Jackson Place Cafe

Holy cow is the coffee superb at this hidden gem! They also have some muffins and scones from Batter Bakery if eating cake for breakfast is your kinda thing, but frankly the coffee is the only reason you should need to make this your de rigueur artisanal coffee stop. Service is rather leisurely, thus I docked it a star, but if you’re willing and able to allocate an extra 10 minutes to your morning commute, you won’t be disappointed.

Okay. When you’re walking around Embarcadero before a job interview, you want a solid cup of coffee to do the trick, right? Well, I’m so glad I popped into this little café, because it’s located in the cutest little hip/​start-​up-​like/​hidden hipster brick building getaway… And they’re actually pulling good espresso here.
I came in around 2pm and they were out of their cold brew, so I settled for just a simple iced latte. Seems like they use Sightglass Coffee here. The lady rang me up and made my latte on the spot. I grabbed it and took a seat around their little plaza to catch a few breaths.
I had no complaints. Not overly sweet. Light soy. Good espresso taste. Nothing bold or rich or «in-​your-​face.» Just very easy to drink and refresh.
And, with the nice palm trees surrounding and brick alleyways with hipster-​looking globe lamps, the ambiance was perfect. Well, for any hip and young San Francisco business person or start-​up worker… It’s trendy. But it’s casual. And it’s open to everyone. I’d want to grab a coffee here everyday if I could! The ambiance and decent coffee is KILLER. I’m a fan and just one visit was enough to make me craaaaave another trip here!

Love this café! Located in a cozy courtyard surrounded by offices, this is a peaceful place to get some reading done or have a casual business meeting. Totally feels like a secret tropical rainforest because there is natural sunlight and greenery but everything is kept cool by the surrounding buildings.
Order food and drinks at the little shack in the middle of the courtyard then have a seat at one of the small tables or pieces of lounge furniture. I got the breakfast panini with prosciutto, egg, and avocado. Super tasty and would recommend. I also got the iced coffee. Packed with caffeine. Both made the perfect breakfast combination as I got some work done for an hour.
Oh and note that there are no electrical outlets or WiFi so unless you come here with fully charged devices and a hotspot, bring a book or friend to just have some quiet time away from the bustling of the city.

One of my goto spots for breakfast and coffee. The sandwiches are good but its really the Sight Glass coffee that keeps me coming back. Don’t think many other places downtown serve these beans and they even have a single origin pour over! The prices are right around average for breakfast and coffee.

They used to do fantastic lunch paninis, now they don’t. Boo! 4-​stars in memoriam

Really uninspired — microwaved eggs out of a squeeze tube, zero dressing on the breakfast sandwiches and no condiments to boot. Space is really great around it (no free WiFi), but this is more of a place to go if you work in the complex.

Tucked into a plaza that is surrounded by brick offices is Jackson Place Café where urban professionals stand in line for coffee, pastry or panini.
Why you search for JPC (+‘s):
+ Groovy hideaway. Sit on the patio furniture and escape the street noise.
+ Awesome service. They’ve offered to comp me on my scone when the Square device was failing.
+ Grilled chicken panini is satisfying. Grilled to perfection with a nice mixed green salad. $ 10.
+ Pastries prepared by Batter Bakery and always freshly delivered.
+ NYT and San Francisco magazine are available to peruse.
Why you pass JPC (-‘s):
— Breakfast paninis don’t really grab me. I’ve had better values than at JPC.
— When it’s cold or rainy, I find it hard to eat in the open space. Take it to go.
Overall great little spot if you are looking for something mellow and easy.

One of my favorite local cafes. Love the lattes, love the yogurt & granola & love all the associated people who work there. They also tempt me with the smell of bacon and grilled breakfast sandwiches. I have been resisting…

I could easily sit here for hours on end. Such a comfortable space to work, read, catch up with a friend. Such a nice reprieve from the busy streets that border. The «café» is actually a tiny hut, but they offer a decent menu with both breakfast and lunch options, as well as «grab-​and-​go» type selections. Coffee is tasty!
Grab a friend, a book, or just go by yourself and enjoy a lovely hour or two away from the FiDi chaos.

Very cute place to stop by for lunch paninis! My favorite, the chicken breast with eggplant tapenade. Love the cookies as well. And, as many others have mentioned, very cute courtyard location.

Cute coffee shop nestled in the back of a building. Grabbed a coffee here this morning it made me feel like I was in Europe. Ordered a cappuccino. They use stumptown. They also had amazing instrumental music playing. If you are here don’t miss out on coming here.

