A Rising Star in the Sunset: Andytown Coffee Roasters, San Francisco

A Rising Star in the Sunset: Andytown Coffee Roasters, San Francisco by Darren

I flew West recently with my family to catch a glimpse of what it would look like to transplant ourselves to San Francisco, and more specifically, what it would look like to be planted in the Sunset. Amidst our travels, we were fortunate enough to be staying nearby Andytown Coffee Roasters, a shop six blocks from the ocean, and 1 block from my heart.

Oceanside

The Outer sunset, with its walkable neighborhoods, ocean view, and Andytown Coffee, kindled an aroma reminiscent of all the things we love about the Midwest. Okay… so we don’t have an ocean view in Kentucky, but Andytown brought the same enchantment of a local roastery joined with a close community that we had experienced at Sunergos in our hometown. It’s the kind of place that you might meet a friend for coffee, or ask a girl to prom via some well placed latte art.

Your Grandmother’s Kitchen

The interior of the shop is amazingly small, but it adds to the intimacy. In their words,

We spent over a year designing and building Andytown to create a functional, intentional space for flawless customer experiences. We wanted Andytown to feel like your grandmother’s kitchen—clean, cozy, welcoming, and warm. We also needed Andytown to work—our roasting, baking, and customer service all take place in our 600 square foot space.

The roaster is tucked back in the corner of the shop where the owner, Michael McCrory was hard at work. He was roasting just a few feet from the baristas who were making pastries, who were next to the baristas pulling shots on a beautiful Kees van der Westen Mirage Lever machine. The baristas were friendly, knowledgeable, and pulled a delicious shot of their “Wind and Sea Blend”, which was sweet and balanced in a cappuccino served in hand-thrown ceramic mugs. Drinking a cappuccino alongside a delicious raspberry muffin with apricot jam took the trip up a notch. Go back for the pastries if for nothing else.

Snowy Plover

The shop might be most well known for the “Snowy Plover”, a sparkling water based iced beverage with brown sugar, espresso, and topped with whipped cream made in-house. Named after the bird of the same name, we think the drink is definitely of unusual vitality. It’s a refreshing, sweet, and delicious treat that gives Andytown its pilgrimatic allure that not only hipsters will find worthwhile. It’s closer to a dessert drink, but we won’t judge you for getting it every time.

Conclusion

We visited the shop three times in a week alongside some of San Francisco’s other well-known shops (Wrecking Ball, Saint Frank, Four Barrel, and Sightglass) and found our experience consistent, thoughtful and downright delicious. This place contends for the top spot for best places to get coffee in the bay area and we think you’ll agree.

We were never as suave as @thecianhen in high school. #shesaidyes

A photo posted by Andytown Coffee Roasters (@andytownsf) on Apr 16, 2015 at 8:41pm PDT

Photo credit: Snowy Plover image, Andytownsf.com

A Rising Star in the Sunset: Andytown Coffee Roasters, San Francisco was first posted by Darren on The Coffee Compass, The Coffee Compass - Your Guide for Craft Coffee