Found this Italian coffee shop in SF's North Beach that's been here since 1956. Not sure if now is still owned and run by Italian. The coffee is mediocre tbh. But I like the atmosphere there.
Walked in and saw elderly locals gathered around the same tables. Lovely.
The orange pendant lights, the vintage menu on the wall, the worn but beautiful.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 4
Mark North
We were recommended to get the Africano and it didn’t disappoint! Very cool spot in a great city.
Sreedhar Devathi
Great atmosphere. Good espresso and perfect cheese cake. Would love to come back . Everything perfect
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Anna Ft
The staff was rude to me and my boyfriend. Would definitively not recommend. Worst place we visited during our 14 days trip.
Tany
Coming to Little Italy, I was excited and hopeful for an authentic experience. Based on the Google reviews, I decided to visit this little coffee shop — Coffee Trieste. When I arrived, I found a tiny, crowded place that looked rather outdated. At first, the atmosphere felt homey, but soon I realized that it only felt that way because of how small and heavily decorated the space was. Outdated can be charming, yes, but let’s not confuse that with a lack of cleanliness or care — the place could definitely use a refresh. The cappuccino was good, I’ll give them that. But the real reason for this review is the baklava. Without any exaggeration, it was pure scrap. What I was served looked like the dry, overbaked edge of a pan — something a decent cook would normally cut off and toss away. It was a tiny piece with a thin, transparent layer of walnuts and a stone-hard phyllo pastry that wasn’t even soaked in syrup or sweet water, as baklava should be. Honestly, I’d be ashamed to offer something like that to anyone, even for free. To make matters worse, the Spanish-speaking waiter dropped it on the counter while chatting with his friend, barely acknowledging the order — not exactly the kind of service that makes you feel welcome. Sadly, this is yet another place that seems to sell the idea rather than the product behind it. My impression is that the whole business relies on its old name, reputation, and a sort of “old country” nostalgia, rather than genuine quality. A disappointment, really — treating traditional sweets as cheap, commercial imitations for those who just want something that seems authentic but isn’t.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 3
Nickole McCarthy-Serna
Great coffee shop in Little Italy. It's cash only. The coffee is strong and hot. The barista behind the bar gives dive bar vibes with his sarcasm and whit.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Anastasiia Blandova
I loved it, you can truly feel the spirit of the past
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jimm D
Love their mochas, and breakfast burrito excellent (taste and value). Staff is on top of things, lots of places to sit inside and out, open late, and great location.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Gloria Lombardi
Great stop for a buon espresso and a pastry at this iconic San Francisco café.
Charming, old-timey place where anyone could mingle - strangers, friends, whoever.
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 4
Billie Kan
The staff was incredibly rude to young people and the one old white gentleman who served my 20 year old gay asian friend cut him off mid conversation and called him a slur under his breath to his coworker as he was making the coffee. Please report this place they’re homophobic!!
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Juan Garcia
Paul was very rude to me.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Patrycja K
Here I drank one of the best coffees in America
Ras S.B.
I roll my own Cuban, but Trieste’s got the charm, Steam rising slow, aroma wrapping me warm. North Beach hums outside, inside it’s calm & sweet, Every shot of espresso feels like a little treat.
Found this Italian coffee shop in SF's North Beach that's been here since 1956. Not sure if now is still owned and run by Italian. The coffee is mediocre tbh. But I like the atmosphere there.
Walked in and saw elderly locals gathered around the same tables. Lovely.
The orange pendant lights, the vintage menu on the wall, the worn but beautiful.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 4
We were recommended to get the Africano and it didn’t disappoint! Very cool spot in a great city.
Great atmosphere. Good espresso and perfect cheese cake. Would love to come back . Everything perfect
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The staff was rude to me and my boyfriend. Would definitively not recommend. Worst place we visited during our 14 days trip.
Coming to Little Italy, I was excited and hopeful for an authentic experience. Based on the Google reviews, I decided to visit this little coffee shop — Coffee Trieste.
When I arrived, I found a tiny, crowded place that looked rather outdated. At first, the atmosphere felt homey, but soon I realized that it only felt that way because of how small and heavily decorated the space was. Outdated can be charming, yes, but let’s not confuse that with a lack of cleanliness or care — the place could definitely use a refresh.
The cappuccino was good, I’ll give them that. But the real reason for this review is the baklava. Without any exaggeration, it was pure scrap. What I was served looked like the dry, overbaked edge of a pan — something a decent cook would normally cut off and toss away. It was a tiny piece with a thin, transparent layer of walnuts and a stone-hard phyllo pastry that wasn’t even soaked in syrup or sweet water, as baklava should be. Honestly, I’d be ashamed to offer something like that to anyone, even for free.
To make matters worse, the Spanish-speaking waiter dropped it on the counter while chatting with his friend, barely acknowledging the order — not exactly the kind of service that makes you feel welcome.
Sadly, this is yet another place that seems to sell the idea rather than the product behind it. My impression is that the whole business relies on its old name, reputation, and a sort of “old country” nostalgia, rather than genuine quality. A disappointment, really — treating traditional sweets as cheap, commercial imitations for those who just want something that seems authentic but isn’t.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 3
Great coffee shop in Little Italy. It's cash only. The coffee is strong and hot. The barista behind the bar gives dive bar vibes with his sarcasm and whit.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
I loved it, you can truly feel the spirit of the past
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Love their mochas, and breakfast burrito excellent (taste and value). Staff is on top of things, lots of places to sit inside and out, open late, and great location.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Great stop for a buon espresso and a pastry at this iconic San Francisco café.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The best
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Charming, old-timey place where anyone could mingle - strangers, friends, whoever.
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 4
The staff was incredibly rude to young people and the one old white gentleman who served my 20 year old gay asian friend cut him off mid conversation and called him a slur under his breath to his coworker as he was making the coffee. Please report this place they’re homophobic!!
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Paul was very rude to me.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Here I drank one of the best coffees in America
I roll my own Cuban, but Trieste’s got the charm,
Steam rising slow, aroma wrapping me warm.
North Beach hums outside, inside it’s calm & sweet,
Every shot of espresso feels like a little treat.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
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