Emile’s Coffee & Tea

Found this joint on accident, walked in on «Mr. Fair Oaks» eating breakfast, (sorry man) but I do say I enjoyed my blended coffee & juice. Conversation & service was pleasent. I’d come back definately! (even if my wife didn’t like her mocha, but I’m sure she will)

Great place to go to when im in the city around the area. Great owner with a great personality and wonderful lil bite size snacks.

Emile’s has become a part of my every day routine. Not only do they have great coffee but a funny and sweet owner, Crystal. See you again tomorrow for my Americano and oatmeal!!!

Total tasteless bland food. Do not eat here. The service is nice but the food is way to overpriced for the quality.

Emile’s Coffee & Tea is across the street from the newly opened Academy of Art on Polk between Eddy and Turk. They’ve been there about 10 years, but under new ownership. YES, it is in the Tenderloin, but the place is so clean and sparkly, inviting you in with its delicious aroma of freshly brewed coffee and four high stools at the windows. It’s one of the few places where the coffee can be drunk BLACK, with no acidity or bitterness (it’s the only place I do… not at Peet’s not at Philz, though the mocha latte is fab too). If a queue forms during the morning rushes, the wait is minimal and pleasant while exchanging a few words with Crystal, the new owner, her cousin Justin, or Juan Carlos in the afternoons. The long-​time customers swear by the coffee. «I only brew a small amount of coffee at a time and I brew frequently», says Crystal, who took over only 7 months ago. She’s kept all that was great about the place (the excellent coffee, friendly atmosphere, the name) but added a few touches of her own: exotic flowers on the counter, more pastries and breakfast paninis… the new coffee lids. And in response to the other reviewer advising walking to Market St and 7^th… that’s about 6 blocks away and not necessary!!! I wish he’d give it another try and get a better experience. This is MY neighborhood coffee shop and am I glad they’re here, I love having my morning coffee out while observing the passersby without having to drive somewhere for good coffee. I’d recommend it to anyone who’s in the area.
P. S. Emile’s is also a convenient place to go while waiting endlessly for a reservation to open up at Brenda’s on the corner or meeting someone at the Federal building. And BTW, their coffee is way cheaper than other coffee places of the same quality … $ 1.85 for a medium 12oz, that’s before the student discounts! THANKS CRYSTAL for taking so much care with your business and providing a welcome haven in the neighborhood.

I’m kind of absolutely shocked that this place is worthy of note. My experience was not especially nice: there are three lonely stools on a sad bar overlooking a rather bland portion of polk street, a place to immediately order from the taciturn owner, and a little area to add some serious sugar to a flat and bitter coffee.
A small americano was very much on the small side, and i got charged an additional 25c for using a card (total: 2 dollars). Even though the sign outside said that i got a 10% discount for being a student, and i showed my ID, the owner didn’t use the discount, which is irritating.
Down the street is dolce and salato (Market @ UN Plaza). Small, cozy, clean, better coffee (2.20 for a sizeable medium) and better pastries. Not likely to come back here.

Cute place, owner operated, delicious paninis. And fancy lids on the coffee cups!

I used their café for a couple of months. The light skin lady speaks Spanish as her first language. I used to buy a donut and a cup of coffee early morning. Since I used to eat that for a couple of hours, I used to pick a couple of forks, and a couple of napkins from the shelf. The Spanish speaking lady had a hard time with it. She told me that I could take only a fork, a knife, and a napkin. She used to charge me $ 3 for soy milk. She got really obnoxious. I though let me talk to the owner. It was her husband who owned it. I found him one day. He was quite arrogant violent guy. He started fighting with me and told me that I’m giving a hard time to her wife.
I’ve consistently seen that white men were serviced faster at this shop. This lady starts singing and dancing when she sees a white male customer.
Fortunately, I found another place for early morning coffee.

We went here on our LONG wait to get into Brenda’s Soul Food. Delicious coffee, yummy treats, good service. Our barrista was super sweet and helpful.

Nice place for the area, clean inside. Friendly Barista. The coffee however, is not very good and i added tons of sugar but the drink didnt get any sweeter. I just remember burning my tongue because the coffee was scalding hot, I couldn’t drink it for a long time and had to drink water. :(FAIL

It is very hard these day to find great coffee with a fast and pleasant atmosphere… i stumbled upon Emil’s and fell in love. it is in the middle of the Federal and tenderloin district but is absolutely delightful. i have had both Coffee and tea and both are to rave about. pastries are fresh and delishhhhhhh… the employee is super friendly and fast. and the place is big enough to relax there or hurry and go… emils is by far the best little Coffee shop in the downtown area and i recommend that if u are in the area and need a bomb cup a Coffee to stop by there… u wont be disappointed…

Stopped by Emile’s today for the first time. One of my coworkers is there every day so I decided to venture out of the office with her and try it out. This place is super clean and the prices are very reasonable. The coffee was perfectly made and I tried a pastry which was also excellent. The girl at the counter was very friendly and really fast getting our drinks and snacks out. I will most definitely be back!

