Subterranean Coffee Boutique Hillcrest

Category:	Coffee Shop
Address:	412 University Ave, San Diego, CA 92103, USA
Phone:	+1 619-756-7513
Site:	subterraneancoffeeboutique.com
Rating:	4.6
Working:	6AM–9PM 6AM–9PM 6AM–9PM 6AM–10PM 6AM–10PM 7AM–10PM 6AM–9PM

Location

Photos 1

Reviews 14

Daniel Hall

Regarding the Jamie Johnsen-Brigham review.    I was inside the coffee shop the day Jamie was "Loitering" out front with her homeless friend who was smoking. Jamie never entered the cafe and never attempted to purchase anything at any time! Furthermore, when the homeless man entered the cafe, he was asked nicely to remove his "garbage bag" filled with wet, dirty items outside the cafe so that no "paying" customers would trip and injure themselves.   (As it was intermittently raining outside and he attempted to crash inside the cafe with all his belongings) Next, the homeless man stood outside the front door of the cafe smoking a cigarette with Jamie, while the stench blew inside the coffee shop gagging all the patrons. When he was told that the law requires any smoker to stand at least 20-feet from any open door or closed, Jamie piped-in and said, "I was going to buy something. But now Im going to take my business down the street." And thats when Jamie and the homeless man took off down the street to do "crazy" somewhere else...   (This particular homeless man is frequently off his medication, refuses to accept services from the city, and has a history of entering coffee houses throughout the neighborhood and creating problems.) He use to loiter outside of the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf with his friend(s) one block over, until they closed their doors, due to a mini-homeless-camp next to their enterence. Then approximately 10 minutes later, Jamies crazy boyfriend came blazing into the cafe yelling and screaming at the woman behind the counter about how his girlfriend had been thrown out of the cafe, bla, bla, bla... (Another one clearly in need of medication!) But of course Jamie chose to leave this fun fact out of her "hate-speech!" All I can say about the crazy boyfriend is what a total fabrication of a situation in which he wasnt even present! This man was very angry and should have gotten his facts straight before he started accusing anyone of refusing service to anybody. His behavior was totally inappropriate, and captured on video as well.    Jamie, the cafe has a video camera!   Furthermore, your cheap shot at a hard working business owner(s) is outrageous! The streets of San Diego are filled with over 5,000 homeless, and business owners are under no obligation to convert their cafes into shelters for the homeless and their rescued animals. Sorry! To Yelp/Google: Clearly, Jamie and the homeless man never had any intention of purchasing anything from the cafe, or they would have done so. And all their "hate speech" should be removed from any and all reviews pertaining to this incident.   Jamie, you and your boyfriend owe the owners an apology for your outrageous "hate-speech" and "violent behavior!" Lastly, to anyone who taken the time to read this diatribe, the Subterranean Cafe is a great place for civilized humans! (No tetanus shot needed!)

Jamie Johnsen-Brigham

They were horrible in their treatment of me, my fiancé, and a woman passing by who noticed the abuse. Absolute horrible. I sat outside for six minutes with my dog, waiting for my fiancé to meet me for coffee and breakfast. I didnt want to bring the dog in against policy, and I didnt want to leave her chained up outside in the rain because she is a new rescue animal and very skittish. Apparently I looked homeless to the owner, or worker, or whomever the horrible man who yelled at me was. He didnt politely ask if I planned to purchase anything. He shooed me away saying tables are for customers only. It was raining and fairly clear that I wouldnt have been taking up any wanted space for those literal six minutes of loitering. When I tried to explain that I was meeting somewhere there and was planning on spending about 20 dollars on breakfast and coffees for us, he just continued to heckle me to leave. Ive never been treated like that before. it was astounding. A patron of the shop ran after me. to see if I was okay and explained that he is very hateful and abusive toward homeless people in the area and must have thought that I was homeless. I most clearly was not homeless, but even that shouldnt matter. He could have politely asked if I planned to purchase something and given me a bit of time for my partner to meet me. instead he chased me off crying, in the rain, with a scared dog. THANK YOU for the horrible service so I know never ever to return.

Matthew Hundley

First stop on a whirlwind trip to San Diego area. Fuel injection (caffeine) was neccesary. While I walked in thinking black coffee and espresso shots--the Keith Richards intrigued me (4 shots + Mexican hot chocolate). 16 ounces of rich chocolate-spiced goodness to get one going. Low key. Non snobby server. Fit the bill. Recommend. Short distance from Balboa Park (which is where I was prior to the visit). Enjoy!

Yan Wu

Came here to get some work done on a Sunday. The people are really friendly and I really liked the local, indie vibe the place gave off. The food/coffee are pretty good and there are a lot of outlets if you need to charge a laptop or something. They also have bookshelves with an interesting assortment of books in case you get bored.

Dillon Welch

Everything about this place is great. Its cozy. The food is good, which is surprising because its all vegan but youd never know. The coffee cake in particular is wonderful. The owner is a super cool dude. I love coming here to get a snack and focus on work for a few hours. Their tea and coffee is very tasty.

Heidi Mason

The ambience, staff, and local owner of this place rock! I really like their egg breakfasts - competitive in price whilst also being everything a breakfast should: healthy, hearty, and tasty. Yummy vegan options also exist. They even have almond and rice milk for your caffeinated beverage of choice!

Ato Âge

Yea Subterranean! Yea for Hillcrest! Thank you opening a location here in Hillcrest. I am glad to find you are locally owned and operated. The atmosphere was warm and comfortable. The coffee cup was large and filled with fresh brewed coffee! I will be back.

R Egan

Great coffee shop in a great location. The real treat here are the specialty drinks, like the mint fig julip w/espresso. The food is also of high quality, good service, and a cool relaxed atmosphere full of books, art, and places to sit.

Peggy Boone

Love this place! Super friendly staff, delicious food, and welcoming atmosphere. Drink menu has the classics as well as their own creative take on coffee drinks. Definitely one of my favorite places in the neighborhood!

Andres Duenas

This cafe is a nice local hangout that is usually pretty low key. The staff are all really friendly as well. When I was in college I would regularly make this my study spot because of the atmosphere.

Sam Davis

Had a good breakfast (even though the waffle was a little dry) in a chill atmosphere with good coffee and was able to get some work done. Plenty of seating and wall plugs.

Desiree Grace

The ambience is so laid back and cozy. I love coming here for my coffee and food needs or to simply do some work on my laptop. Also vegan and vegetarian friendly!:)

Ricardo Aranha

Their latte is very good! Also the ambiance is very relaxing and cozy to read books. Spacious tables with lots of plugs to connect laptops etc. Good place to study.

Michael Kelley

Good coffee, wonderful treats, a surprisingly varied menu for a small kitchen, smoothies, and friend staff. A one of a kind place that we return to on each visit