Artis Coffee

Great coffee. Great staff. Delicious sweets. Only issue was noted they let in folks to use their bathrooms to ‘clean’ themselves… right off the streets. It was odd. Otherwise, love the place.

Yes, in my world of first world problems, I was pissed.
$ 5 for a particularly bad almond croissant.
(OK, I’m exaggerating it was $ 4.98).
For small version of a hollow lump with the texture and taste of a croissant from the Safeway Bakery.
I’m a fan of ACs. So after paying, my expectations are raised. I’m thinking this must be a great croissant.
I figure this is a new-​era coffee place. They’re probably on top of all the latest quality criteria.
Further up the Castro/​Divis road I’ve paid $$ for a slice of toast. And it was great.
And I think it’s perfectly reasonable to pay $ 7 for the Rebel Within at Craftsman & Wolves. That is an amazing, delicious, well crafted idea. Worth every penny.
So I wouldn’t mind paying extra for a croissant made with California organic almonds from growers using low-​water agriculture, employing fair labor practices, with bees pollinating their orchards, made with sugar that doesn’t screw the Everglades, lubed with Strauss organic butter. You get the idea.
But that’s not what this was.
What Artis sold me for $ 5 (minus two cents) was lighter than air — because it had almost no almonds or almond paste inside.
To be sure, there was a deceptive sprinkling of almonds across the top, the purpose of which seemed mostly to help the customer identify it as an almond croissant.
But this wasn’t good even it were a plain croissant.
The woman who served me said they came from Starter Bakery in Emeryville. Starter sells them for $ 3.50 retail, but I guess if you add bridge toll it jacks it up to $ 5 (minus two cents) for you and me.
For all I know they gave good coffee. But these days, in this town, in this neighborhood, that’s easy to find, no? With Phlilz and Reveille and others so close, what’s the point? Yeah I know Artis has their «roasted alive» thing — they’re the Smitten of coffee, I suppose — but whether this is a gimmick or not is up to the individual palate. And why would I reward Artis with more money after they charged me $ 5 (minus two cents) for a wheat puff?
(The ACs at Reveille are wonderful, BTW, and are priced significantly lower.)
Sure some of you will say «all this about a croissant, but this is a coffee place.» Well someone at Artis opened this place, well after the world of Unilocal and social media. And in that environment they made a business decision about what they would sell me and what they would charge me: low quality for high price. Apparently they thought that was a good value. That I’d feel good after that experience. Or maybe they were just screwing us, thinking in our neighborhood of DINKs and tech money we won’t even notice the price. Either way, I think it’s perfectly reasonable they they are held responsible for that. Welcome to capitalism in the age of accountability. And relax, it’s one review out of 30 or so and will soon be buried, because who reads past the first few reviews anyway?
Artis, why not take your mission for quality and flavor and make it true for every experience you offer your patrons?

This is my favorite coffee shop in SF. It’s quaint and the quality of the pastries and the coffee is absolutely excellent. It’s a great place to meet someone for coffee or read a book or get some work done on your laptop. It’s a very light, casual vibe with little distractions. I only wish there was lounge seating so that we could sit more comfortably!

Tried this place twice and will keep coming back because A) my latte and cortado have been really good! And B) the guy with the glasses who served and made my drinks both times is always nice and personable.

I got my decaff Quick Cup fix here every morning for a month or so this past March/​April. Then, all of a sudden they stopped brewing the decaff, and I was told that they no longer offered that drink in the morning. What gives? I go there at 8:30am and no decaff? I can’t believe they stopped serving a menu item in the morning? This place is wacko. They offered a small decaff Americano as a replacement, a small size for the price of a large decaff. It was a good cup of coffee. But they lost a customer. And from the few customers I see here compared to all the other coffee places in the Castro, this shop does not have a bright future…

Pretty good coffee! Can sometimes be on the sweet side. Bathroom is immaculate. The people that work there are really nice and helpful. I like the sunny window spots!

Manages to attract and satisfy the needs of all coffee lovers. Coffee is superb, the pastries are fresh, kind staff, and the store is modern and well designed.
Super welcoming to coffee experts as well as novices!

Love my neighborhood go to for awesome flat whites. So perfect. And the bakery items and quiche are divine. Great addition to Castro.

The staff is so nice and friendly.
This is my 3^rd time that I visited this café.
Unfortunately, the taste of Ice Mocha is so unstable but not that bad.

The coffee is good, the WIFI is free, there is ample seating, and the staff is very eager to be helpful here… Overall a great combination!
When this business opened, they went out of their way to install a WHEELCHAIR-​ACCESSIBLE door button to automatically open the door… something that they definitely didn’t *have* to do, and that means a lot to those of us who need and use such features, since it makes our lives easier.
But then there’s one seemingly small detail that keeps bothering me, and is the only reason I haven’t given this place 5 stars: Some of the items used for doctoring my coffee are up on a shelf, above where the average wheelchair user could reach. This, I don’t understand. I know they’re going for a certain look, a particular aesthetic… but this is just rude and impractical!
Sure, the several times I’ve been in and have purchased coffee, whoever’s behind the bar has rushed to «help me reach» those items that are beyond my grasp in my chair… but it’s unnecessary and embarrassing. Why can’t they just move all of those items down to the main table level like most coffee shops do?! Is inconveniencing everyone in a wheelchair a worthwhile trade-​off for maintaining a specific interior design???
Artis, please fix this. Please show your wheelchair-​using customers that your store respects them by allowing them the dignity of self-​reliance.

