Blue Bottle Coffee

Category:	Coffee Shop
Address:	456 University Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94301, USA
Phone:	+1 510-653-3394
Site:	bluebottlecoffee.com
Rating:	4.5
Working:	7AM–7PM 7AM–7PM 7AM–7PM 7AM–7PM 7AM–7PM 8AM–7PM 8AM–7PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 12

Alice Wang

Im a big fan of Blue Bottle, as I am a major supporter of most of the big third-wave coffee roasters like Blue Bottle, La Colombe, Intelligentsia, and Stumptown. Given that Blue Bottle is a roaster from California and I hail from the East Coast, I dont typically dont get to enjoy their coffee often. Naturally on a trip out west to Palo Alto, I had to make a pit stop at the nearest Blue Bottle. This location is gorgeous. The space is exactly what I like to see in a coffee shop. This Blue Bottle debuted inside HanaHaus, which is a cafe and communal space intended to serve as a hub for entrepreneurs. I love the airy courtyard with its strings of overhead lights, fountain, and Mission Revival architecture. Its the perfect place to socialize. There is also seating in the interior, which features vaulted ceilings and ornate floors and walls. I ordered a New Orleans iced coffee, one of Blue Bottles specialties, as well as a bag of their Honduras single origin beans. I took my iced coffee out to the courtyard and sat down to read and sip, enjoying the breezy Bay Area weather. Their New Orleans iced coffee is coffee infused with stout and cold-brewed with roasted chicory. Its creamy, slightly sweet, and indulgent. I brewed the Honduras beans in my Chemex, and its wonderful. I love the notes of grapefruit, lemongrass, and blackberry. If youre looking for a coffee shop to savor some good coffee, read a book, catch up on some work, or meet up with friends or investors, this is definitely a great place to do so. You can definitely find me here whenever I visit Palo Alto!

Jay Sandler

Fix your WiFi!! Great potential workplace productivity area except that the free wifi is .. well ... slower than a 9600 BOD dial-up modem from 1993. In fact, Id go so far as to say that most people are NOT connected, just staring at their laptops with chagrined and fast fading hope. The only way Id work here is if I brought my own external hotspot. And then, Id share it with my neighbors out of pity. Look, I understand some Stanford MBAs (I also have an MBA, dont we all these days) thought it would be a wise business model to have lightning fast connectivity if people pay a nominal fee. Unfortunately, there needs to be a base minimum acceptable level of connectivity. Even Starbucks down the street is free and fast! So anywho, fix this issue, and you get 5 stars.

Richard Navarro

Such a great spot for Blue Bottle to expand in Palo Alto! I absolutely enjoyed the outdoor seating! It is an atrium which is perfect during the warmer nights in summer. It is nicely lit with some nice outdoor lighting and has a nice fountain right in the center. This used to be a Borders book store, but was transformed to a delightful cafe. I found it interesting that there was a dedicated workspace where you could pay to work at for an hourly rate of about $3/hr if Im not mistaken. They serve the typical Blue Bottle menu. I ordered the Affagato and it was amazing! You should definitely try it :) Overall really awesome spot!

Angie Castells

Para amantes del café y de los lugares hipsters. Cafetería de la cadena Blue Bottle en un interior restaurado precioso. Aunque es muy grande, suele estar llena, ya que tiene WiFi gratis y es un lugar de trabajo habitual para la gente del valle. Muy buen café y dulces (se paga la localización).

Gilbert Santana

Pro: the drip coffe really good (3 africas n ethopia) + belgian waffle.. waiting little bit longer especially if u order the food.. worth to try... price is in upper side ... n the place itself very unique with mexico architecture.... overall worth it and very nice. Cons: crowded n if u order the food, they give u a number and if u said in the cashier u will sit inside n finally u decide to sit outside because the crowded situation, the waitress will get confuse to find u. Lesson learn: get the table 1st if u want to have a food.

Lily Smyth

One of the better places for espresso in the area. The wait is always exceptionally slow though, no matter what day/time of the week. They often mix up who ordered first and people that ordered well after me will walk out with their coffee well before I do! The space its self is large, open and aesthetically pleasing. The alfresco area is gorgeous and a really great place to relax on a sunny morning. The food is good, not great, a bit overpriced for the quality but thats to be expected given the location.

Austin

Delicious coffee you cant go wrong here. The atmosphere is very silicon valley too, with rentable office space right off the main coffee shop for your start up or personal business. I should add that finding a table can be hard as there are always lots of people working on laptops in the sitting area of the shop. There can be long lines and wait times so be prepared. Sometimes they offer a separate cold brew only line outside for people who just want that but times and availability for this service varies.

K A

Ive been to this location a couple times before. I really like to layout and the design of the shop and very much enjoy their coffee. However, earlier this week, I decided to try their food. I ordered a grilled ham and cheese sandwich and was thoroughly disappointed in it. It was small, contained just a slice of cheese and a slice of ham, and was not at all what I expected for $10. A highly disappointing experience. Ill continue to come back here for a nice coffee, but avoid the food going forward.

Stefan Petry

UPDATE: went back to give the Afogato another try. The excellent Blue Bottle espresso blends very nicely with the vanilla ice cream. It was served in a porcelain cup with a white cloth napkin. I think the addition of whipped cream, cocoa powder, and shaved almonds still makes Cafe Borrone version superior but this one was quite tasty. Initial review: Afogato was two scoops of vanilla ice cream with a tiny amount of espresso in a paper cup with a spoon. Weird

Aaron Bunch

This is a beautiful space with great coffee, good food (I always get the poached eggs on toast), and friendly service. On the downside, it can be very crowded in the late morning and afternoon, and -- while the food service is quick -- the coffee service is bafflingly slow. I have waited 15 minutes for a single espresso shot at a quiet time of day, or sometimes my order gets lost and I have to make inquiries. (I know, first world problems.)

Merek Chang

If youre looking for your mom and pop, cozy, coffee shop this space is not for you. Almost always busy and almost always with a line, this space is more about being seen than good coffee. Yes the coffee is good, but proper extraction and good beans play a big role in that, and thats being done by just about everyone in the field. If youre from around this spot may make sense, but no need to go out of your way to get blue bottle coffee.

Peter Tran

Ive been here a couple of times. I have given it multiple tries and I just dont feel like it is worth it. An ice cold brew coffee is about 4 bucks for a small. Its mostly for coffee snobs and hipsters. There is plenty of space for seating as there is inside and outside. On the inside there are areas where you can rent working space. If you are not a huge coffee person, dont go. If you are a coffee person, you will probably like it.