Caffe Lucca

It’s open again under new management, oh, and it’s moved next door, and no more live music, or beer.

Not closed, reincarnated next door!!!
Update: as of 9÷1÷2011 Just one shop north of old Caffe Lucca is the newly minted full restaurant Caffe Lucca (briefly named Mediterraneo Stop)
New version will be selling same great coffee, now with a great indoor view and small, cozy tables.
In addition to Caffe Lucca’s original menu, new place will be adding the Mediterranean food (i.e. Shawarma, Falafels, Fresh BBQs, Baba-​Ghanouj, Hummus, etc.).
The opening hours are 6AM until 1PM during the weekdays, and 7:30AM until 2PM on weekends. Starting Sept 2011 Lucca will start serving lunches and dinners, and will be open until 9PM.

Did my usual SF to HMB escapade today with plans to make a pit stop at Caffe Lucca, my «Escape from SF» café. Disappointed to see them closed — was here just a few weeks ago.
Spoke with a caretaker who was tending to the landscaping — apparently, they’ll open back up again in a month, but under new management. Not cool.
5 stars for all those years of great service, 1 star for closing up shop = 3 stars.

I’m sooooo sad that Caffe Lucca has closed. My hope is that the property owner will come to her senses and work with the business owner so we coastsiders can continue to patronize this amazing caffe. If you are a local, let your voices be heard to support this please!!!

Boarded up and for sale as of a couple of days ago, so I guess it’s a one star now.

This is a very quaint café and its location alone deserves 5 stars. The folks that work here are pleasant and friendly. (sustains 5 stars) Free WiFi! (sustains 5 stars)
The soy latte and caramel latte — fantastic. (5 stars sustained)
I wished they closed a bit later since I would love to hang out here with a warm beverage feeling the breeze of the ocean and watch the sun set completely.
A great place to stop for coffee when you’re driving along the coast!

Perfect stop along Hwy-​1 after a long afternoon drive, admiring the pastoral northern californian coastline and beautiful weather. We stopped a couple times along the way to Caffe Lucca to walk along the beach, and stopped by here to grab a cup of tea and Firenze coffee. They have a great selection of juices and deli foods as well! Will definitely be stopping by again.

This tiny place can be a one star or a five star, depending on where you’re coming from… literally. If you are a local, it’s a great place to get an early cup of coffee on your way to work with a croissant or biscotti. However, if you are someone who has come to the coast in search of a respite from the city, then perhaps this place might be a tad disappointing. It does not offer any actual views of the ocean, even though it is right on the highway, nor do they serve anything particularly unique or yummy. What they do offer, is a great place to catch up on the day’s news items via your laptop (they have wifi) with a nice steaming cup of your favorite hot liquid, and some comfort pastries or pre-​made sandwiches. It is also a great place to meet a local friend and chat for as long as you care to sit there, undisturbed.
For some sophisticated tastes, the home made découpage décor may be outdated and uninspiring, but for others it is just part of a homey place in which to hide for a while and warm up.
That’s my take on it; you either live here and you love it, or you wish you had driven a little further and gone someplace else. Me, I just like it.

Delicious coffee with several options and legit italian espresso. Lots of personality, cozy and charming. I had their organic light brew from Mexico and Puru, it was amazing. Almost better than Blue Bottle and only $ 1.75! If you’re on the 1 and want some amazing coffee stop by.

They have a bell on the door, we walk in — clearly you can hear us right?
Well…we had to wait a good 2 mins before we were even acknowledged… dont’ waste your time

Caffe Lucca serves my favorite chai — Sun Chai from Santa Cruz. (Go for the spicy, not the spicy/​seet combo!) They also carry several milk alternatives, including almond milk.
Free WiFi. Laid back. Some good snack options such as panini’s, a few salads, etc. Italian sodas and pre-​bottled smoothies.
Great outdoor seating area to overlook the ocean.
Great coffee. Smaller café, but never overcrowded.
Right on Hwy 1 and so easy to park.
Downside: prices are a bit high. Service swings from slow to fast, so don’t drop in in a hurry.

Had breakfast here while at Point Montara Lighthouse Hostel. Friendly and nice staff. Good food, good coffee. Atmosphere is lovely.

Came here several years ago and just passed by today and nothing has changed. The location is right on the Pacifica boarder so it doesn’t have the sun unless it is a very nice day. It does have the cold wind and fog.
The coffee isn’t anything special, the place isn’t very clean.

This is an awesome spot for a weekend drive down Route 1 from San Francisco. Sippin’ a latte on the patio on a Saturday afternoon looking at the ocean is downright perfect!
Try the fruit + oat bar! It goes well with a soy latte.