I think I started coming here the first week they opened. I’ve written at least three blog posts while here, filled out an app to go on a monastic retreat, waited for long term HIV survivors support groups, saw the guy who creeps me out regularly on the 24 bus (take your psych meds dude — I do!) and met the guy who found my ID lying on the street in San Francisco while he was visiting, mailed it back to from DC then met me here — at this place — two years later. Truly a crossroads.
And they only opened this spring!!!
So today I roll in, notice how full the place has become and was joking about this to the friendly gal who has taken my order every time. And she got the order wrong. No big deal right? But when I said hey, wait, supposed to be a mocha, not an Americano — 2.75 is way too cheap for a mocha, she just gave me the mocha at that price anyway. Perhaps ringing the exchange was too much headache. Perhaps the actual cost to them was minuscule. Who knows?
But I care. Because it was good customer service. I wasn’t upset and yet she did something to make me feel even better.
Don’t really care if this place is local or a chain — and I prefer local-​er coffee places so the coffee is less soaked in corporate aftertaste. Customer service that is organic and unscripted always makes things taste better.
So Artis definitely has a loyal customer for the foreseeable future. They had me at the first mocha.

I think I might have died and gone to Espresso Heaven. This might just be the 2^nd best shot I have ever tasted in my long coffee life. A full flavored, creamy roast perfectly made and delivered by a wonderful pair of baristas. I will be back — and back.

I’ve seen Artis Coffee in Hayes Valley but never actually made it in there. We were actually headed for Philz in the Castro. But if you know me, I like to try new things once in a while! So we came to Artis and it was such a pleasant experience. We went for the Cold Brew, Reg Coffee, and a half-​sweet Iced Vanilla Latte (for my daddy). Another great coffee spot in the Castro! No complaints here!

Great environment for studying! The tables are sturdy and clean, the music is at the perfect noise level, and the modern wooden-​themed interior makes you feel relaxed. There’s free wi-​fi (which is super fast but doesn’t work at times), power outlets, and a clean bathroom. The coffee is great — I had a cappuccino and the espresso flavor was strong even in the milk foam. It’s definitely expensive though ($ 3.75 for cappuccino, $ 4.25 for latte).
I’ve tried to go to the Hayes Valley location to do work, but it’s always full, whereas this location had free seating the entire afternoon I was there. Maybe it’s because there are so many coffee options in the Castro already? Anyway, I’d say you can depend on getting seating here if you come!

I’ve always enjoyed Artis at their Berkeley and Hayes Valley location, so I was pleasantly surprised to find out that they have a location in the Castro. I quite like the Iced Chai here, it’s sweet (disclaimer: could be too sweet for some) and reminds me of Taiwanese milk tea (except without pearls). I love love love London Fog (earl grey latte) so I love that Artis is one of the few coffee places I’ve found in the Bay Area that has it on their menu. And their coffee is solid, with a variety of options available.
The space is airy and tables aren’t cramped together, making it an ideal place to work, especially since there are outlets and free Wifi. While this café is smaller than the Berkeley location, it’s quite accessible and a great place to get work done.

New to the increasing presence of caffiene supplies. Artis offers a simple, clean and airy new option. On a recent visit while waiting for the dog to be groomed at mud puppies, just down the road offered great opportunities for a boost. Frim hot & cold options, teo nondairy milk alternatives, several baked goods an great supply of coffee and espresso machines to window shop. The best part was the staff; very friendly and generous. If you live in the Castro make sure you let them know. They are really wanting to become part of the Castro and it’s neighborhoods more than some of the other recent additions which sort of ignore those that live within a block or two for the more touristy and hip crowds.

Last week l was so tired and walking around Castro to sit somewhere and drink a cup of coffee. Then l came across this café and l instantly thought «looks pretty cool. l went inside and ordered a latte and a small muffin. That small muffin costed me $ 5 ! It taste like expired egg and rotten strawberry.
Coffee was okay. Don’t need to go crazy on it. If you pay $ 4.75+ tip, your mother would make much better coffee.
By the way, don’t think you will go there, drink you coffee and study. Their awkward and poor taste of interior design target your bum to make it flat. You can’t even sit and drink something for 30 mins. I had trouble to connect to internet. If you are opening a café in Castro, you have to have a good/​fast wifi connection. You can’t be a poor lady who sells coffee in a trailer. l even couldn’t see my dog thru skype because l couldn’t connected well to internet !!!
Don’t go there until they make smart financial, wifi and interior design choices…
²⁄₁₀

When it comes to getting coffee in the Castro, I’m a Reveille girl through and through. But I’m also an east bay girl, so I had to try Artis’s new location, especially since it’s so close to me now.
They have a better selection of the pastries than the Berkeley location. The Berkeley Artis is a great place to drink great coffee and admire your surroundings, since the space is so big and there’s so much to see, not really to get work done. The Castro Artis takes the great coffee of their main branch and turns it into somewhere you can really settle in and drink a good pour-​over.
Like any place in the Bay Area that offers solid pour-​overs, my recommendation is to ditch the latte and ask the barista for their recommendation. You won’t regret it!

Great coffee, staff, and ambiance. Great furniture, great location. Pretty much the only bad thing about this place is the abysmal music selection. It’s appallingly bad, to the point where it makes me not want to stay more than a couple minutes. It sounds like old 70’s pop music that you would hear inside a thrift store. Let’s get some trendy electronic or jazz. Hell, I’d even take some Top 40 over this.

Fantastic addition to Castro — I hope it sticks! They claim to revolutionize the «coffee experience» (I’m paraphrasing their sign). Spoiler alert: they don’t. However, they have great coffee and a comfortable space for chilling, working, or whatever. It’s simple (they’re no Philz), quick, and convenient.