Cafe Divis

Nice environment for studying and getting a snack/​coffee. I like the variety of seating options like the padded bar chairs, the counter by the window and the sofa seating. It wasn’t too busy when I stopped by either. It’s nice that you can get either coffee or wine in the afternoon when either might strike your fancy. The bathroom was pretty clean whenever I’ve been there too.

I go to Café Divis at least 2 or 3 times a week, only because it is the closest café to my house and it’s a nice place to work on a laptop. They serve pretty good coffee (Blue Bottle) and everything is brewed and made to order on the spot. I’ve had almost all of the food items on their menu and can only vouch for the granola + yogurt and panini sandwiches as being good. Their salads are really bland. I also once ordered an orzo pasta salad and it smelled like it’d been sitting in their display fridge for a few days.
I love the décor of this place. It’s really artistic with a mix of eclectic and modern. I come here often to work and it’s a great environment if you want to be surrounded by other artists, writers, and creative folk. My only complaint about the atmosphere is that sometimes they play their own music WAY too loud, to the point where I can’t even hear my own through my headphones. Also, they have their cleaning crew mop the floors quite regularly, and the cleaning liquid they use has a strong chemical smell that gives me a headache. I solved that problem by always sitting by a window.

How does this place only have 3.5 stars?
I love Café Divis. First, they serve Blue Bottle, and brew each cup when you order it. Yes, this means a longer wait time, but it’s worth it. And every now and then they forget to give you your coffee (it’s happened to my brother almost 4 times somehow), but they mean well. And for the most part, they’re pretty on top of it, and MUCH friendlier than you’d expect from a hipster-​ish coffee shop. Once you become a regular, they remember your order, and make you feel really welcome.
Other than the drip coffee being delicious, their soy lattes are great too. Some places can’t master the soy latte (it comes out watery, too much foam, or full of weird bubbles), but Café Divis is not one of them. It’s creamy /​foamy on top, with a perfect balance of espresso to milk. And unlike the actual (pretentious) Blue Bottle in SOMA, they don’t look at you like you just killed their first born if you ask them to modify your drink in some way.
Atmosphere is great — I always love the music, which to me, can make or break the vibe of a coffee shop. Once while there, I had to ask the barista what he was playing, because it was that good (and not recognizeable by Shazam). In case anyone’s interested, the songs were Rehash: Altshade, and Zeb: The Water and the Sun.
Overall, a great neighborhood spot!

Café Divis is one of the few spots that takes cards in the divis land of cash only.
Chill space. Low light and colorful walls amplify the sun light pouring in it’s large store front windows and aid the change over to Vinyl wine bar at night. Simple décor. Me likes. Soft colors and drift wood.
Blue bottle drips at on tap at the coffee bar. They vary their daily offerings which is a plus if you grow tired of the ubiquitous presence of giant steps at ever stop.
Lox bagel’s tasty albeit sloppy as it slips and slides w each bite. Can’t complain because they’re giving me my money’s worth on a small bagel. I’d rather have a sloppy bagel than less lox any day but then I don’t have qualms about publicly gordoing out.
A scene but not the extent that u can’t get work done. I’m a fan.

Have been to this place several times and each time everything I had was great.
Their drip coffee is very good and I love the big cups they come in if you have it there, Have also tried several of the sandiwches all of which were outstanding. Loved the chicken arugula sandwich especially. Only reason I did not give the fifth star was they are on the pricier side.

Café Divis/​Vinyl (one and the same in case you didn’t get it) is awesome. I love the use of the space for day and night: coffee in the morning, wine in the evening.
As Divis, this place serves Blue Bottle coffee, good bagels and sandwiches.
As Vinyl, they offer wine and food (with food trucks making stops at least once a week) in a fairly calm setting – you can actually have a conversation over a drink, unlike a typical bar experience.
Any minor complaints I’ve had (coffee being cold, something wrong on a sandwich) have always been quickly remedied so I won’t hold it against them.
By far one of my favorite coffee shops in the neighborhood.

