Pink Owl Coffee

I’m sad that I forgot to take better photos for pink owl coffee. I had an oat milk latte and it was expensive but soooo good. Minus 1 star just for pricing but the coffee was amazing.

I was planning to write a review, but before I write any review I do read the others. Could be that we got lucky, as visitors from SoCal, visiting the Mission, but we had an absolutely wonderful experience here, the food was outstanding, mozzarella, pesto, tomato, with balsamic drizzle croissant is the kind of thing you would want as the answer to a meal you would have for the rest of your life if you could only have one meal😋. We also had the chocolate cherry scone and a bagel and cream cheese, both above average as was the latte👍. Not cheap, but in this day and age, nothing is cheap, the customer service was top notch and the ambiance is wonderful.

The bar for coffee in San Rafael is so painfully low, thanks to places like this that seem to revel in their mediocrity. 10am on a Friday. No line. Awesome. Employees (and owner) are filming content for social media. Respect. HOWEVER when I’m standing at the cash register trying to give you my money and I’m watching said social media filming, and no one even says hello (owner this is on you as the leader) then we have bad customer service. Barista kid avoiding eye contact cuz he’s in over his head with pumpkin sugar lattes. I get it. Finally, an employee who would rather be shooting TikToks came over to take my order. Small drip to go, please. $4 and she waits to see what my tip is before getting my coffee. Super awkward and unprofessional. Tip choices are $1 / $2 / $5 (instead of percentages) so I type in my own: 50 cents. 12%. For a drip to go. She didn’t seem pleased with my tip. She asks which of the two roasts I want (medium or medium dark, and I know they’re both burnt so I say medium). I move to pickup area, and she comes over AT 10AM ON A FRIDAY and says they’re out of that drip and would I want to wait. I say I’ll take anything hot. She has her hand on a medium cup and chooses to replace it with a smaller one, and serves me the other drip, lukewarm. So here’s the deal: if your product is amazing, you can have crappy customer service. If your customer service is amazing, you can serve inferior product. But when both the product and the customer service are this bad (I’m hoping their socials are on fire because that’s obviously their priority) then they don’t deserve good reviews or repeat customers. SOMEONE open a coffee shop east of this place, do the bare minimum (hot beverages and customer acknowledgment) and crush the SR cafe market. Until then, make your coffee at home. To the owner: I’m sure finding excellent help is hard these days, but you can turn avg employees into excellent employees with training and leadership. I believe in you! And them! Good luck.

The downtown Pink Owl location has the better atmosphere, is bigger, and has light food options. However the other location has more available parking. Interior is hip and stylish, with lots of plants, dim lights, and usually disco music. There are plenty of non-coffee options, as well as some rotating fun coffee options with their seasonal specials. I recently got a Turkish delight oat latte, which was delicious and the right kind of sweet. Plenty of seating, with options on couch comfy/pillow seating and more serious booth or chair seating. There is also a lot of merchandise, including beans, mugs, and misc gifts. The coffee shop has WiFi and plenty of power outlets on tables, so it's a great place to get some work or studying done. However, the music is too loud if you happen to find the need for an emergency conference call.

I was in town visiting. While I was in downtown San Rafael, I was looking for a quick bite and coffee for breakfast. I dropped into the Pink Owl. It was my first ever visit. The staff was outstanding. Engaging and helpful. The bagel was good but the chocolate muffin was out of this world delicious. However, my chai latte fell flat. It was lacking a creaminess and deep tea and spice flavor. Besides coffee drinks the menu includes baked items, bagels $5.75, toasts $12-15 and sandwiches $15. The chocolate muffin was big and plump. Moist. Chocolaty but not overly sweet. From the outside, the place has a modern bohemian charm. The patio furniture was a bold teal color and the painted pink owl in the window was quirky. The inside was just as charming. They had tables and chairs, cushy sofas and plush reading chairs, with lots of USB ports and outlets. The vibe was lively and chill with a diverse bunch.