Caffe Calabria

Best coffee in SD hands down. There food is good too. The mornings can be loud sometimes while they roast their beans. Hence the 4 stars, So that can be annoying. Beans are a little expensive but they are very good, roasted right and delicious.

I absolutely love the coffee and pizza here. Only thing I can’t stand is that they close at 3pm Mondays and Tuesdays. Where am I supposed to go to get my amazing coffee these two days?!
Parking, yes it’s terrible, so buy yourself a motorcycle and you can park right up front.
Or a bicycle. Those work too…

Unilocal… please let me give them 10 stars… pleeeese…I will never ask again… I totally promise!!!
I love everything about Café Calabria: the coffe and biscotti in the morning, the pizza in the evening, the Italian accents, the ping ping table and even the nice little parklette out front. This is where my mind goes when I go to my «happy place.»

This place is simply amazing. Their a coffee shop with pastries and small breakfast (sandwiches, quiche…) items most of the day. They roast their coffee in house and serve it beautifully. On some nights of the week they fire up the brick fire pizza ovens for dinner service. Pizzas, calzones, salads, wine, cocktails and coffee it’s all delicious! I have been here dozens upon dozens of times and I have never had anything that was anything but delicious.

Met here with a buddy /​business client and it’s the perfect place to meet and conversate.
There’s all types of seating inside and out with a lot of room in general so you aren’t sitting too close to anyone else.
I only tried one iced coffee drink on my visit, but I will be back to try something else.
Parking could get tough at times, but a little exercise won’t hurt anyone…

It’s always great to drop by here for lunch when we are shopping downtown. Today there was a huge crowd throughout the café watching the soccer matches. My wife and I had our usual lattes and shared a panini. It was nice to have a chat with Arnie the owner and find out what he is up to… he always has something new and exciting planned for the café patrons to enjoy. Our lattes were delicious and the panini perfect. You won’t find a better place to relax and enjoy the best there is to offer in coffee drinks expertly made with in house roasted coffee beans.

I don’t know what’s the magic about North Park, but I kept coming back to this area three times within 24 hours. Caffe Calabria has been serving coffees in the North Park neighborhood since 2001. So apparently Caffe Calabria doesn’t just sell coffees, it also sells Neapolitan pizzas and their pastries come from a local bakery shop called Bread & Cie (
).
I found a temporary 15-​minute free parking spot just two blocks away from the café. Since I only had 15 minutes, I was racing against the clock as I rushed my way through the foot traffic and finally made it in one piece. First impression: very spacious café, a great place to study, and free WiFi. One of the TVs was playing a soccer *cough cough* I mean football match and this is a great place to watch European football games.
To save the trouble, I directly asked the cashier for recommendations and she immediately pointed to Latte Viennese.
***
Latte Viennese (espresso, milk, honey, cinnamon — short, $ 3.35): Honey settled at the bottle of the cup. Smokey aroma … bitter at first with decent finish, but not as smooth as other lattes I’ve tried.
***
Too much hassle to find a free parking spot just for this café, but Caffe Calabria is still worth a stop if you do have other places (like Mucha Libre) in the area that you want to visit.

This review is just for the bicerin… Espresso with steamed milk and Nutella… Sssssooooooooooooo delicious…
Although all the snacks like mini salami sandwiches etc are super tasty as well…

Calabria is an authentic slice of Italy from the jerseys on the walls to the accents of the baristas. There is also a bike theme here, tied to the old days of Italian distance biking (who knew such a thing existed). The coffee is painstakingly brewed fresh in enormous steel machines and roasted in the back, giving a delightful smell. There is even coal oven made pizza available during the day, making it a pretty good restaurant as well.

I cannot get enough of the Caffe Viennese, which is a mildly sweet, hot coffee drink with cinnamon and honey. I’ve been known to drink a grande (aka the largest size) at 8pm and stay up all night. Totally worth it. The sandwiches are noteworthy as well, they are small, no frills, and a good value. Just some bread filled with charcuterie cold cuts (e.g. quality prosciutto, salami, and such). Don’t be scared that you’re going to get a cold or room temp sandwich since they’re pre-​made and sitting behind the glass display case. They heat them up in their panini press prior to serving which makes all the difference. There is lots of space to park it with your laptop, but, beware, they change the ambiance for dinner so you will be asked to take your laptop to the back of the café.