This place has been 3 different businesses since I’ve lived in the neighborhood. Every time, it’s seems one mediocre places changed for another. I wanted to like the version, Café Divis, but was sadly disappointed, and I consider myself very easy to please.
My Gripes: Ordered a couple bagels and both were so stale, that once toasted, they were basically rock hard croutons. They were so stale, I couldn’t believe there were even being served. They were out of too many items by 10am on a Sunday, when they weren’t even that busy. Out of tomatoes, no iced coffee, out of coffee beans to purchase. (I’ve actually been by multiple times just to buy beans, and they always seem to be out. I hope they can reevaluate the bean purchase order soon.) The employees seemed very nice too, which makes it hard to give this review. I hope this was just an «off morning,» I’d really like to have another nice café in the neighborhood to go to for morning fixings.
Please make sure the Bagels are fresh before serving… or eating. You can lose a tooth biting into the one I had.

Another review for Café Divis. I’m a regular customer here, quite frequently I’ll spend 3+ hours here doing work and drinking coffee, eating (I always am sure to buy enough to offset my time spent sitting online). So, I feel I have a pretty good feel for the place. But if it weren’t for the convenience (and decent food /​coffee and pleasant employees), I would probably not continue to frequent.
1. Many, many times, they have completely forgotten my order and 15 minutes later when nothing has been called for me, I find out that they haven’t even started my sandwich or drip coffee. Get it together! You’ve been open long enough to have the «kinks» worked out.
2. During café hours, the place is DISGUSTING. First of all, the Broadway table needs to be emptied of the nastiness residing under the glass and redesigned so that crumbs do not get trapped under there. It’s so gross, I refuse to sit there. Secondly, there are usually 4 – 5 employees buzzing around. Why can’t it be someone’s job to keep the coffee prep area clean and stocked and tables wiped down?

So I have only experienced Vinyl, although I came to this spot before it was Café Divis, and the complaints people have about it sound familiar. Often basic coffee bar services were neglected.
Anyway, I like this place. They have a big table made from a street sign under glass. The lights are low and the music is usually up, but not too loud. The wines run from 7 to 14 dollars a glass, but they also have bottled beer. Schlitz is 3 bucks, but step up to the 4-​dollar selections for some value. 21^st Amendment Back in Black IPA. Some beer called Doggie Style. It’s not a huge selection, but I think it gets things right.
I always appreciate the friendly vibe. You’re welcome to taste a wine before committing to a ten-​dollar plonk, and you can get plenty of information if you’re interested in that sort of thing.
I would probably agree with the people who find this place dirty, although I am here only at night. Once a week I drink wine and wait for my laundry across the street. The bathroom approaches a shambles, although it has seat covers like 90% of the time. In the lounge it is dark, with a black curtain pulled across the kitchen and coffee counter. That could be filthy, or have some guy wearing a ball cap backwards, but I’ve never seen it.

Interesting place in haight area. What they did with the space was interesting… the tables are really close together, and then there’s a random couch area in the back. There’s a lot of empty space in front of the register/​counter area.
This place sells blue bottle coffee, different teas, and it’s also a hybrid wine bar. I believe there’s also free wi-​fi.
It’s an interesting place, and I can’t comment on the food because I didn’t order any. It has a divey feel, if you like that vibe. Looks like it could be a club at night.

I went to Café Divis on a weekend afternoon and ordered a slow-​drip coffee along with a Chicken Pesto Panini. The coffee was decent but the panini was just okay. The chicken pesto part of the panini was good, but he bread was a bit dry and bland. The panini also came with a side salad.
Pros:
— The interior was nice and clean
— Free Wi-​Fi
— Good selection of items on the menu
— A fair amount of food portions
Cons:
— Can be a little tough to find a seat
— The food could be a bit better

