Uniting Laptop Campers

Nook is definitely a favorite neighborhood spot with campers in the area but also a nice place to catch with a friend or read a book or newspaper. They turn off the wi-fi on weekends.

Score: 31/50

• Food: 4/5 – The bagel was nicely toasted and buttered and the eggs in the bagel sandwich were cooked rather than nuked in microwave. They have small plates like cheeses, quesadillas, soups, salads, sandwiches, quiches, pita pizzas, and wraps.
• Coffee: 3/5 – No foam art on the latte, the taste was bitter. They use Equator Coffee.
• Wi-fi: 3/5 – Free, no password required, available M-F from 7 AM – 6 PM.
• Ambiance: 5/5 – Many campers, mostly women for some reason, lively music, clean, new contemporary looking like a European bistro with wood floors
• Noise: 3/5 – Music rather loud but people are quiet
• Plugs:  5/5 – All along the walls
• Parking: 2/5 – 2 hours of free street parking can be hard to find, parking meters on the main street
• Comfort: 4/5 – Many small tables, bench style seating has pads, wood chairs don’t have pads
• Bathroom: 4/5 – Available, unisex, clean
• Art: 3/5 – None

Tips:  Enjoy the daily happy hour from 4 – 7 PM with wine, beer and pita pizza specials. Outdoor seating is available. I spotted a Stampt decal so ask about their rewards program.

“Laptop Campers Unite!” 

- Laptop Camper

Many Whole Foods locations offer free wi-fi and a dining area. Whole Foods on Ocean Avenue has both and is a popular laptop camping spot.

Score: 39/50

• Food: 4/5 – You can get just about anything here or stick to the coffee/juice bar that has pastries, Chobani yogurt, bagels, croissants, vegan doughnuts, etc. The juices are squeezed to order. If you wander into the deli area, you can get a salad, burrito, sandwich, pizza, soup, etc.
• Coffee: 4/5 – The latte is pretty decent, even had foam art, strong and a bit bitter
• Wi-fi: 3/5 – Free, get code at the register (purchase required), provides 2 hours of access but you can save up the codes for a longer camping session
• Ambiance: 4/5 – The dining section is a spacious area right by the entrance with industrial looking high ceilings
• Noise: 4/5 – Music (light jazz/blues), people talking, kinda noisy but not too bad
• Plugs:  5/5 – Many provided on the floor
• Parking: 3/5 – They have their own parking structure with a time limit of 90 minutes, the residential area limits parking to two hours, probably to discourage parking from CCSF students
• Comfort: 3/5 – Hard metal chairs, long wooden communal tables
• Bathroom: 5/5 – Nice and clean
• Art: 4/5 – Local artwork but nothing for sale

Tips:  The Muni, bus and BART schedule is shown in the dining area. Get your grocery shopping done and camp all at the same place.

“Laptop Campers Unite!”

- Laptop Camper

On a warm day the parklet seating at Farley’s is popular with neighborhood people. What makes Farley’s unique is the newsstand area inside the cafe.  They’ve selected quality vendors to supply their food and coffee needs.

Score: 39/50

• Coffee: 4/5 – Serves De La Paz beans. The latte didn’t have any foam art and wasn’t made with great skill (milk didn’t make the drink seem creamy, wasn’t the smoothest) but the beans are good
• Wi-fi: 4/5 – Free, password is at the counter taped to the register
• Ambiance: 4/5 – Casual, bustling, older building with high ceiling and lots of pendant lamps, friendly, a popular neighborhood hangout
• Noise: 4/5 – Pretty quiet, popular with laptop campers, music in background not too noisy
• Plugs:  3/5 – Some along the walls
• Parking: 3/5 – Easy but it’s mostly 2 hours everywhere (free)
• Comfort: 5/5 – Chairs and benches are padded, it’s a spacious place with lots of small tables and a few large ones, open, spacious, airy
• Bathroom: 4/5 – Available, unisex
• Art: 4/5 – Interesting paper-cutting pieces for sale

Tips:  They have a ton of toys for kids and board games. Because it’s a popular place, you might not be able to find a table.