I saw this restaurant featured on the local news years ago. I really liked what I saw. Their pizza is authentic, not «Americanized,» so I definitely wanted to try this restaurant out
Well, after all these years, I finally had the chance to try this restaurant out and I’m definitely not disappointed.
I like the fact that they prepare the pizza right in front of you and they cook it the traditional way or the «Neapolitan» way.
I had the margherita pizza and it was phenomenal. Every bite was like heaven.
So, I’m gonna keep this review short, simple, and to the point. I really recommend this restaurant. If you want to know how pizza is suppose to taste like, please come here

What else can be said? It’s a beautiful space with delicious coffee and nibbles. Makes me want to scream at people to get off their phones.
Had a great morning drinking coffee, watching people and dogs, reading about shows and News of the Weird in the Reader, eating biscotti and nutella sandwiches, chatting with old guys, and watching people do the painfully slow walk to their table balancing very full cups on saucers. Good chill times on a morning off.
They have great decaf and really know how to steam alternative milks properly.
I dig this place, but I don’t know how people can work in here, it’s so loud. It’s a busy, lively, social place and not to mention when the that machine starts up in the other room. Wow! Besides, it’s too lovely. Bring friends, family, and lovers here and skip work/​media for a moment.

Found this little café in north park one evening when most other coffee places were closed for the evening. I needed a mocha to carry me through the night.
Upon walking in I was greeted by a barista who asked me what he could get started for me. Simple and sweet order of one mocha to go. Minutes later, I’m sipping that hot, mocha goodness.
The atmosphere is kinda hip with dark lighting and fairly loud music playing throughout the café. Staff were friendly and quick with my order. Overall a good place to stop n check out. I’d love to check out their food menu in the near future.
Keep on Unilocal’n!

I stayed here practically all day since I was «working from home» and it’s a great place to chill (just find a seat with a cushion). They have plenty of outlets and free wifi for those who need to stay on their laptops.
I got the hot chocolate which was really rich and creamy and was a very reasonable price. Of course saying all day made me hungry so I invested in a Soppresata which is basically a mini Panini with salami and cheese. Small, but filling and very flavorful. I also got a hazelnut baklava which was really nutty, but subtle enough so I wasn’t overwhelmed. Everything was flaky and wasn’t overly sweet either.
I would definitely come back to study or to hang out. They have a very cool vibe and open doors so you get some nice, fresh San Diego air.

It shocked me a little when I see a café/​restaurant has such a high rating, and I was superrrr suspicious about how good it is.
But oh lord, the vanilla latte is one of the best I have ever had. It’s not too sweet and it’s tastes so smooth. I also ordered a turkey pesto panni, it was pretty good too !
All the seatings are spacious and every table has outlets underneath it. But beware: it’s better for you to bring a longer charger, because the outlets are super duper hidden underneath the seats.
Overall, I will definitely come back to this great café to study and enjoy amazing coffees !

Second time I’ve been here. This is my girlfriend’s favorite café to study before she left me and moved to San Marcos :(
I love the legit Italian espresso drinks they serve here. I like to order the iced mocha bianca. They have a range of sandwiches and pastries that they serve. My friend and I tried their mini salami sandwich only $ 1.95 and OMFG it was SO GOOD it made me beg for more but the line was a bit long. They serve their sandwiches hot and pressed on a grill.
I love how there’s ample seating even for a Saturday morning, they have cozy couches and tables outside too if you want to people watch. Parking wasn’t bad either, you can park up close on the street side as people come and go pretty fast.
It’s more of a social café for meeting up with friends, I wouldn’t go here to study.
BEWARE: SALESMEN LOITERING OUTSIDE THE CAFE TRYING TO MAKE YOU JOIN THEIR CULT. MAKE SURE YOU ARE CONFIDENT OF YOUR BELIEFS BEFORE YOU SAY HI.

