Pannikin Coffee & Tea — Restaurant in Encinitas

Well…loved the coffee, gluten free muffins and cozy atmosphere. But if you are wanting to feel welcome then this is not the place for you. The 3 staff members that I had contact with were at least consistent in their interesting, not very kind behaviors. Sort of like the scene from Seinfeld of “No Soup for you!” But it was “No coffee for you!” At first I was offended to be waited on while standing in a long line-and have others ordered first behind me and the staff being okay with the proverbial cutsies. But when I went back to order another GF muffin-I saw the two dark haired men treat others the same way. I didn’t feel so alone, as a matter of fact it gave me the giggles to see the look on people’s faces. One girl was ordering and in the middle of it the man walked off during mid order for no reason. Came back and when she asked what type of bagels they had, his impatience came out with a point to a board and moved on not taking her order. While she tried to order again a moment later-he walked off again. Paying no attention to what she asked. We both started laughing. Meanwhile the other dark complected barista, with no hair asked next customer for his order, the customer said one moment as he took 5 seconds to look at the menu. Barista moved on to next and the guy said I’m ready. The barista in an angry tone said, I just asked you and you weren’t ready and threw his hands up. I was dying laughing inside. He angrily took the order and stomped off to make coffee. While the other barista took other orders and being as unfriendly as he could be. And he got impatient again with the young girls placing their orders. I was impressed how patient they were with his unkindness. I was then waited on by a tall blonde girl who seemed to make up for the other rude staff. I’m part Native so I’m not being prejudice here. When a dark haired lady came with what I thought was my blueberry muffin to the cashier and I said oh is that mine? She looked at me and said NO in a disgusted manner. I think in her head it was more like… how dare you?! I left with my muffin and got in the car and could not stop laughing trying to explain to my husband what I experienced. He said I have a visual-I saw it earlier. But to me no one seemed bothered by much of it. It truly gave me entertainment. But won’t be going back. Someday’s I am not in the mood for this type of entertainment. But still not bad...

I visited the Pannikin Leucadia recently for the first time since COVID19 and was upset to see the lack of safety measures. Yes, the staff wear masks and the clientele [mostly do] was while inside, but there were no other apparent safety measures. I spoke with a staff member who told me that there was no hazard pay being offered, nor did they know of paid 2-weeks off if an employee tested positive, nor was healthcare extended for PT employees in any way (full or partial coverage). I also did not see any hand sanitizer available. It was concerning to me that the employee mentioned that "it would be difficult to implement safety measures given the store layout". Having only my customer experience to go off of, I could imagine that your management could consider not having one employee fully service each customer, thus limiting the people touching the same items (coffee machines, tongs for pastries, cash register, etc) as well as a sign/person regulating the customers coming in so that only people actively ordering are inside. I have also seen that other businesses have restricted access to outdoor seating by putting signs, caution tape or similar over benches/chairs in order to maintain social distance on the patio - this could work for your fixed layout. As mentioned above, instituting mandatory hand sanitization and/or temperature checks when entering is another safety option. I am confident that you, your team, or your fellow business owners have other solutions you could implement, as well. I am urging you as a lover of your staff and food/bev to please consider the safety of your workers and their livelihoods while they are actively put in danger. And before you say that they can choose not to work, really think about that, because most people cannot go without a paycheck in SoCal and especially now with even less gov't support. Until I know that Pannikin has taken the employee well-being further into account, I will sadly, but resolutely, not be returning for the best coffee...

The Pannikin is a great place with a great selection of tea. I don't drink coffee but my friends love it. The pastries, cakes, and pies are all made daily and I love the vibe. There's outdoor seating as well as indoor. There's outdoor seating on the balcony and benches out in the sunlight. Quality product with a quality setting.

The service is really friendly every time I come here. This is where I get most of my loose leaf tea. Their selection is fairly broad and everything is high quality. I've been buying tea here for almost two decades and I don't have any other regular loose leaf tea places that I go to. There are other very fine teas elsewhere. It's just that my favorites are here. My favorites are red chai, pomegranate green, and the green dragon chai. Their jasmine tea is really nice as well.

I love the decoration and the history of this place. They often have local artists featured upstairs and it gives the space a unique ambience. The art is often intriguing if not beautiful, and it's beautiful more often than not.

I've been getting the key lime pie recently and I like how it's not too sweet. It pairs well with a chai latte. Most places tend to make their key lime pies really sweet and very tart. As much as I love the tartness, I'd prefer a less sweet pie. I'd be happy to have a slightly less tart pie if I can get it at a level of sweetness that doesn't dissolve my teeth with every bite. Their key lime is a great balance so it's been my recent go-to when I'm not going for lunch. I tried their chai cake once, and that was a mistake. It was generally lacking in any flavor. It was sweet, but the frosting was disappointing and devoid of chai flavor. The cake itself was dense but dry. A far cry from their carrot cake. There's only one vegan option for pastries, and that's a little disappointing considering how many pastries they have to offer. I'm not vegan myself, but I have a fair number of friends that are and I'd like for them to be able to enjoy coming here as...