For the unknowing, Café Divis/​Vinyl Wine Bar is the Bruce Wayne/​Batman of the coffee and wine scene in San Francisco. Sharing the same exact storefront, Café Divis does their thing from 7:00am — 5:30pm, then Vinyl Wine Bar pops in at 5:30pm to round out the night with fabulous wine selections in a casual setting. I’m not positive how many proprietors have engaged in similar business tactics, but I personally think it’s genius. I’m hoping the trend spreads throughout The City like an NYC bed bed epidemic, but I suppose only time will tell.
As for Café Divis, as I said, it’s like the afternoon disc jockey coming in to play records after the midday DJ’s shift is over at 2:00pm. It’s the same studio, same music, same liner notes (that’s industry speak, son), etc…, but it’s obviously a different personality rocking the mic. In the café, it’s the same furniture, same bar counter, the same sort of people milling about, but the personality changes on a dime from coffee to wine in the early evening.
If you’re in the ‘hood and have grown tired of trekking 15 minutes to Hayes Valley to visit the OG Blue Bottle kiosk, you’re in luck, as Café Divis carries their goods. While there are plenty of great roasts in the city like De la Paz, Ritual, Four Barrel, and more… Blue Bottle is a perennial, ubiquitous figure in roasting community, so having the option of passing on Hills Brothers in favor of locally sourced caffeine is always a plus. The cups will run you $ 2.50, which isn’t bad for San Francisco… but if you’re kicking up your feet and staying a while, they’ll give you refills for just $ 1.50. I haven’t experienced another coffee shop around these parts that does that, so for now, I’ll skate the claim that they’re the only ones kicking down a discount for second coffee helpings.
They also have a ton of tasty food options, and a big reason for my glorious 5-​star rating is their massive quantity of available vegan treats. Seriously, you’d think this place was a vegan bakery based on how many sweet vittles they have behind the jewel case. Vegan cookies, vegan homemade granola squares, vegan sandwich cookies from Wholesome Bakery in Bernal Heights (seriously delicious!), and more. This isn’t typical for folks who choose to leave meat and dairy off their plate, so it’s a huge score for an underbelly of the community.
Those reasons, along with one of the most comfortable hangs around with free WiFi to boot, makes Café Divis an instant favorite of mine, and a HUGE step up from the whack coffee shop that called this space home before some real visionaries swooped in and saved the day.

Since it’s opening — and let’s be fair, every place deserves time to find its nitch — this place has really grown on me (and others, as obvious by it never being empty).
It has a simplicity about it, and is lacking the arrogance that the café right before it had. The sandwiches are all delicious (I’ve tried 4 kinds) and it can be crowded and quiet all at the same time.

I definitely loved the fact that I don’t have to drive down to Hayes Valley during my work day for Blue Bottle — now it’s just across the street from my office.
I will say that when this café first opened up — I was a big fan. I am always in support of new mom/​pop shops that open up because you can see they are hard working and they want to do things right.
Paninis — are fresh and amazing. My favorite is the prosciutto with the arugula and request light on the mayo. Their breakfast sandwiches are also pretty fresh and tasty. One of my favorites is their homemade granola that goes well with my yogurt :)
Their desserts is why my waistline hated me for awhile and so that’s why I have been staying away. I did however buy my girlfriend a whoopie cookie and she loved it! So it seems as if the desserts still hold their same reputation of being ridiculously yummy except I do miss their banana bread — the last time I was in there I didn’t see it.
I love the free Wi-​Fi and the being able to bring my work there when I just need a change of pace from my office. It gets pretty crowded so going at the right time is also something to remember.
I’m happy this place is open — gives the neighborhood a great feel and did I mention that they carry Blue Bottle? A hop skip and jump away :) Le Sigh!

