Brickyard Coffee & Tea — Restaurant in San Diego

Really bummed on my experience here. I have lived in San Diego all my life. I'm a heavy coffee drinker and I really like to support local coffee shops and try all the different ones out because they tend to have way better quality than the big chains. I avoid Starbucks at all costs. I've been to The Caffeine Crawl 3 years in a row. This is all just to show you how much I love and have experienced coffee here. I have walked by this spot a couple times in the past and today I decided I'd give them a try. There were a handful of people in there. Walking up to the counter there was a person waiting on their food and then one other person waiting to order ahead of me. As I got in line I took in the place. I noticed it's pretty dusty and dirty, needs some care. I saw a bag of Cafe Moto beans, promising of some quality maybe. I also noticed there were a couple of espresso shots sitting under the portafilter at the machine. No crema at the top, indicating to me they were already sitting. The person ahead of me takes a few minutes to decide what they want. Now it's my turn to order. I patiently wait for the cashier to finish her texting and look up at me to take my order. (The espresso machine has not been touched since I have walked into this shop) I ask for a simple iced vanilla latte, no food. Fast, easy, simple. She turns to those sitting espresso shots and pours em right into my cup and I have a slight panic because I HATE being THAT person. I get her attention before she finished and ask if she just put the shots that were sitting there. She says "yes, these aren't old. They've been sitting maybe 3 minutes". I said "would you mind pulling a fresh one for me?" she looks me dead in the eyes with a smirk and says "They haven't been sitting for any longer than 10 minutes. It doesn't get old, that's not a thing" and continues to hand me my drink! I don't think I need to explain to anyone who drinks coffee regularly that this ended up being a really bitter, subpar coffee. I was in shock at the service and honestly should have asked for my money back and not even taken the coffee. I don't understand why she wouldn't just pull a new shot? Would have cost them maybe pennies, the old shots weren't even made for me to begin with, and it would have taken just a couple minutes of her time. Not sure what time she was trying to save with pre-pulling shots when there was no one else even waiting in there? I ended up continuing to walk deeper into downtown. Came upon Spill The Bean Coffee. Threw out my coffee I had just received from Brickyard And waited in the line that was going out the door at Spill The Beans. Spill The Beans was super clean, extremely friendly, fast, and fresh. I highly recommend them. Will not be going back to Brickyard. I've never had an experience like that at any coffee shop ever. This place has been there for a long time but I think they are sustained by the trolley and locals who need convenience ONLY. Sorry this was insanely long but absolutely...

Ok. I'm pissed. I don't know why. Probably because I'm black and I just felt out of place. Anyway, I just left this coffee shop. I saw a couple of reviews and I had some time to wait for a Greyhound bus. The prices looked reasonable so off I went. Walked to the place. It was close.

Atmosphere: They had a little music playing. I prefer it quiet so I gotta take a star. It looked nice. I've got pictures.

Service: I already knew that I wanted a grilled cheese. I ordered it and told the cashier to hold the tomatoes. Maybe I was speaking too low but her "what?" seemed a little abrasive. I repeated myself and she got it. I wanted drip coffee and they had a vanilla and a house blend. I asked her for her opinion and she said they were both good and gave a brief description of each which did not go beyond the obvious. I got the house blend. It was served up quickly before the sandwich and for it I took a walk to the counter. The cook brought out the sandwich and asked me how I was doing. In this day and age, that's enough for me to rate you high five. After the meal I needed the restroom. I was pointed to it but I felt like I was bothering this. . . barista. After coming out of the restroom I was ready to get the hell out of there and I wonder if that was the point.

Food. I wanted to give this a four but it earned a five. Coffee was fire. Grill cheese was real. The sourdough kept throwing me off but I have to admit that it's fire.

That's it for my review but just to vent a little. I'm sick and tired of feeling like this as a customer. It might have been me for all I know but I feel like crap and I think that is just the way some people in some places want black...

I really wanted to fall in love with this place. I had walked by several times but they were closed for the day every time (they close relatively early - I think 12 PM). It looks so charming and adorable on the outside … the inside, however, is very underwhelming. Additionally, it is shockingly expensive. I don’t know if I have ever experienced such sticker shock before. I fully understand and acknowledge rent and cost of living generally is ridiculously expensive in downtown San Diego, however I’d expect a bit more for how much I paid for a bagel. My friend was visiting from out of town and I was so excited to finally visit this shop and hopefully show him a good experience. Unfortunately I was instead super embarrassed and felt so bad he paid so much for a pretty below-average experience. The food wasn’t bad, but it was hard to stomach the pricing and the below average interior. I really really do want this place to succeed though - I hope they can elevate the experience to somehow justify their price points. Two stars because the person who took our order was really nice and because I do see the potential. I’m rooting...