“Laptop Campers Unite!”

- Laptop Camper

Mama’s Art Café is part art gallery, part coffeehouse. The Latino owned business was voted Best Cozy Café Gallery in the 2007 Bay Guardian Best of the Bay Awards. It remains just as cozy today. Many of the patrons seem to know each other.

Score: 38/50

• Food: 3/5 – Bagels and pastries, a few sandwiches offered, the pastries look average, the bagels are big
• Coffee: 4/5 – The coffee beans are from Central and South America (Brazil, Colombia, etc.) There was no attempt at foam art and the latte wasn’t rich but it was served very hot and reasonably priced
• Wi-fi: 4/5 – Free, no password required, unlimited, seems pretty stable
• Ambiance: 4/5 – It’s an older building with high ceilings and a popular neighborhood meeting spot. Many people like to linger here. The café has large murals and Latin paintings, a piano, random décor, and mismatched furniture. It has character.
• Noise: 3/5 – A few people talking makes a lot of noise and they play music
• Plugs:  5/5 – Many provided
• Parking: 4/5 – Easy, try parking on Paris cross street Persia for free, all day parking
• Comfort: 3/5 – Hard wooden chairs aren’t padding, mostly small tables with a good distance between tables
• Bathroom: 4/5 – Clean
• Art: 4/5 – It’s an art gallery, even the tables have been painted artistically

Tips:  Coffee beans are available for sale $12 for a large bag. The parklet out front is a nice place to hand out on a sunny day. They have a piano and may have live music in the evenings. Check out Yelp listing for a special deal, $8 for $10 worth of food and drink.

“Laptop Campers Unite!”

- Laptop Camper

I love the name of this café but I don’t see any reference to Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s novella, Russia, or writers inside. The café is ground level, not underground. It’s a grungy independent coffeehouse where people don’t linger long but many seem to know each other.

Score: 25/50

• Food: 3/5 – Salads, sandwiches, wraps, omelettes, bagels, some pastries that don’t look too appealing. Bagel was good but expensive ($4.95 for avocado, tomato, cucumber, cream cheese)
• Coffee: 2/5 – Pretty bitter and overroasted, milk doesn’t mellow it out much, latte ($3.50) didn’t have foam art
• Wi-fi: 5/5 – Free, fast, ask for the password
• Ambiance: 2/5 – Small, grungy, windows aren’t shaded, small tables, kinda old dirty feel, people who go here seem to know each other and enjoy chatting…very independent coffeehouse feel
• Noise: 3/5 – When the door is open the traffic on Van Ness (one of the busiest streets in town) is loud, elevator like music in background, fridge is loud
• Plugs:  2/5 – Outlets along the wall but not enough of them
• Parking: 2/5 – Not easy, you’re probably going to find a free 2 hour space if you want to avoid the meters
• Comfort: 3/5 – Wood chairs unpadded, small tables, wood bench is hard too
• Bathroom: 0/5 – None available
• Art: 3/5 – Photos of flowers for sale starting at $10 each, generic but not awful, pictures on wall are crooked

Tips:  They have two computers with internet access, 15 cents a minute, $1 minimum cash only. ATM on site. They have plenty of bottled drinks.

“Laptop Campers Unite!”

- Laptop Camper

Score: 31/50

Java on Ocean has the same look and feel as several other coffeehouses in SF: grungy, chalkboard menu, and hints of the Middle East. The food and drink are about the same level of the other coffeehouses (average). There’s a hookah pipe in the window, bird in a cage, and laid back vibe. Java on Ocean has two things going for it: size and location (relatively easy parking).

