Cafe Sophie

What a fantastic place, I’m currently sitting in Café Sophie as I type this Unilocal review.
I’ve recently moved from LA to SF and was looking for my go-​to coffee shop, you know, that place that feels right for you. There’s so many great coffee shops and cafes in SF and this one in particular is my neighborhood stop. It’s great because it’s off Market street and a little gem on 16^th street just before Dolores Park.
Besides the amazing coffee and Lattes, they have FANTASTIC, and I mean FANTASTIC unique (Hand-​crafted) gourmet breakfast options to chose from. My favorite is the breakfast burrito, which doesn’t have any meat (and I love bacon in my breakfast burritos), super cheesy, and eggs scrambled to perfection, wrapped in a crisp tortilla. Today I decided to try something a little different, I forget what it’s called, but scrambled eggs, gruyère, sandwiched between a crispy bread.
Cool vibe, reliable wifi, great place to spend some time doing some work or catching up with old friends.
I’m sad it will be temporarily closing for earthquake retrofitting (I think) and will be first in line when it re-​opens!

I LOVE this café! The staff here are very friendly, the music is always on point, the coffee is DELICIOUS! (try the almond milk latte– iced or not, its amazing) and the food is yummy. The wifi here is super reliable as well.
I’ve also been here on weekends for their brunch, and the chef here is really talented and makes some scrumptious dishes for a simple, small, café brunch.
Definitely one of my favorite cafes in this area.

Small café with that laptop-​working crowd. On Sunday afternoon is was crowded. There are two small tables outside. Offers good range of drinks. I enjoyed my $ 3 genmaicha green tea. On the weekends they have a small brunch menu, as well.
Coffee drinkers– Unilocal check-​in for $.50 off a large coffee!

Thumbs up! Good coffee, friendly staff, and wifi! This is a great place to go to ‘café chill.’ Although it’s a bit small, I’d say I never experienced it to be too busy to get a seat or anything. I would recommend to definitely check it out if you’re in the area.

Stable wifi, plentiful seating, awesome folk music, great selection of tea (for the non coffee drinkers like myself), and baristas who know their drinks, I’m sold!
I also love the décor, prints for sale, wood and marble style tables, benches, you name it.
I stayed here for over 3 hours and the entire time was a great experience.
Also, the first thing I asked when I walked in was what the barista’s favorite tea was and she helped me narrow down exactly what I wanted. I’m a sucker for people who know their products very well.

This is a super quaint café with seating inside and out. It’s very cute, definitely a place you would go to work on a paper or have a nice catchup sesh with a friend. I had white tea and blueberry waffles. Both were very good! I would definitely get the blueberry waffles again! The waffles itself were crunchy and soft, the blueberry sauce that came on it was very tasty, and it was a great portion for the price. All in all, I would come here again because of the great price, food, and ambiance.

Cute little café with friendly staff and great food!
I came here with friends for brunch and everything we ordered was great. The menu doesn’t have too many options for food, but I actually kind of preferred it that way, sometimes less is more. I got the scrambler, and while the portion wasn’t huge, it tasted phenomenal.
It had a very relaxed vibe and felt very inviting. I’d love to go back to enjoy a book with some coffee!
And they’re serving Chico Chai now! Yum yum!

I had such high expectations after reading all the reviews but was beyond disappointed at my actual experience.
The café itself was dark and dingy. One of the food cases looked to be full of random groceries. There was no one behind the counter when I walked in, so I stood there awkwardly for 5 minutes until he walked out of the bathroom. He totally ignored me and spent another 5 minutes washing and lotioning his hands.
Finally I asked what the food options were — after seeing all the delicious pictures people had posted on Unilocal I was excited to eat. He pointed at the display case and said all they had was what was out — aka two croissants haphazardly arranged and a dubious looking danish.
I declined so I asked for a green tea to go. He handed me a cup with no lid, the tea bag hanging precariously off a wooden stick balanced on top of the cup, and (this was the icing on the cake) he said it was extremely hot, so he folded up a paper towel and wrapped it around the cup (no sleeves for the cups). It was all so bizarre and awkward, I didn’t know what to think.
Maybe I just went on an off day — I can’t believe some of the other reviews posted on here — hoping that’s the case, but I won’t be going back.

The service there is friendly! I say that because they tried to strike a conversation with me, but I prefer if they don’t do that to me, but that’s just me. I still think they’re friendly. Also, they were pretty nice when I asked which drink had the art on top.
Very friendly service.
I had my first coffee just two days ago. I ordered a latte, and had to put four brown sugar cubes in there. They use brown sugar cubes, not packets. Fancy.
I think that was pretty good price since they also included latte art along with!
One thing I suggest is that they should put up some giant writing somewhere for the wifi password.

Café Sophie has great service and the best music. It’s such a great place to get some work or reading done. There are patio tables, indoor tables by the window, and benches… they all impressively fit in such a small and cozy space. Their menu is very simple, but the drinks are good. They brought my coffee to me, which was very sweet. I also heard the croissants are delicious, but I haven’t tried those yet.
There is, of course, free WiFi which is fast. Everything about this café screams San Francisco. It’s simple and wonderful. Love love love it here.

