James Coffee Co

This is a family owned coffee shop. They have been around for a really long time. They have a very laid back environment. It’s the perfect place to come and enjoy a morning coffee, or a nice cup of herbal tea. One of the best dates that I have had was in this coffee shop. They take the time to get to know their regulars, and after a while treat you like family. I love coming here, and hope that they stay around for many more years

One of the best coffee shops in town. Love their cinnamon and honey latte and also their pour over program.

One of the true great coffee roster in San Diego. This place has awesome coffee. This ice coffee has great notes of flavors to it which just a nice hit of bitterness to top it off. The espresso is nice and strong but is not too bitter like other coffee houses in north park. This place is located in very relax little community. I little heavy on the hipsters but the coffee is so good it wroth!

James Coffee Co. is on point!
Had a perfect cold brew this morning and absolutely loved the atmosphere. Having all the little shops under the same old hanger roof was really cool! Definitely a spot to come back to time and time again.

good espresso — check
good music — check
great place to work — check
awesome pastries — check
bring your dog — check
whats not to love — this place is my go to for working or meeting up with friends ! xoxo

I was staying in Little Italy and I needed my daily coffee fix. The location of this coffee shop is super cool and extra hipster. It’s located with a colony of an old vacant building. There’s a barber shop, a clothing outpost and a bike shop all within this building. There’s space for you to work and enjoy your coffee, but it can get a little
Loud and it also feels packed since the space is a bit small.
Overall, the coffee here was amazing. I ordered a latte and it was perfect! It wasn’t scalding hot and it was bitter at all. I also got one of their doughnuts, which are a must if you have a crazy sweet tooth like I do. The amount of sweetness was perfect, and with my latte, it just made it amazing.

Great place to stop by to get a coffee or latte fix. They’re just a coffee stand in the middle of a mix of other little shops/​boutiques. Their chai latte is pretty good if you’re not a cold brew drinking like myself. Nice chill and hip vibes. Nice place to just relax and sip some coffee. Nice wall art to take pictures with. The workers there are very nice and helpful in helping you decide what drink to get or even just to make some small talk. Definitely a place to drop by or stumble upon whole in sd.

it’s been such a treat watching James coffee grow since they first opened. every time I go, there’s always more seating which is a good sign for business. community is such an important aspect here and that’s why they have so many other venders in this shop (that are all friends) and also why you’ll most likely meet the owner, David! he’s such a great guy, I always enjoy talking to him!
the coffee here is prime!!! they put a lot of effort into making sure u get nothing short of the best. u can even see them roasting beans in the back!

I went here on a Monday night. There were a few people in the coffee shop and I ordered a tea. The tea was excellent. I’m looking forward to trying some of their coffees. They also have some baked goods to go along your coffee and the service was excellent.

I heard of this place from a friend and was my first stop while visiting in San Diego.
The coffee shop is located inside a mix complex. There are small vendors and shops located within this large building. This reminded me a lot of some of the typical set ups in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Coffee shop ft. barber and specialty stores. Overall, really cool hipsters vibe inside.
Now for the coffee. I ordered a pour over for here and it was very tasty! Good balance of flavors and just tasted really fresh. Baristas were very welcoming and kind as well. There are some outlets located near the walls so this place would make a great study space.
I would definitely come back again when I visit San Diego. The shared space really makes for a comfortable and relaxing environment to kill time.
Wifi Password: coffee123
Their logo reminds me of a more hipster version of the EDC owl ;)

This is one of our favorite coffee spots in SD. Love the atmosphere and layout of the space. The baristas are really good at what they do and aren’t afraid to smile! The entrepreneurialism of the owner is exciting and I’m always looking for what’s been added/​updated since my last visit.
We’ve been hear at least 10 times and every one has been great! Hope they’re around for a long time to come.

Good coffee experience, baristas keep it real here. I like the idea of a mixed use space, sharing is caring I suppose. And I’m sure rent is high, and it makes it easier for business owners to stick it out.
It’s a nice concept. And the small batch roasting in the back is pretty damn custom, one small batch at a time by James himself.
I’d say this place is hipster. But you know that SD can’t be a hipster Mecca, lots of people try hard to pull it off here, which is cute to watch these poor people play dress-​up. Our weather doesn’t allow them to dress too cozily, thank GOD.
And our chaparral biome isn’t green enough for their habitat. So what you end up getting is people from canyon lake or corona wearing Target hipster inspired tank tops & other weird shit, they even call themselves hipsters, it’s fricken weird and funny. Anyway I apologize for getting off track, I do that shit all the time.
The centralized coffee bar is nice to look at. Seating is limited, but since it’s nice weather here, you can grab your coffee and relax on a bench outside provided by the little Italy association. Support James coffee, it’s a good small business; don’t support Starbucks.

I went on a coffee shop crawl when I visited San Diego and James Coffee was my favorite.
Beautiful coffee shop situated in a large warehouse. I ordered their single origin drip coffee and loved the part where the server brought the cup to my desk.
Now, I’m from SF/​Bay Area, so I take my single origins seriously. The cup I had was delightfully fruity, almost no bitter taste at all (Of course, I had it black). Would give the coffee ⁸⁄₁₀. Also, pretty affordable at $ 3.75 after tax.
Venue can get a bit cold due to it’s open air setup, but there is plenty of seating. It’s huge!

The most coffee centric place I’ve found in San Diego.
The staff is knowledgable and happy to explain the featured coffees they are serving.
We chose a Mocha and a Latte on our visit and both were excellent. Shots are pulled and poured with care an the espresso used was delicious. A powdered chocolate was used in the mocha and some foam art finished it.
The setting is a hip shared space with several boutique shops.

