, I believe they charged me a couple of dollars. On the first attempt, the bagel was not toasted enough, so I asked the young lady to given another round and she happily did. On the second round the bagel came out a perfect gold brown. I would recommend that they served the butter at room temp because it was cold and difficult to spread onto the bagel even with a recently toasted bagel. Eventually, the butter did melt, which is always good, and after a drizzle of honey, I dug in. The buttered bagel proved to be quite good and was an excellent side kick to the hot Chamomile tea. The tea was from a tea bag, I don't remember the brand but it was good. I do recommend they provide porcelain mugs for inside visits and such. The place has plenty of room for study groups or meet ups.They also display items from around the world for sell to raise money from what they call their "Trade Partners." This groups are raising money to take care of themselves such as orphanages. A very cool endeavor indeed. read more

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Beautiful space with plenty of room to sit, study and meet with friends. Cortado was just ok due to a sour espresso pull but milk texture was as smooth as the kind service. read more

I made plans with a friend to meet up and just randomly picked this place. The name caught my interest as Caffe has two "F"s instead of one - random right? Finding the place was rather amusing. Though Google Maps - they direct you to make a U Turn after driving on Poinsetta Lane for a bit if you are coming off the 5 regardless if you are coming North or South. You go up on your right, not your left. I had no clue where I was going until I drove in to the right and just figured if this was not the right place, was not too bad to drive around. There was a lots of parking - so not hard to find some place to park your car. It was chilly outside when I got there - but the view was no joke. Of course I found that out later after we decided to wander around. We were both hungry when we got there so we divulged in the goodies that was being served. I liked this place as it was cozy, almost like a Starbucks and empty. Probably because I also went there on a weekday at a odd hour - around 1pm on a Tuesday. We had a lovely time, talking and catching up. Ordered a caffe latte, ham & swiss sandwich and a hot chocolate during my stay here. Ham & swiss was very filling! They were nice enough to include tomatoes and lettuce (? if I remember correctly). Caffe latte was nice enough to warm me up - plus they had sugar, honey at the side if you wanted to add anything else into your drink. Had the hot chocolate after we wandered around. We explored after a while and were amazed to find so much outdoor seating all around. They had cozy seats right outside and more on the 2nd floor. The view was nice to admire - but there's a sign that asks you nicely to keep your voices down. You get to see the ocean as well as see what is around the area from high up. This place would probably be pretty popular during the summer if more people knew about it. Interestingly enough this was combined with North Coast Calvary Chapel in the same building. The entire building emitted a warm welcome and everyone was pretty nice - also allowing 2 girls to wander around with no problem! Noone seemed to mind us just touring the place by ourselves. We went back in for hot chocolate as we were cold after walking around. Got to be one of Lilly's first customers for some artwork on my hot chocolate. I think it was a lion? But hey, it's better than anything I could do! Would definitely be dropping by again hopefully when it's warmer as this is quite the hidden gem hidden on the hills. read more

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Love, love, love this little gem of a coffee house. The place is so comfy, it just asks you to stay awhile. My friend, Tara, and I went to check it out on a Sat morn and without realizing, were there for 2-1/2 hrs! No one blinked an eye. The bathrooms are really clean too. I had a Chai Tea Latte - delicious, and a lemon with poppyseed muffin - so yummy! I'll be back soon!! read more

The Story Caffe - Cafes Near Me - Carlsbad, California

Have you ever felt like a brownie and fate worked together in your favor? I literally yelped "brownie" and this is one of the coffee shops I was near that came up. The reviews looked great and they had gluten free brownies! So I was down. (I don't have a gluten intolerance but I actually enjoy healthier brownie options than the super sweet/heavy ones) It also happened to be 4:03 when they are only open from 4-7 on Saturdays. Fate it was... as soon as I pulled up I was enamored by the view and the vibe. They sell books and artwork. And it is actually a branch off of a large church named Calvary chapel, but the coffee shop is open daily. With this, I expected a pleasant interaction ordering, and I got exactly that. I introduced myself to the barista, he said to call him "Benny the Jet, like everybody does." Adorable right!? I also got to talk to another sweet girl making the treats in the back. I loved some of the books they had displayed and had even read some of them. There is a beautiful staircase that leads to an outdoor patio as well. I can't wait to come study here and enjoy the atmosphere even longer. Maybe even try out the church! The only thing I do wish they had was a few more milk options. They had your normal whole, and half and half, thankfully they offer almond milk so I went with that. Maybe I am just spoiled from being in the San Diego area, but I'm a big fan of coconut, cashew, or even macadamia milk with my cold brew. But it wasn't a big enough deal to take Away the 5 star experience earned. Oh and my brownie was delicious. read more

The Story Caffe - Cafes Near Me - Carlsbad, California

Wonderful space and courtyard. They are located within the church property. Their drinks (golden milk and matcha) are very delicious and I also had an avocado toast. They have all the non-diary options and also lots of books and comfortable couches to relax. read more

This is a little church cafe with pastries from Costco. I would not return. You're better off going to Starbucks down the street.

I love this cafe. It is on the North Coast Calvary Chapel campus but is open through out the week for people to work and meet at. I love meeting up with people here to catch up or to just come and read while enjoying some coffee. When it is warmer, there are a lot of options for outdoor seating too and the upper patio has an ocean view. Don't feel like you can't go here if you don't go to this church or don't go to church at all because you won't be disappointed by the warm vibes and the coffee here! read more

Hidden gem! I've lived in Carlsbad since 2002 and didn't even know it existed until January 2019. I live less than a mile away from it too!! I've gone there to study/work multiple times and it's perfect. It's not too crowded, it's spacious, and everyone is super nice!! The drinks are good as well. Hands-down my favorite coffee shop. read more

This is a good cafe to sit and have a chat with a friend. I thought it would be a good quiet study spot but, found it was quite noisy. Many young Christian's were gathering in groups, speaking in loud voices and moving from group to group. (It is a part of a church after all). I think if you want somewhere quiet, it's not the place for you unless you sit outdoors which does have comfortable seating & an ocean view. Otherwise, grab a coffee & snack with a friend and catch up in doors without the fear of being too loud. read more

A hidden gem...wonderful coffee and friendly people in a classic coffee shop atmosphere. Will undoubtedly be back!

One of my most favorite discoveries just keeps getting better and better. Since the heat wave of So Cal 2015, this has been my favorite place to come to and do my work. I focus and grabbed my awesome blended chai with whip and sit at a table to work on my business. I finally had some food! You got to grab some delicious sandwiches when you get the chance! I've recently tried two sandwiches. First is the breakfast sandwich!! I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS!!! Nice warm croissant with egg and sausage. A lot of places have a weird tasting sausage, but not The Story! The second sandwich is their Turkey sandwich. Complete with a lettuce, tomatoes, and red bell peppers... YAAASSSS!!! read more

Came here last month to get some pastries, coffee and get some work done but didn't feel like going to a starbucks, so I came here. It's a hidden gem! This place is much nicer and much more spacious and quieter than any Starbucks! The coffee and the baked goods are just as good, if not better. I may never step into another Starbucks now because of this place. The place is rustic, but very well decorated, the customer service is wonderful, lots of seating and a fireplace! It makes you feel like you're in your own house, just with really nice people in it! read more

Cute and simple coffee shop. Always feel great to support non profit businesses and the service here was exceptional. Such a beautiful surrounding, very peaceful, I just love the people here. Plenty of seating, very nice place for a stroll and simple selection of coffee and small snacks. Very fresh and good quality items, very well worth checking out! read more