Just left with an iced coffee (it’s 60 degrees tonight outside) because that was my only option if I wanted a coffee because the barista had shut down the Espresso Machine over 10 minutes prior to closing.
I arrived 10 minutes before the store closed. As I walked up the barista was outside talking to his friends. I asked «Are you still open?» He replied «yes.» I passed the group outside and headed in. As I did the barista said «Of course this would happen» in reference to a customer arriving close to closing and interrupting his chat with his friends. When I approached the counter he informed me that he had shut down the espresso machine already. I could order tea’s or iced coffee. I needed coffee so I opted for the iced coffee. I am shivering as I type this: (.

Not a café I would go back to on a regular basis. The baristas felt rather standoffish and snobby, and it just felt uncomfortable being in this café. Maybe it just has to do with being in the Mission. The coffee was tasty, except I got clumps at the bottom of my mocha (not sure if syrup or?) Also, they don’t have fat free milk here.

This review is for our breakfast experience.
My husband, toddler, and I ate breakfast here on a Saturday. The space was nice — especially the window seat. The cappuccino was nice. The people working there were nice. The food tasted good. We got the yogurt&granola, scrambler croissant sandwich & the two soft boiled egg dish. I give 3 stars because we really felt like the food was overpriced (the 2 egg dish was $ 11 and tiny) and we left feeling a bit disappointed.
Maybe for a mocha and a little snack I would rate this place a 4-​star. Sorry Café Sophie.

Now this is what nieghborhood cofe’s are all about. Friendly welcomes, smiles and humor to start a early morning. Put it on the «hidden gem» in the Castro list.

I’ve been a Café Sophie devotee since I moved here last summer. It’s my go-​to coffee shop in the Castro. It’s unpretentious, quaint, and their beverages are reliable. However, because it’s so unpretentious, quaint, and their beverages are reliable, it’s quite hard to find a seat there sometimes. There aren’t a lot of seats. I’d say roughly about 20 people can fit there at one time. Several more can sit outside when the weather is nice. They also have wifi which is why some folks stick around. Café Sophie’s baristas are generally nice, and they seem to have a loyal clientele.
In terms of their beverages, I like their espresso. I don’t really taste the coffee in their coffee-​flavored ice cubes, but hey, it seems to be very popular. Their lavender limeade (not lemonade!) is also a refreshing alternative if you don’t want coffee or espresso. Café Sophie is a total gem!

Wow, Café Sophie really is one of those special places that you wished you lived nearly. Thankfully for 7 nights we did, as our AirBNB was right around the corner. I’d seen the words «honey monkey tea steamer» in the Unilocal reviews and while I had no idea what I was in for, I knew I must have one.
The café is casual, nicely decorated and comfortable. Both times I visited we sat outside (living in the UK makes you crave sunshine). I ordered the honey monkey tea steamer and asked if there was any soy option, as I’m lactose intolerant. Yes, they have soy but they also had almond milk. WOAH. My mind was blown. I’d never been offered almond milk at a café before and was stoked. A few minutes later I was presented with one of the tastiest drinks ever — warmed almond milk (no water) with a tea bag («Golden Monkey» tea from Fugian Provence in China), and some honey mixed in. Sounds pretty simple but the combination of the flavours is just heavenly.
On another visit we also tried the pasta bake of the day which was tomato and olive and was heavily dusted with parmesan. The perfect meal to say farewell to San Fran.

Today I tasted a special ingredient called love. I really think my banana bread waffles and egg croissant sandwich were made with love. Everything was soooo delicious and the servers were so nice. It was busy but the few manning the café were happy to be there, happy to serve, and happy to make food. Kind of warmed my heart… and filled my stomach.
Also I know my bf took a really big poop in their bathroom. And when I went to the bathroom after him, I didn’t smell anything. I know it was their good ventilation and not because my bf poop doesn’t smell. Because that is not true.

I haven’t been here in YEARS but I always find myself gazing in whenever I passed by. A friend and I were having a study date and this café was the first to pop up in my mind.
Cozy, cute, comforting still. I ordered the rooibos tea while sat and got some work done. Music was chill, staff was chill, tea was delicious. Everything was awesome.
They still lack outlets so it is a good idea to bring a power strip if you have one!
Can’t wait to go back!

Good vibes, strong coffee, cute barista ;)
Café Sophie is located a couple blocks away from the main hubbub and noise of the Castro. Prices are extremely reasonable, and the Verve coffee is absolutely delicious. I tried the Moka & Java drip coffee blend, and took it without any creamer or sugar. They serve both drip coffee and pour over.
Great place to get some work done, catch up with friends, or play Bananagrams and other games (they have it avail for customers!). Also loved the unique décor.
Will definitely be back to try the Honey Monkey Tea and other draaanks.

I came upon this little place while walking around the area. It’s a small little place but really nice. The bartista there was really nice and helpful.
They don’t have that many pastries. The only ones I saw were in the glass container near the front. I had a chocolate croissant and a plain coffee at first. The croissant was really tasty and the plain coffee was decent. I later got a Mocha and it had a pretty cool design on it. The mocha was pretty tasty, even after I took my time to drink it since I was taking photos of it.
There’s a few seats on the outside that you can sit. There’s a few tables inside and some with outlets for your laptops. I sat a this little table by the window.
Overall, this is a great little coffee shop with friendly staff and great coffee. I would come here again if I’m ever near the area again.