Coffee Crawl: Stanza Coffee, SF

There’s some distinct pleasure in the aroma of coffee. It’s like a hug after months of being alone, or winding down familiar roads after a long time away. It envelopes you. Even non-coffee drinkers will admit, there’s nothing more romantic than curling up in the window seat of a café, inhaling that holy smell, reading, typing, or even just people-watching. Whenever we picture our favorite writers or artists, isn't it always in some eclectic coffee shop, nursing the ever-dramatic black coffee? If you're on our coast, there's nothing better than Stanza Coffee. 

Nestled in the ever-exciting Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco, Stanza Coffee is decorated with a thoughtful mix of the minimalism that we see so much in San Francisco coffee shops these days (looking at you, Four Barrel!) and an unabashed whimsy. The table tops are made of the lids of wine barrels. The deep maroon walls bear well placed mason jars that hold succulents and curling foliage. The smooth wooden counter top that the baristas stand behind has a glass case that rises out of it like the pyramid at the Louvre, except this one holds a selection of pastries. 

The surprising thing about Stanza? While the coffee is great, it's the hot chocolate that leaves an impression. The texture! The nutty aftertaste! It's the happy medium between European hot chocolate that is basically a bar melted down and traditional American hot chocolate that is often just not thick enough. The baristas certainly know their coffee, but the hot chocolate is no afterthought either. 

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We recommend Stanza in the morning, before all the shops on Haight open. There’s a calm-before-the-storm feeling, a silence that is pleasurably disconcerting. 

​​3126 16th St, San Francisco, CA 94103