Hidden House Coffee — Restaurant in San Juan Capistrano

Not enough to write home about, but good enough to write a review. The coffee was pretty darn good, great? Well, I wouldn't go that far. Had a small maple bourbon latte. $6.50.. Yikes! Not for a small cup of joe with a splash of flavoring that was not all that "Maple Bourbon" flavored. The cashless system kinda sucks as well. Not a fan of "forcing" folks to use a card and make them use a pay point system and have to decline or accept a tip choice. Why would one tip, before they have received service? How is this acceptable now... The person who took order didn't even get to know me, ask how I was doing... I'm going to tip just to tip. Sorry. The location is an a historic area in a very old house with all the creaks and wooden floor sounds to go along with the old building smells. The place has great character and charm. Great outside eating and drinking area surrounded by garden like charm. Why 5 stars if everything wasn't awesome... Well... Lets be fair. Is it fair to dock for simple opinions on taste, size, value or service when nothing deliberate or negative occurred ? That's not a true review. They pass the good place to get a cup of joe... Maybe I choice wrong type.... Maybe they will come to their senses and go back to accepting the cash that most of us choose to carry. Maybe not. But they still have a great little place to visit and it...

My friend shared with me that this is a wonderful place with some big trees overshadowing the cafe. I was surprised because I normally don’t associate too many cafes with tall trees especially in the Orange County area. As soon as I saw Hidden House Coffee, the rationale for the name clicked in my head. It is indeed a “hidden” house! It’s incredibly lovely inside with some seating right next to where the barista works. More seating is found outside in the patio. There’s a wide range of people groups and ages. There was a musician playing his saxophone outside of the house.

I was told there is normally a long line for such places like this. My friend and I were lucky to have stood in line for the non-rush hours of this place.

My friend got a sparkling expresso tonic and I got a chai latte (iced). The coffee tonic, according to my friend, is the best here because the blending of the sparkling water and expresso is done just right without it being too overpowering in flavor. For me, the chai latte, was delicious. It did not taste artificially syrupy, and drinking our drinks in the cafe was a treat! I got to pay for the space to hang and eat. God bless you all! Service was kind and quick - I know things can get busy when there’s a lot of people, so thank you for the genuine effort you put into providing good sustenance...

Nice location. First impression walking in, the smells that hit me weren’t pleasant; I almost left for this reason. “Poorly roasted coffee” overwhelmed me. The extraction was lacking body. There was acidity and bitterness but no sweetness or other flavor profiles. Not a well balanced coffee, i wouldn’t have been able to enjoy it without oat milk.

I wouldn’t blame the barista either, I’d blame his trainer/education.

It’s my opinion that you can’t use the Italian word “espresso” if your not going to respect the Italian culture/craftsmanship call it a house extraction instead. And drop the price. All in all, a rip off in the eyes of any coffee connoisseur.

Also, upon waiting for my coffee, I witnessed another barista with dark hair/medium height snap at an elderly customer for asking to warm up his beverage on a cold day. I think he held more responsibility at the cafe, but I don’t think it gives anyone a right to have a bad attitude at work. Humor or diplomacy could have been used to deal with the situation instead of a direct attack. (My opinion)...