Cable Car Coffee Company

Got an iced chai for ~$ 4 and it was pretty good. Nice and sweet but it only lasted me a couple sips because it was mostly ice. So if you’re thinking about ordering an iced drink ask for less ice. Or else you’ll just pay $ 4 for ice.
Also, I have some customer service issues. I question the sanitary status of this place… When you try this place maybe you’ll see where I’m coming from. Also there was a girl working who didn’t seem to be very knowledgable of the small menu and had me wait until the guy finished serving someone. She couldn’t even ring me up and was barely able to take my order.
I would come back for the chai but maybe if someone else was working

Such a cool little spot right outside the Powell BART station. I was in line for the Powell & Hyde street car with my GF when I REALLY needed a coffee but didn’t want the typical Starbucks. so I went down the stairs and hit this up, remembering seeing it when we arrived from the airport on the BART.
They have a pretty decent selection of drinks and small bites. I got the iced white mocha and it was absolutely amazing. Maybe I got the barista on a good day or maybe I was just not quite awake enough to be a good judge at the time of my first sip but I was in heaven lol.
The look of this place alone is enough to make a fun memory for a tourist sucker like me and I have NO RAGRETS! Not even one letter…

Simple and Efficient, placed at a strategy position at SFO downtown the Cable Car Coffee offers to customers a good choice of beverages, traditional candies and a delicious espresso. The coffee shop doesn’t accept cards and during rainy days maybe couldn’t be a good choice once time its tables don’t have nothing more than umbrellas to protect. After all, that’s an old fashioned place :)

My search for a mocha that makes me stay awake ends here. I don’t know what they put in it but on days when I’m hauling myself in the morning and need something to slap me into reality, their mocha does it! I’m ready to progress after I finish my «double mocha» or maybe I should just go with the «single» next time… heh. The taste is good but I mainly pay $ 3 here for the results and I get some good results I tell ya. Keeps me going all day until I get into bed. Zzz*

Had a frappé type drink after work, as well as a roast beef sandwich. I think the cold sandwiches are now closer to $ 4.50 each, but it was still a bargain. It was the mocha frappé drink that was not exactly a generous portion, but it was very good.
Excellent for people watching, since it’s adjacent to a BART station! I was only visiting from out of town, but if I worked in the area I would eat lunch there often.

Honestly, I have only had coffee here. It was good.
But I walk past here everyday coming to and from work, and I must say they keep the area really clean, they play different genres of music everyday, and I love the atmosphere!
awesome spot to have lunch! or a coffee and watch all the people!

I ordered a roast beef sandwich, it was very good, and the reason they are only $ 3.50 is because they are SMALL… the meat is not piled on as you might expect. The beef is only ONE LAYER (see pic).
But overall, if you’re not super hungry, it does the trick and the seating area (see more pics) just outside the Powell St. Station is very pleasant, providing you’re not hit up for change by the many transients around.
It’s cash only.

really convenient, a turkey sandwich for 4 dollars? Great!

Pretty rock solid sandwich for $ 4.

Great location and outdoor atmosphere, and great prices for Bay Area. There’s a nice selection of coffees, pastries, snacks and juices. The The coffee may disappoint snobs, but it’s not bad at all. «Gourmet sandwiches» are more like standard cafeteria or diner food and disappointing. I would go back for the atmosphere though, and good snack spot. The staff are super friendly and nice. Perfect for tourists since it’s right outside the huge below-​level San Francisco Visitor’s Center at BART Powell Station.

After a day of walking around Union Square I needed a quick caffeine fix. Cable car company is conveniently located and decently priced. However the coffee is horrible, my friend and I couldn’t even finish the iced mocha that I ordered. Save some money don’t bother.

Coffee ain’t bad. Sandwiches are cheap like 3.50. Great place to scoop a coffee before a cold day in downtown.

I guess one can’t really expect the world getting a sandwich here, at a location that’s bound to have negative expectations. But, for $ 3.50 (I know, right?), a turkey sandwich can be had here that’s prepared on the spot, and it will hit the spot. Spot, spot, spot, spot, spot.
Spot.

