I have been wanting to write this for such a long time. In order to get acclimated to the sunny city of San Diego I have been finding coffee shops and cafes where I can set up camp and knock out a couple hours of studies. I have been very fortunate to be able to do this (thanks Mom and Dad) and I get some work done! Here are a few of the places that I absolutely adore and frequent from most often to least! Coffee? Free Wi-Fi? Food? I’m all over it. I explore stomach first.
YOUNG HICKORY
I absolutely love this place. I have studied here countless times and am officially a regular (the baristas know my name and my life pretty much). They have tabs that can go as long as 8 hours if you need a temporary work space or need to do a crazy study bender (guilty). Nestled in the hip North Park area, it’s the most Austin-like, garage door, hipster place to hang out and have a beer with espresso, chat it up with randoms (which frequently happens), or put your headphones in and WERK IT. Also, they have quite a few healthy options like steel cut oatmeal and acai bowls!
CAFÉ BASSAM
This is one of the first places I tried considering I was anti-coffee early in the fall quarter (HAHAHAHAH) and was looking for a darn good soy-chai latte. Welp, this was the place to get one! I frequented this place before I stumbled upon Young Hickory. Here, the vibe is Europe circa 1920 with the antiques and the music to go with it! (A good chunk of the music was in French) The whole entire place is covered in classic knick knacks and they have an extensive tea collection. Win.
Their food was delicious and the vibe was great! Small tables were the only issue, but this place is still a favorite!
PAPPALECCO
Ciao, Bella! This is the common greeting you receive upon walking through the door of this cool place! Take me to Italy NOW. Okay, I haven’t frequented this place. In fact, today was my first day but I loved it! A brunette Fabio was super friendly as he explained that Starbuck’s does coffee wrong (not his words per se). He insisted I stay and dine in for an authentic Italian experience (yeah, right but he was like, 
Fabio, so, like, why not?) He corrected every word I said and I couldn’t continue until I said words such as 
macchiato and mare with Italian flare and pizzazz. I just couldn’t get over how nice everyone was and how did they find so many Italian people to work at one location!? If you want some good old Latin flattery, charm and just plain old nice people, go here. Their food is amazing and the coffee tasted so much better than Starbuck’s, DUH. They have free Wi-Fi, plugs, and nice sized tables for spirals and paper. I also hear their happy hour is quite the treat along with the gelato.
LESTAT’S
This was the placed that popped up most frequently when searching for a coffee shop to get some work done. It was okay and very crowded despite the large area. It was great for a couple of times, but that was all I needed! Excuse the selfie. According to my picture library, I wasn’t a fan of this place.
TWIGG’S
I have come here multiple times with a group. It is small and sweet and the baristas are friendly! It was a good alternative to Lestat’s which is down the street and always hippin’ and hoppin’. It is quieter and the people are less agitated. I don’t have a picture of the full place, but there was an awesome mathematical clock on the wall!
FILTER’S
This place was pretty cool. In the heart of rainbows AKA Hillcrest, the place was all open air with loads of sunlight and quite a few big tables. I only came here twice, but I enjoyed both times. The people were friendly and the beverages were great!
Well that’s all folks! The first three options are pretty much my go-to’s for the remainder of time I am here in San Diego. I would love to do one of these for all the restaurants I’ve tried, but there’s Yelp for that.
Ciao.