*2.5 stars*
Granted this place is nice given that the area is a bit grungy so it gets points for that but I found that the cappuccino and the coffee on the burnt/​bitter side. I was disappointed and didn’t finish my cappuccino.
However, my cheese danish was delicious and my fiancé really enjoyed this croissant so I can only assume that you can’t go wrong with their pastries.
The offer a variety of Mighty Leaf teas and have a couple of bar stools by the window. They have an extra one behind the espresso bar for the barista who graciously offered it to us because we were meeting someone.
Service & pastries were great but the coffee, unfortunately, wasn’t as good as I thought it would be given its Unilocal rating.

I don’t know why I hadn’t written about this coffee shop sooner since it is one of my favorite places in the Tenderloin. This is a big compliment because I don’t like much about the area, period. Put it this way, for Emile’s coffee, I am willing to leave my clean and warm office and walk through the wind tunnel otherwise known as Polk Street. I hate cold and dirt but am willing to brave it for Emile’s.
The regular coffee is nice and smooth without the cigarette butt taste I get from Peet’s. They have good pastries at reasonable prices and if you are bargain hunting you can pick up a day old pastry for about $ 1.50. And I want to reiterate what a lot of people have pointed out already, this shop is one of the cleanest places in the Tenderloin and the owners are really nice. So give it a whirl.

Okay, so coffee is not my thing, but a «great bagel with cream cheese» is my thing. I like my cream cheese cold and hard so it does not smoosh out the sides of the bagel in whatever meeting I am taking it to. The owner always makes sure that there is a couple of good cold cream cheese containers for me to have so I can put on my own spread. It is nice when an owner or employee notices the likes of a returning customer and does what they can to meet those needs.
Okay so I had a cup of coffee there twice and they serve great, not burnt tasting coffe like some places.
THIS PLACE should get an award for how CLEAN it is, I mean it is cleaner than any mom would need. it to be.
The two owners are always friendly and polite. I wish they owned a lunch place here.

Everyone makes mistakes. The question is what do you do when you make one. At Emile’s, they correct them. No questions asked.
Such was the case at this super clean, super friendly coffee joint. I asked for a nonfat, sugar free vanilla latte, and it was being made up with a smile. As I usually do, I confirmed it was nonfat milk. Without even looking in my direction the lady stopped what she was doing, grabbed a new bottle of milk, and proceeded to remake my latte.
Glad I asked. Appreciated the correction. Latte 2.0 tasted just fine.

Emile’s gets my vote because it is the cleanest place in the filthy, filthy Tenderloin. They get a 100 from the Dept of Health, while most places score 90 in the TL. The owner and staff are friendly and attentive and their lattes and mochas are made with care at a reasonable price. I would be even more thrilled if they were open past 3PM on weekdays and had seating. You can sit in the lobby of the Embassy Hotel, which adjoins Emile’s, but it is not the same.

this is my usual morning coffee stop.
it’s a small place sandwiched in between a small bed & breakfast and a knife shop and it’s right across the street from the culinary academy. the woman that works inside is the best! every morning, once she sees me come through the door, she’ll make my americano, and she makes it perfectly. once it’s my turn to pay, she hands me my java, i hand her the money and head toward the half & half/​sugar bar.
emile, the owner of the place, keeps the place nice and is always looking for ways to improve. he makes everyone that comes in feel like they’re his family.
there’s no place to sit, but there is a small ledge on the front window to put your stuff down or to take a couple of sips while people watching.

A nice small café to pop into and get yourself something warm. It’s not the type of place to go to if you are looking for big couches to sit on with your laptop and work all afternoon. But if you need a pick me up and are in the area, I recommend stopping by.
My test is always the chai and theirs tastes spicy and much closer to home made than any other chain, though I don’t really think it’s home made.
Bike Parking: designated bike rack up the street in front of Brenda’s on Polk St.

It’s a typical haunt for myself and coworkers in the need for something besides Maxwell House in the office. Emile’s is a small blcok away and not only makes wonderful coffee but also carried Mighty Leaf tea. As both an avid coffee and tea drinker, I love having that choice. They also have an excellent selection of pasteries and even day olds for a cheaper price. I only take off one star because they close ar 4pm and I can’t get my after work cup o’joe from them, I must succumb to Starbucks or Peet’s for that.