It was raining and we were late.
It was going to take an hour and a half to get to the Russian River Valley. If luck was on our side, there would be no traffic. I was anxious to get going. My friends were waiting for us. More importantly, the wine had aged and was ready for consumption.
Being the turbo tourist and New Yorker that I have become, I had disregarded life essentials such as bathroom breaks, food, breathing, relaxing… Jennifer C reminded me that we were in California. The state where people walk slow, where people relax, where people really know how to enjoy their food. She suggested we stop at Café Divis for breakfast before heading out on the road. And to think, I was just going to offer her a McDonald’s pit stop. I am a bad friend!
The people of Lower Haight are lucky to have Café Divis. It’s a café in transition, reborn, and ready to step into the nightlife as a wine bar than spins vinyl. Oh how I love music that does not come out of an iPod or laptop!
It was 9 in the morning and we ordered yogurt with granola and a breakfast sandwich. Everything was made to order. The service was a little slow but honest and earnest. I liked how their drink sign was on a piece of cardboard. Very DIY and simple.
We sat down to take a breather and absorbed the punchy turquoise wall color. There was a man chillin’ and sprawled out on the orange couch reading the paper. A group of older folk were at the bar talking and enjoying their morning coffee. Once again, I was reminded we were in California where people relaxed.
Jennifer C bought a Vegan peanut butter cookie to go. Before you go poo pooing on our yogurt granola vegan like tendencies, I will assure you that it was quite delicious, chewy, and full of flavor.
It turns out Café Divis and the gods were on our side. We arrived in Fulton just in time to toast!

If cafes were movie stars, Café Divis wouid be Johnny Depp in his early career — cool, somewhat scruffy and wild, dark and edgy. The interior is saturnine, with dark purple walls seeming oddly darker by the plentiful sunlight from outside, and the café possesses about as eclectic an array of seating options as Depp’s early roles. A clear table with a large ‘welcome’ street sign ensconced aside — totally Fear and Loathing — the corner of thick, soporific-​looking couches, the wine bar’s long counterspace with stools and the scattered small individual white tables with white chairs… respectively, Ed Wood, Blow… uh… Donnie Brasco? Or something like that.
Café Divis, unlike the early Johnny Depp, also makes a mean roasted yam sandwich and serves Blue Bottle Coffee. ‘nough said, yea?

Fist of all they need signage that it actually IS Café Divis.
second, if they have 8 or so paninis listed on the menu, they should actually have 8+ paninis to offer, but instead they only have a few in the case to choose from (4 choices today)
Sandwiches were ok. I was please only b/​c I go the sammy’s at ½ price, but not so sure I would go back at full price.
ALSO counter help is a bit clueless.

Order the Salmon Bagel. You will love it, and you will love the price!
Was a bit taken aback that the staff didn’t know which teas they served, and they weren’t on top of things. They asked me three times which tea I wanted after I ordered! Got the Mighty Leaf Earl Grey. Good enough.
The décor is awesome. Love the blue wall with the orange couch in front of it. The colors pop! Natural branches on the wall. Nice touch.
Perfect ideal café. I really enjoyed the people watching in the this place, but I also think that’s just the Divis part of SF. I love being in the area!

Still no signs up, but sounds like it will be opening up as «Café Divis». Great location, very spacious. It will be a great place for the happy hour crowd when they get the beer and wine going.
We all know there’s a major quality sandwich deficit in this town, so it’s nice to see this open up. I had the Capresse Pesto Mozzarella panini for about $ 8.50. It comes with a side green salad… very good.
Keep your eyes out for this place. When it gets up and running 100% there will be some good action here.

Exciting news sandwich fans… the 2^nd Panini is now open. You can enjoy the same delicious paninis you’ve come to know and love from their Haight location in a larger, artsier setting. They don’t have a name/​any signs up yet because they haven’t decided on a name. I didn’t see a menu either.
The inside looks more like a coffeehouse than a sandwich shop with wooden floors, a turquoise wall with branches and colorful hanging globe pendant lamps. They have free wi-​fi and power outlets. The serious laptop crowd has already found this place.
* Tofunini: I don’t like it as much as I did the first time at the other location but maybe they’ll get better over time. It seemed saltier, with less tofu and not as many mushrooms? The bread is crunchy on the edges but soft on the inside. I still love the idea of a thick, creamy slab of grilled tofu, with onions, arugula and portabello mushrooms. Comes with a nice, simple mixed greens side salad.
Free wi-​fi, plugs, bathroom and the best paninis in town… I wonder what time they open (the Haight one is open early). I could spend all day here.
Update: They open at 7 AM and are testing closing hours. They hope to serve wine soon.
Cash only for now.