Caffe Trieste

coffee.caffetrieste.com

NYC has Caffe Reggio, SF has Caffe Trieste. Not as old as the one in NYC but has the equal amount of nostalgia and authenticity. They even have an egg cream on the menu - like how NY is that? Plenty of locals and tourists hit this place so it can get busy.

Everything feels as it should in here - from the juke box I’ve never seen used to the old and worn furniture along with some customers who seem to have been sitting there longer than the chairs themselves. I think it is one of the must stops for a true North Beach experience.

They have this extensive coffee menu of which I only understand half of it. The coffee is great and I noticed the last time I was there that they now have a retail store connected to it where you can buy larger bags of beans to take home. Since COVID they’ve also built some outside seating which is good on a nice day and helps with the busy times.

The place is cash only and lines can develop quickly as they are appropriately a bit slow with the everything being hand operated through one machine.

They also have some food there but I’m usually just a cannoli and espresso person.