• Food: 3/5 – Plenty to choose from – wraps, sandwiches, bagels, smoothies, piroshky, cake, cookies, pastries, salad, soup. My egg and cheese bagel was lightly toasted and decent (good amount of scrambled eggs). The bagel quality was average.
• Coffee: 3/5 – No foam art, passable latte but not rich, not too bitter though
• Wi-fi: 4/5 – Free, no password required, average speed
• Ambiance: 3/5 – Older looking, worn in, grungy, pretty spacious, warm, like the high ceilings 
• Noise: 3/5 – Bird and fridge are noisy but I like the Middle Eastern music. The bird sings almost constantly.
• Plugs:  1/5 – Very few
• Parking:  4/5 – Not bad, easier than most places in SF
• Comfort: 4/5 – Wood chairs aren’t padded, wood banquette isn’t padded, lots of small round tables and a couple of couches
• Bathroom: 3/5 – Single, unisex restroom, it’s  busy
• Art: 3/5 – Nothing for sale, couple of framed leaf prints, Frida Kahlo picture, Islamic looking signs

Tips: Spot is popular as a hangout for students. Some board games available. They have a lot more types of bottled hot sauce available than usual. The owner(?) is friendly.

“Laptop Campers Unite!”

- Laptop Camper

Yes it’s a chain but Panera Bread offers a spacious, comfortable spot with free wi-fi across from AT&T Park. It’s a great place to linger. Note, wi-fi access may be limited during peak lunch hours.

Score: 40/50

• Food: 4/5 – Lots to choose from including bagels, pasta, salads, soups, pastries and kids menu. The bread is of course freshly baked. Sandwiches are pretty solid.
• Coffee: 3/5 – Serve yourself, haven’t tried it yet, they have espresso drinks as well
• Wi-fi: 3/5 – Free, no password required, unlimited, good speed but limited access during lunch hours
• Ambiance: 4/5 – Comfy, warm, contemporary like a coffeehouse, new looking, clean too
• Noise: 5/5 – Pretty good, soothing music isn’t too loud
• Plugs:  5/5 – They’re all over the place
• Parking: 1/5 – Really bad but close to public transportation, don’t even try to find parking or try validated parking at the Safeway across the street
• Comfort: 5/5 – Padded seating, small tables, large tables, very comfy indeed
• Bathroom: 5/5 – Clean, separate for men and women
• Art: 5/5 – Cute, bread themed art on walls, not for sale

Tips:  Watch out for 11 – 2PM when your wi-fi access may be limited to 30 minutes. This applies on weekends too.

“Laptop Campers Unite!”

- Laptop Camper

It has a convenience store feel though they’ve added leather couches, small tables and chairs. The décor is random but they’ve made an attempt to make it cozy.

Score: 26/50

• Food: 3/5 – Deli sandwiches and Vietnamese sandwiches (banh mi) are made to order ($3.25 and up). The Vietnamese sandwiches are bigger than usual. They only have three kinds of banh mi. I tried the BBQ pork banh mi which didn’t use the traditional roll, didn’t have enough pickled veggies and had too much mayo.
• Coffee: 3/5 – Vietnamese coffee and regular coffee are served hot or iced. The Vietnamese coffee was nice and creamy though not as strong as usual.
• Wi-fi: 1/5 – Free, ask for password at the counter, strong signal, extra fast but could not get online, got this message: “The Motorola NVG510 device has detected potential problems with your DSL connection which may impact your service. This problem is often caused by a phone or other device which is connected to your phone line (such as a fax machine, satellite receiver, alarm system or medical monitor) that does not have a DSL filter.”
• Ambiance: 3/5 – Looks like a convenience store with seating but an attempt to make it homey
• Noise: 3/5 – Noisy traffic and really noisy refrigerator but quiet inside no music
• Plugs:  1/5 – Just one left of the couch is accessible, the one by the door could be a tripping hazard if you used it
• Parking: 4/5 – Pretty easy, street cleaning Wednesdays and Fridays, park off of Balboa in the residential area, metered parking on Balboa
• Comfort: 3/5 – Comfy seating, small area, small tables
• Bathroom: 2/5 – Available, unisex, kinda grungy
• Art: 3/5 – Walls are painted with various odd things

Tips:  They have lots of packaged snacks, bottled drinks and made to order milk tea, slush, yogurt, smoothie drinks. It definitely has an Asian owned feel.