After having brunch at Crab Landing, the ladies and I were all experiencing food coma.
I told them about this place and since the ex brought me here, I felt hesitant to ever go back here. You know, stupid memories as seen on my previous post.
BUT my boss told me to let that sh*t go and so we went.
I felt kinda sick entering the place b/​c I’ve only really gone there with him but I have to move on if I ever want to be back to this place again.
I ordered my double soy mocha and I think we all had that plus they had baked goods. I opted for no sweets since I had the french toast.
The lady behind the counter was so nice. She made my drink piping hot so I was taking it slow in sipping. She passed by our table and she offered to add cold soy.
Overall, that lady behind the counter (she was new to me, haven’t seen her in the past) made my day! She helped eased the anxiety and my ladies helped me create new memories of this place.

Just a 5-​minute walk from the stellar Point Montara hostel. Great, great coffee. I drive a LOT. I take my coffee seriously. I want nothing in it but flavor, and I want it hot. Unlike most places that lay out the coffee in silver canisters, here it stays hot and fresh, and the dark roast is bold and smooth and rich, and all the better for being served in a properly-​NorCal thick pottery mug. It’s a seaside shack with the stuff you need to wake up on a gnarly, grey, NorCal day.
edit: it’s grey, it’s rainy, it’s windy, and i’m many days and many hours from home… and they are playing The Cure. that, my friends, is love. :D

Cute spot off the Cabrillo Highway. Note the word «highway». If you sit outside, sure, you get a nice wind-​sheltered spot, but all you hear is cars! If you sit in one area, you can catch a sliver of ocean, but it’s mainly cars. So if you like to watch cars, and are craving a cuppa joe, this is for you.
Okay, okay, a bit harsh. I thought my experience would be more pleasant based on the Unilocal stars. However, my latte which I always request with 2% and no foam (aka «flat») came with a LOT of foam, which I had to scoop away which means that I had less of a latte to drink which means that I was not happy. Spouse’s mocha still had the powdery remains of chocolate on the bottom. It actually formed a little chocolate powder pocket on the side. Eww! Nothing worse than finding a little granular surprise at the end.
But it still gets the three stars for its charm. Oh yes, plenty here, from the decoupaged table tops to the boxes of Baci chocolates for sale to the mosaic coffee cup artwork on the door. Actually I could totally envision a fashion art house photo shoot here, even though it is on the small side.
Overall, I guess I was just hoping for more. I did like the fact that they served Lavazza coffee however.

My choice for an AUTHENTIC Lavazza cappuccino when cruising the coast on a weekend morning. Really cute little place, frequented by locals and terrific indoor/​outdoor seating with partial ocean views.
Have the really tall skinny guy make your cappuccino. You’d think they imported him straight from Italia. He could teach Starbucks a thing or two on the subject.
SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL FAMILY OPERATED JOINTS.

My first visit here was a few years ago on my way to work. It’s a cute little coffee shop on highway one with a fantastic view of the ocean. If you’re not in a rush, it’s the perfect place to kill a little time.
The coffee here is pretty good, with comparable prices to starbucks. There is a bookshelf that you can borrow a book from, to appear smarter while you drink your coffee. Or you can take your drink outside to the patio with wind barriers to breathe that ocean air. The place has alot of character but one problem: the service. The teen behind the counter was slow and not overly friendly. I had the pleasure of meeting the owner some time back and had great service from her. It’s definitely worth it to stop in and support this place.
P. S. I saw there was a sale sign on the business, but they’re still open. Hopefully this place can stay afloat during these hard times.

Love the cozy ambiance (it looks like a small house) and the large wooden patio where you can enjoy the fresh air and watch the cars drive by. They had pumpkins on the patio tables (Halloween spirit). The food is average though.
The menu is extensive by coffee shop standards: espresso drinks including specialty lattes, paninis, bagels, granola, salads, burritos, hot dogs, veggie dogs (!), croissants, scones, vegan wraps, gelato, lemon bars, cookies, brownies, wine, beer (including Peroni), and champagne. You can get your coffee with soy milk or almond milk. They even have Tofutti (so few places offer it). They also sell imported Italian cheese, Italian candies and San Pellegrino.
I had a single latte ($ 3) and a bagel with Tofutti. The wheat bagel wasn’t toasted long enough and the layer of Tofutti was the thinnest I’ve ever seen. It smelled like it was stored close to an onion bagel (yuck). The latte was smooth and about medium strength.
I looked all over for a power outlet but I didn’t find one. Update: I found the outlets — look overhead. The free wi-​fi worked fine. Free parking.