It’s just a walk up coffee counter with a decent amount of fresh breakfast options of pastries, etc. I don’t eat that, but I make sure to say FRESH so you don’t think they are hanging out overnight in that area.
I just got black coffee… but it was a joy. Walking to a conference early in the morning, bleary eyed and totally confused from the N Judah because I had NO idea what I was doing, this little shack was playing Bob Marley at a perfect volume and sort of just welcomed the day… or at least coaxed me over to enjoy a bit of mud.
Got the coffee, paid the guy… who was REALLY friendly, and had a really good energy for the morning… excited without being oppressive.
That’s what I needed.
Like the coffee.
It can attract the bums and birds… but it also is a fine joint for a quick cup or moments rest.

There is truth to the statement you pay what you get for. In this economy we’re all trying to save some bucks wherever we can. This little stand is settled at the bottom of an escalator next to the Powell BART/​MUNI station entrance, the underground Westfield entrance and the tourist filled trolley turnaround up above. I have to admit I’ve passed by this place for years and thought it was as sketchy as some of the pigeons and homeless who congregate here but after coming here with a friend the other day, I’ve changed my opinion.
The prices of their offerings are considerably less than comparable places in the surrounding areas. Example: a small cup of coffee 50 feet away at Starbucks is $ 1.55, here it’s $ 1.40. A banana at Starbucks 90 cents, 75 cents here will get you a bigger better banana (and who doesn’t like that?). The sandwiches look decent enough (especially for the low price of $ 3.50) and honestly I can’t think of any other place nearby that sells sandwiches for under $ 5.
As I stated, you pay for what you get for. The establishment is cash only. It’s one man operation so if you’re in a hurry this might not be your best bet. The view and smell in the surrounding area is not desirable. Dive bombing pigeons and people asking for change are lined along the outside of the perimeter but these nuisances are almost unavoidable anywhere near Union Square. My friend and I managed to enjoy our coffee, conversation and cigarettes without being bothered by either groups before moving on with our days. Definitely keep it in mind when you need a quick caffeine fix.

Definitely an odd place to grab coffee… But the line at Starbucks was TOO long, so we went here instead! GREAT coffee! I ordered an iced vanilla latte, and it was much better than Starbucks! We ordered 4 different coffees and we were each very pleased! CASH only though!

Very inexpensive for a great veggie sandwhich ($ 3.50) and a soy chai. Loves it.

Since they closed my favorite random little coffee shop across from Virgin Records, I’ve begun to feed my coffee habit at the Cable Car. The coffee is good, and they make a nice iced chai. Love the cookies, ambivalent about the muffins. It’s the atmosphere of this place that I enjoy most. We have afternoon brainstorming meetings here sometimes, and the Bob Marley playing in the background really makes you feel like you’re out of the office. Random but in a good way.

I actually really like this place and frequented it when I was going to school in Civic Center. It’s just a small sandwich/​coffee shop in an old cable car right on the landing between Powell BART and the cable car turn around at the bottom of Powell. Not fancy or even nice at all, but definitely alright with me.
Their sandwiches are big and well made for the price, and although by no means friendly, the service is fast and competent. Perhaps not the best around, but certainly a good option for a cheap, quick meal in the middle of the day.
I don’t really like eating at their tables because I’m constantly hit up for money by the bums standing outside Powell station and there are tons of pigeons around. However, it’s nice to be able to sit while waiting for your order and stand under umbrellas when it’s raining.

I prefer the coffee here to any of the Starbucks or other chains around. Plus I’m not supporting some massive chain. And their prices are cheaper. Their sandwiches can be okay but there are too many times I’ve ended up with stale bread or the irritating sandwich that hasn’t been cut in half completely, leaving me to tear it jaggedly and spill ingredients into my lap. I like the white cheddar and the hot peppers on the sandwiches but it takes a little too long for the service and I have heard that the hot version of the sandwich is not very good. Oh and I almost forgot the large flock of Powell Street BART pigeons that make this place their personal port-​a-​potty making this place even more appetizing and hazardous to my hair.