Sheldrake Coffee Roasting — Restaurant in Long Beach

Long time customer, first time reviewer... I've been coming here for over 30 years, knowing that this is the best spot in Long Beach for people who want their coffee as fresh and high quality as possible. While they used to be known as Polly's, a few years ago they changed names to avoid confusion with the pie restaurant. It is the same owner Mike Sheldrake rest assured.

I felt compelled to give him a review since I stopped by today to get some freshly roasted whole bean coffee. Unfortunately, the shop had closed early so they could host their employee "Thanksgiving dinner" (held in January to make it easier to procure the proper turkey and all the trimmings as Mike told me) Despite this Mike himself let me in to purchase a couple pounds of beans.On one hand I felt bad intruding on a private dinner, on the other as any LB local knows getting to 2nd St. and finding parking is a big mission so I was very grateful for Mike's hospitalilty today.

That being said, formerly Polly's/now Sheldrake's is a Long Beach institution. They actually roast their beans ON SITE which is a real rare thing nowadays. I remember back in the 90s when Starbucks came on the scene, they opened at least 3 storefronts on 2nd including two as close as possible to this place, and still it survived because they sell a higher quality product.

If you care about making your own top tier coffee, this is where you go to get the freshest roasted beans. The neighborhood is crowded and parking is always a chore, but it's totally worth it.

Thanks again Mike for...

The coffee is very good and I'm happy for Sheldrake that they enjoy great ratings, but I have a policy regarding public restrooms. If I'm spending my money at an establishment, the least they can do is provide a clean restroom. This feels especially true in a shop where the clients are sipping diuretic liquids. After I finished the business meeting I had on their patio, I asked the barista where the restroom is and he said Win Dow, the burger place next door "let's us use theirs." Really? But it was early and Win Dow wasn't open. He told me the closest business with a public restroom is a 10 minute walk. Had I still been in my meeting and needed to excuse myself, I would have to do so for 20 minutes. Don't think so. Haven't done business at Subway or Arco gas stations for decades for the same reason.

Won't be going back to Sheldrake unless...

One of the most underrated coffee shops in Long Beach; by genre, this is Long Beach's only "old towne" coffee shop. They roast their coffee right in the back of the shop in their exposed roaster. It's both enlightening and a novelty to watch them most mornings cook the coffee that you're about to drink. It is my suspicion that serving coffee may be secondary to their large volume of roasted coffee orders. As such, this makes the coffee served in-house unassuming. Again, by genre, Polly's serves diner coffee, and - forgive me - damn fine coffee. It's delicious and veers away from the lighter roasts popular in craft coffee shops these days. If it's not medium, it's probably not Polly's. Their outdoor patio is also fantastic. Overall, this is a great choice that most wouldn't immediately think...