I’m not a fan of iced coffee for the most part, but this place probably has the best iced coffee ever! It was a pretty hot day that regular hot coffee would’ve been uncomfortable, but I needed my caffeine buzz for the 2 hour drive home. I ordered a black iced coffee along with a blueberry cake donut, it was perfect. My friend ordered an iced latte with cinnamon and honey which was also really good and different!
The area is super hipster (Little Italy after all), but I have a weakness for that stuff. Kind of like it’s in a garage with a lot of open space and a couple of couches to sit at. It wasn’t very crowded and we were able to find a spot to chill for a few minutes. There are other little shops in this garage setting which was pretty interesting. Parking is a hassle, but we found a spot for 30 minutes.
Also this place is dog friendly, I was able to bring my overly excited puppy. The owner has the sweetest, calm dog named Bandit, who just wanders aimlessly around the shop and would occasionally stick his head in my puppy’s bag. It’s cute, I don’t mind. My puppy was uncharacteristically calm around him, which I was very relieved. Service was also really good, and has that personal touch that I enjoy when I go to coffee places.
Great place to hang out, and if we didn’t only find 30 minute parking we probably would’ve spent more time in the area. I definitely will come back when I’m in SD!

The first thing I did was to check in and when I did it gave something for free… a «high five» Lol it was funny and the Barista was very cool about it. After I got my high five i order a macchiato and than an espresso. The macchiato was good, good texture, just the right temperature but you could taste the brightness of the coffee even withe sweetness of the milk, the latte art was awesome though!
When I had the espresso I could definitely taste the brightness and acidity of the coffee, too bright and acid for my taste, I like more round flavor with a bold body and sweeter notes. The coffee beans they use for their espresso is their «night owl» selection.
The service was good, friendly and well informed, but they seem a little bit overwhelmed by three or four people. They also seem to have their loyal followers and are doing good business by the looks of it; I also must say that the concept is pretty cool and trendy, it’s a cool place to seat and do some work on your computer or even have a coffee and get a hair cut ! they share space with other businesses that look great. With all of that, I don’t think I’ll be coming back for another coffee adventure here, is not my type of taste.
Salute!

Definitely loving San Diego’s coffee culture, especially when they consist of small places such as this!
James Coffee Co is located in an open warehouse type space along with a barbershop and small boutiques. There’s plenty of seating, wearable merchandise as well as coffee and tea blends from James.
I always get lattes, so Anthony L and I decided to get the same thing. James Coffee makes a pretty solid latte. It was the right temperature, pretty latte art, smooth milk and was rich in flavor. No acidity or tartness just rich, smooth, bold flavor! I find that sometimes cafes have an issue when making lattes with their espresso and milk ratio. There’s nothing worse than an over milky latte … okay there’s worse things in the world (first world problem statement).
The staff was genuine and quick to serve up our cups. They come in black cups, without handles which is great for cupping and made for an excellent hand warmer for the cool morning. The space is open and there’s tons of seating so you don’t have to worry about knocking elbows with the person next to you.
For you Instagram freaks out there, there are wood and marble tables as well as a giant owl you can place/​take your pictures of your coffee with. Go on hipsters, set yourselves free! No judgement.

Coffee. Art. Tattoos.
Nothing like bearded guys in white tees and full colors tattooed sleeve serving you some fresh cold brew. It’s probably the trendiest hides gem for Coffee and Doughnuts in Hillcrest, San Diego. Talk a stroll around and check out all their brand merchandise on display — tanks, thermals, tea blends, and of course, coffee blends.
This coffee shop shares the same warehouse with some super cool neighbors — sunglasses shop, bike shop, and shaving parlor.

Located in Little Italy on India St. near Kalmia, my boyfriend and I were camped out in front of the shop recently, cheering on runners at the 2015 Rock n Roll San Diego Marathon. This was the perfect spot to be at 6:45am, roughly mile 7 of the full marathon course. We’d just walked over from the start line at Balboa Park to see our beastmode bestie, Suzy H., off on her 26.2 mile trek through the city and we wanted to cheer her on the course as well as grab some coffee. Enter James Coffee Co., which we Unilocaled and it turned out to be right where Suzy as well as thousands of other marathoners would be running past.
We sat on the curb spectating and applauding the racers until the doors opened at 7:00am. James Coffee shares a big open industrial looking area (think a big garage) with a few other business, including a barber shop and a home furnishings store. There is ample seating around the main counter where customers place their order. The two guys working behind the counter were friendly and laid-​back, but they should be; they live in San Diego! I had an 8 ounce cinnamon and honey latte with almond milk in a to-​go cup, complete with leaf design, so tasty.
We weren’t there very long because the runners needed more cowbell; I’m sure it wasn’t fun for them running past the wonderful coffee aromas emanating from James. Note that if you’re a RnRSD spectator in the future and the race course doesn’t change, you can come here and do what we did: caffeinate and cheer.
Open 7:00am-7:00pm daily.

Am I in Williamsburg? It’s hard not to hate on paradigmatic hipster spots like this: industrial open space layout shared with an old fashioned shave shop, spectacle store (eerily similar to warby parker), and a mid century modern furniture shop. They’ve got the hipster formula nailed.
But before I go judging a book by its cover, I thought I should give the coffee a shot. Especially as James seems to be one of the few coffee shops in this area large enough for me to bum around for a while and not feel bad for taking up some starving freelancer’s spot.
The coffee is legit. The white owl pour over is done extremely well: perfectly brewed, allowing the berry and vanilla notes to really sing. Not only that, but the baristas were so down to earth. Zero hipster attitude. Plenty of space for everyone there to have a seat and some more. And whatd’ya know, I actually enjoyed checking out the mid century furniture (restored true period pieces and surprisingly at a fair tag) next door. Will be back!