Maxfield's House of Caffeine

Had a Nutella latte! Turns out it was syrup but nonetheless I think it still tasted good.

The flavor was a balance of Nutella, espresso, and oat milk

Came on a weekend morning - nice quiet place to also get work done with outlets, too :D They also have some unique flavored lattes here~

I've been coming here since the late 1970's. Back then the nation was in turmoil, but one thing we could all agree on was the consistency of Max fields coffee. 5 stars all around.

Stopped here for a quick lunch on my way to meet a friend nearby, and to continue my quest to eat through the top breakfast sandwiches in SF! It's got a great ambiance - super casual neighborhood spot with a lot of what looked like regulars just in there on their daily routine, minding their own business.

The order: the Breakfast Bagel (except on a Dutch Crunch roll) with a Sausage Patty, Cheddar cheese, and a fluffy steamed egg. Pretty decent portion, on a perfectly soft yet crunchy roll. It's what I would consider a reliable breakfast sandwich. Nothing too fancy or creative to throw you off, just a standard combination of familiar flavors.

I wondered for a second if it was a little pricey, but hey, San Francisco right?

Just the name of this place alone already tells me that my tired old self (from binge-watching the night before) tells me that caffeine is the way to get my brain (and sanity) back to full-on work mode. This takes me to the heart of the Mission District in one of the most coffee-friendly cities in the world and that is none other than San Francisco. Which is where I stopped by to check out "Maxfield's House of Caffeine".

Geographically speaking, this place has a lot going for it; you've got #1 park to see and be seen with Mission Dolores Park. You've also got the most beautifully designed churches with Mission Dolores Basilica. And of course you have the hipster vibes, cool art scene, and progressive liberals that call this place their home. Maxfield's is conveniently located on Dolores St. and at the corner of 17th St. Due to the close proximity to the park, church, and other major attractions, parking can be very challenging to find. I recommend taking Muni or rideshare. But it is best to get here by foot or bike.

I arrived during the afternoon of Sunday 4/2/2023 at around 12:35pm. Since I had already gotten caffeinated a couple hours prior to coming here, I did not try one of their coffee drinks. However, I did order one of their Italian sodas in the cherry flavor. This was as simple of a drink as possible with club soda and cherry syrup. However, this place does offer a nice assortment of drip coffee, cold brews, espresso drinks, hot cocoa, smoothies, teas, and to those that one an extra kick, a 'depth charge' which is essentially a shot of espresso. And of course the food menu which includes several different breakfast bagels and a variety of sandwiches.

The pastry case is also quite impressive and I was able to capture quite a few photos of the food even though a sign said "no phones allowed". This included a ton of fresh loaf cakes, cookies, muffins, and biscotti. I went with a piece of their coffee cake which was in reality big enough to fill up two people. It was moist but a little too much on the sweet side. And as for my cherry Italian soda, that too was sweet but I could tolerate it once the ice helped water it down a bit.

As far as the interior layout of this place, it is rather spacious and open for a coffee shop. From the time I was there, many people were working/studying on their laptops while others were just enjoying a relaxing Sunday. The Wi-Fi speeds are decent but not lightning quick like other places. There is a fair amount of seating as well as generous outdoor seating which I am sure many businesses adopted once the pandemic adjusted the way many small businesses operated. All in all, "Maxfield's House of Caffeine" is a decent no-frills hole-in-the-wall in the Mission; decent service, a nice variety, and a chill atmosphere. My rating, an above average 4-stars.

Believe it or not, I just became a coffee person this year(thank god it's not more than one cup every few days). Once I started working out in the area I needed a good place that had some strong coffee to keep me going through my day. I walked in and looked at their vast menu and one thing caught my eye. Vietnamese Iced coffee. One of my favorite styles of coffee. It was instantly a wrap. This was my go to cafe near 16th St.

For coffee I recommend Vietnamese Iced Coffee. For food, any of their sandwiches and bagels are really bomb (they're very generous with cream cheese and spreads). For sandwiches, get a club sandwich and for bagels, get a cheese bagel with sun dried tomato spread or a Loc bagel sandwich. Bomb.

All in all, great vibes, great people, great coffee and food. A great place to chill out, do work, or stop by before work.

Great local & affordable spot in the city. I love this spot. It's very spacious and a great place to work. Plenty of tables and area space. I usually only get bagels and teas here but they have a good combo of drinks and snacks. A bagel with cream cheese is less than $5 and I think that's great considering every other place in the city is almost $10 for a plain cream cheese bagel!! It's right by a high school and it gets a lot of students buying sweet drinks and snacks. The service is always great and quick. I need to try more things on the menu.

This is a great little spot on the corner w/decent outside tables.
Pretty quiet neighborhood.
When you 1st walk in, it's so clean and tidy.
Because of a HUGE plastic coverlet in front of the register and the glare, it's a bit difficult to read the menu. (My bad on this one).
I needed a quick breakfast pick me up. So I just ordered a Bagel w/cheese bacon and egg, toasted and to go. And a small coffee in a Med. cup (I like lots of room for cream).
When the gal told me it was $13.00, I honestly about fainted. I though, dang that Bagel sandwich must be gold. I had the gal point out the item on the menu, yep, $9.75, again, my bad for not looking more closely @ the menu.
The sandwich was hot, bagel buttered, cheese melted, 1 slice of bacon, o.k., but pretty flavorless. Coffee was horrible.
Guess what I'm saying is skip the coffee and be sure you read the menu thoroughly for the prices, before you order.

So disappointing. I think they gave up. I went in the past week. I was hoping to get a drink and sandwich and sit inside to do some work. The cafe was empty and there were two employees working.

When I walked up to the counter it took the two lady's a few minutes to greet me. They seemed to busy talking with each other and doing tasks. Once I was able to order I asked if I could sit inside. They said "NO, ONLY OUTSIDE". Not sure why the rudeness and yelling. I understand we're in the final stages of a pandemic. But this cafe is huge. They could space out tables 12' apart and still they could fit 20 people. Not to mention the doors and windows are always open for airflow. I'd expect this 6 months ago, but nit now. I ended up sitting outside for a couple hours. During that time I think 2 people went in, and one didn't buy anything.

My cold brew coffee was bitter. I'd guess based on how busy they are it's a few weeks old.

They are also closing now at 3pm. Why so early??? Perhaps if they followed the city rules they could stay open later, pay the bills, and bring this place back to life.

I think the owners have given up, so should you. There are better coffee shops in the area.

LOX BAGEL - this place makes a mean one. Smoked salmon & cream cheese & carbs are always a good idea though. (For the record, there were also red onions & tomatoes. Yum!)

Anyway, I stopped in here on the way to meet some friends at Dolores (super close walk!) I got my friend a chocolate croissant- it was HUGE. They also have an assortment of tea bags to choose from here & they serve it quite hot, which is noce so your tea isn't cold once you get to the park.

The ladies working here were super nice as well, they went the extra mile to make sure they got everyone's order correct! Also, they have nice lil tables out front, very lowkey & a pleasant place to enjoy your purchases. Would recommend!

They didn't let me bring my drink I was carrying inside, and even forced me AND my friend to purchase something before being able to sit down. I get that at least someone should purchase an item, but requiring both is a bit ridiculous. Only gave 2 stars because there's some nice study spots and outlets available as well