My current drink of choice: The Bicerin [espresso, milk, and spoonful of nutella]
Calabria came up as the #1 café on Unilocal.I’m not sure if I agree 100% but they do have excellent coffee. I bought some of the coffee beans they normally use in their espresso drinks and it makes great coffee at home too. Their cream is a bit too much for my stomach, but apparently it’s worth it as I’ve returned a few times already.
The staff’s not that friendly, but I guess I could always go to my favorite Starbucks for that ;)

«Mpare, ci vuole pazienza.
M’mare, che aviumo da fare!»
A friend from Calabria once told me this local expression, and for some reason I never forgot it. Literal translation is:
«Buddy, patience is required. Girlfriend, what we gonna do?»
Now that I have my Southern Italian credibility installed, on with the critique!
Caffe Calabria is (or should be) a mecca for specialty coffee drinkers in the state of California and beyond. I was fortunate enough to get a tour of the facility from Mark, Caffe Calabria’s head coffee roaster and all around cool guy.
This San Diego-​based roaster is operating a beautiful 1958 30-​kilo Provat machine. Coffee beans are sourced from around the world, and stored in an old bank vault (see photo attached).
The jack of all trades, Caffe Calabria does coffee by day, and serves up woodoven-​baked pizza and (stronger) drinks at night.
Mpare! North Park va bene!

In a world that is overrun with Starbucks and Coffee Bean, it is comforting to have a community coffee shop where you can sit and enjoy a warm beverage, exchange conversation, or simply catch up on a few e-​mails. At Caffe Calabria, you will find all of this, plus great service and tasty food at reasonable prices.
There are only a handful of coffee shops that I actually enjoy hanging out in San Diego and one is Caffe Calabria. Whenever I’m in town, I’ll come with my MacBook, have a cup of coffee and just spend hours here appreciating the fresh flowers they have on the tables. They do an amazing French press, which I would highly recommend. They get their baked goods from a local bakery, «Bread & Cie», which you can practically buy for the same prices if you were to visit the bakery. They also serve tasty Italian type sandwiches if you’re in the mood for a small bite.
There are a few other coffee shops in the area, but this by far is my favorite. If you are a visitor from out of town and you love coffee like I do, you will fall in love with this place.

Coffee is definitely good here! I have been here about 4 times in the past two weeks, probably would have been more if they were closer.
The vienesse is my order of choice. This is a latte with honey and cinnamon added. It can be a tad sweet at times, but good especially if you like cinnamon. Their desserts are pretty good as well. Their baklava are rolls and do not look like typical. There were 3 flavors available: pistachio, almond, and chocolate (?), all of which are good to try, but like any baklava– sweet.
We did want to try pizza and some of the other desserts, but unfortunately those are only available after 5 pm.
The inside is pretty big. The main area has quite a few tables and a bar area. There also is a section on the side where they roast and bag coffee beans. We sat in this area once, and it’s cool to watch the roasting process once, but it can get pretty loud. There also is a back area, but it seemed pretty secluded, so we didn’t look around back there.
Parking is what you can find on 30^th street, so at times can be difficult. Service is good. The baristas, cashiers have all been nice and helpful.
Definitely a good place to get excellent coffee!

Before doing taste of NP we stopped by CC to get some coffee and a pre-​taste snack. Maybe it wasn’t the best idea to eat before Taste of NP but we’re glad we did it anyway.
The coffee with cream was delicious. They always have good coffee. My work place had them come in once to make us coffee and I had their cappuccino and I enjoyed it.
Our favorite was the mini paninis. We saw that they weren’t as big but is a good snack for about $ 3. We weren’t disappointed with our selection of the soppressata. It was the perfect size for a snack. I’m a soppressata fan so I loved the deli meat.
We then later came back for the Taste of NP and they were serving an alcoholic beverage that was quite refreshing with some pizza. The pizza wasn’t bad but the sandwich tasted better!

Why 5 stars? Because our experience was memorable, when it normally wouldn’t be.
— — —
I can’t even tell you how many coffee shops across the country that I’ve stopped into at this point. When I’m traveling, I constantly seek out local spots that serve a solid espresso, and allow me to avoid hotel drip coffee or Starbucks. Caffe Calabria was where my research led me on a recent trip to San Diego.
What stands out is the uniqueness of the space. Don’t get me wrong, I love the trendy wood-​everywhere look with edison bulbs spread about, but Caffe Calabria was different. It’s part coffee roaster, part wood fired pizza joint, part place that makes inside feel like outside.
With its giant plants and streaming lights, there’s a one-​of-​a-​kind feel at Caffe Calabria. I visited on the rare rainy morning, so I can only imagine what it looks like in here with natural light during the day. Pretty awesome, I bet.
Thanks for my latte and bagel, CC. I’d wish you well, but you guys don’t need my help.