S3 Coffee Bar — Restaurant in San Diego

After a beautiful walk through Balboa Park my roommates and I decided to treat ourselves to this coffee bar. What really sealed the deal was how word on the street is this place has got a color changing lemonade. Look, I'm a man who likes to appreciate the little things. A lemonade? That changes colors? You'd be lying to yourself right now if that doesn't sound like a groovy way to cool off after a hot day in a crowded park. So anyway, we get there. Ursula's Revenge I think the beverage was called. I'm way too anxious to even attempt to utter a wacky name like that out loud so I get an iced mocha instead and my roommate decides to test the waters with this magical lemonade. Other roommate gets a plain cold brew cause he's going dairy free for June for whatever reason. Who the hell knows. Anyway, we receive our drinks at the counter and my roommate is given a set of instructions that she must follow if this mysterious, sweet concoction is to successfully do what it is meant to do. She has to pour a tube of lemon juice into the bigger cup with the rest on the ingredients, and stir up the stuff resting at the bottom. Easy stuff. A T-rex with polio could do that. So she does it and it changes from dark purple, to slightly lighter purple. Probably because of the lemon juice. Fellas, I wasn't expecting any wild disney magic. But c'mon. It was forgivable. Then I take a sip of my iced mocha and holy moly it was as if someone just gave me chocolate milk that was one part milk and three parts syrup. It was unbearably sweet and any relation to coffee this drink probably thought it had is a falsehood conjured up by adoptive parents. It was borderline criminal. After cold brew roommate finished his beverage, which he really liked, he wanted to try my mocha after seeing my reaction. That sip made him squirm too. Plus it ruined his dairy free June but that's my fault for being a dumb dumb. I couldn't finish the rest of my drink and left it in the trash on the way out. Which made me feel bad because the service was excellent and the staff are friendly. The mocha protocol they are ordered to follow must change. Because although the drink was way too sweet, I went home bitter and...

I've delayed long enough on S3 Coffee Bar! This place gets it. This place is legit. This place is THE coffee place in Grantville and dare I add, Mission Valley! I'm pretty sure S3 may be the one of the most hidden coffee spots in San Diego. Well, it is Grantville, like anyone comes to Grantville if you don't live around here!

You have to try their West Bean cold brew! Absolutely delicious! I often add just a touch of vanilla syrup for some sweetness. They also have (currently) their holiday cold brew, with added cardamon. Wow!

I've also had their vietnamese cold brew, and it's fantastic. What I love about S3 is they are willing to adjust your coffee to however you like it. Not only that, but they are more than willing to have you try something before you buy it. I think they have the best customer service! Super friendly! Makes me want to come back as often as I can! Their Matcha is also outstanding!

Their acai bowls are surprisingly good for a coffee shop. They use Acai Roots, and they give you a pretty good portion for the price! All the toppings are excellent!

Their pastries are also great! They have Cravory cookies (bomb, of course) and also other pastries (Bread & Cie, and others I can't remember) that are tasty! You might as well grab one with your cup of coffee!

Last time I stopped in, we had their toast. I had the PB and Banana. The wife had the avocado toast. So happy I did! The attention to detail on presentation makes it hard to eat something that looks so pretty! Destroyed it in two seconds though!

The shop itself is very nice and with free wifi, you really just want to stay awhile! Don't hesitate to make a stop at S3! I'm going the next...

My partner and I went to the coffee shop. The person in front had just bought the last specialty item of the day. I haven’t been asked my order and the worker is still working on the order of the person in front of me. She looks at me specifically and says that she doesn’t have the specialty item available. I said okay. By the time I get to tell the worker to tell her my order she tells me again that there’s no specialty item. I haven’t even STATED MY ORDER. As I was telling her my coffee order, she laughs because I butcher one word. I asked for a cinnamon roll and she said that they don’t offer that but they had a label that says cinnamon roll. The business posts on instagram that they have the cinnamon rolls and the specialty item available. It’s very obvious that if you’re not an influencer or food blogger that the food items that are speciality items will not be available to you. Don’t waste your time with the business. There’s way better cafes in San Diego with better...