I love the ambiance of this place. It is a really great spot to swing by if the work day gets a little slow. This little alley way is lit up with a dozen or so gas lights from 100 years ago. They have great coffees (I believe they serve Sightglass?), pastries (Batter Bakery), and paninis! I recently came by to get a breakfast sandwich (they make these great panini sandwiches, and you can choose to add egg, avocado, cheese, veggies, etc. to your breakfast sandwich. They made mine wrong last time unfortunately (I wanted gruyère, but they gave me egg instead), but that’s ok. It just means I’ll need to come by again and try their gruyère breakfast sandwich!

What a cute little café tucked away from Battery and Sansome. Love the outdoor seating and they have lavendar kombucha (and coffee of course)

1 star for the meal and traumatic experience that ensued, but upped to 2 stars for the quick resolution to my problem.
I really like their location; it is very secluded and the surrounding businesses (mainly advertising agencies and a hair salon) are quiet and have beautiful interiors. I ordered mochas from this location a few times which I have enjoyed, but the first time I had a panini served over a bed of spinach and other organic greens, was when I had my bad experience. I had eaten half of the sandwich and munched on the salad, but as I made my way through the 2^nd half of the sandwich, I noticed a shriveled lime green object on my sandwich. I assumed it was a piece of unfresh lettuce that had gotten into my panini, but as I wiped it off with my finger, it became obvious that the object was not a vegetable. It was in fact, a semi-​curled up caterpillar with a very distinctive yellow-​ish head and suction feet for climbing up walls, and it was (thankfully?) dead. I have no idea how it wandered into my sandwich because I assume it had come from the salad originally, and the sandwich should have been freshly made and toasted upon my order, so I can’t really explain how it climbed into my sandwich and died. It was really just a coincidence that I didn’t eat it on accident, since it camouflaged really well with the salad, and had it not been in my sandwich where its color was more distinct against the bread and cheese, I would have definitely eaten it.
I understand that this is the price that we pay for organic options, and it’s a compromise to not have pesticides in my food, but it is unsettling to find creatures in my lunch nonetheless.
Luckily, I paid with a credit card, and they use Square for payments, so I was able to submit a response directly from my electronic receipt, and also an email submission via their website. They responded within 24 hours with a refund and said «sorry for your find».

Seemed okay– great coffee and location 3 stars because it’s nothing I was impressed with. The service was a bit mediocre. At first I didn’t think the person who served me was aware I was in line to make a purchase. But it’s a cool spot to bring friends if you are in fhis area.

Jackson Place Café is in a hidden alleyway that connects Battery and Sansome. It’s a bit difficult to find at first, but once you go in its like you’ve entered a magical village. It’s very lit up and cozy.
I was planning on getting a late lunch-​to-​go at 3pm, but they had already stopped serving lunch which was a huge bummer. But then I realized they had both blue bottle and sight Glass coffee, and was glad I had made the trip to check it out.
I got the cappuccino, which was really good. They put two espresso shots though, which was strong for me. I enjoyed the coffee otherwise.
This place gets four stars for the coffee and lit up atmosphere! I’d have to come back and try out the lunch menu sometime.

It’s hard not to like Sightglass Coffee, so when I discovered that Jackson Place was serving up Sightglass varieties, I was more than willing to walk the mile or so to get here from my house. Upon arrival, I decide to go with the Single Origin drip at a cool $ 3.50 per cup. The coffee itself was delicious, but the person who took my order was as cold as they come. No greeting, no thank yous, just telling me what to pay in an exasperated kind of way. I’m normally not accustomed to such lukewarm service when it comes to getting morning coffee. While I enjoyed my caffeine fix, I probably will not be back.

Great little place to grab a coffee, panini, or salad for lunch. I tried a chicken panini when I was in the area and it was a nice stubble upon find. The salads looked really good too.
Only downside was is took around 10 mins for my order to come out, but it was worth the wait.

Nice little café at the foot of an old brick building’s breezeway with potted palm trees and gas lights. They serve Sight Glass. Business professional crowd, quiet and relaxed. No WiFi so prepare to tether if you want to work.

As with so many small and eclectic San Francisco coffee shops, the coffee is great. But Jackson Place also offers a perfect little getaway from the typical café environment. This courtyard has a few seats and tables and is the perfect spot for a short meeting or just getting some fresh air.
Also, they offer a solid selection of breakfast items, cookies, scones, etc. my fave so far is the peanut butter cookie.
Btw — this is not a great venue for someone looking to mooch coffee shop wifi all day. Which is nice.