“Laptop Campers Unite!”

- Laptop Camper

Located on the edge of the Tenderloin, the new Spiro Coffee is a calm oasis in a somewhat gritty part of town. The coffeehouse is modern and bright with a charming chalkboard menu, Sightglass Coffee, Wholesome Bakery vegan goods and their own in-house pastry chef.

Score: 38/50

• Food: 4/5 – I haven’t tried the lunch menu yet but the sandwiches and salads sound tempting. For breakfast they have their own pastries (croissants, muffins, danish, bread pudding, cookies, biscuits), Wholesome Bakery vegan items, and waffles. I enjoyed the warm chive-parmesan biscuit with its crisp thin exterior and soft interior.
• Coffee: 5/5 – They use Sightglass beans for espresso drinks, brewed coffee and single cup pour overs. My latte was well made with nice foam art and no bitterness. Unlike Sightglass, they offer non-fat milk (yay).
• Wi-fi: 5/5 – Free, the password is at the counter, extra fast
• Ambiance: 4/5 – Modern, dark brown colors, lots of wood, clean, lots of lights, nice but not a lot of personality, did smell like freshly baked chocolate chip cookies though
• Noise: 3/5 – When the door is open the traffic on Van Ness (one of the busiest streets in town) is extremely loud, the place is quiet though, while I like the somber classical music, it’s a strange choice…later they switched to the Killers which was a better choice for them
• Plugs:  3/5 – Outlets along the wall but not enough of them
• Parking: 2/5 – Not easy, you’re probably going to find a free 2 hour space if you want to avoid the meters
• Comfort: 5/5 – New stools and wood chairs are all padded, plenty of small tables, not too cramped
• Bathroom: 4/5 – Available, unisex, looks clean
• Art: 3/5 – Nothing on the walls besides the chalkboard menu

Tips:  Lunch service begins at 10:30 AM and ends at 3 PM. The refrigerated case has drinks (juices, water, natural sodas, kombucha) and Chobani yogurt. They’re happy to warm up your pastries.

“Laptop Campers Unite!”

- Laptop Camper

Fifty/Fifty is a new spot that looks a bit sparse inside (but in a nice, modern way) and doesn’t offer too many food options. Their suppliers include Ritual Roasters and Dynamo Donuts.

Score: 39/50

• Food: 4/5 – Not much offered but maybe the menu will expand. They get a shipment from Dynamo Donuts. I also spotted a few muffins and scones. They have  more pastries during the weekdays and donuts on weekends.
• Coffee: 4/5 – Ritual Roasters espresso drinks and coffee, milk tea (pearls extra) made with Clover organic milk, green tea fruit purees, tea, hot chocolate. The latte was quite nice, smooth not bitter at all with simple foam art.
• Wi-fi: 5/5 – Free, ask for password at the counter, strong signal, extra fast
• Ambiance: 4/5 – Sparse, uncluttered, nice, lots of wood, clean and modern not cozy
• Noise: 5/5 – Pretty quiet, music isn’t too loud or annoying
• Plugs:  4/5 – Outlets along the wall
• Parking: 2/5 – Could be tough to find during weekdays, you’re probably going to find a 2 hour space off Geary
• Comfort: 4/5 – New stools and wood chairs, they aren’t padded but I found the wood chairs very comfortable, they’re higher than usual
• Bathroom: 4/5 – Available, unisex, looks clean
• Art: 3/5 – Nothing on the walls but nice sparse looking modern space

Tips:  They generally cook the tapioca pearls around 10 AM. There isn’t much to do or see nearby but the café is close to USF (which is why parking can be difficult). Because the space is small and doesn’t have a kitchen, the food options are likely to remain limited.

“Laptop Campers Unite!”

- Laptop Camper