Looking for good coffee in Santa Barbara? You have many choices, but I found a nice little third wave coffee shop in a quiet part of town.
Wherever I am in the world, a highlight of my day is a great cup of coffee. Lately, I’ve been leafing through those hardcover promotional books you often find in hotel rooms describing the city you are in. There’s always a coffee section and I look for the coffee shop that has the best looking latte art. I know…great science behind this.
I saw an ad for a place called Low Pigeon Coffee Roasters. The odd name caught my attention and it was only a mile from my hotel, so off we went after a fairly stressful morning dealing with an Award Expert client who ran into visa issues and became stuck in China…
Details:
- Name: Low Pigeon Coffee Roasters
- Address: 401 East Haley Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101
- Telephone: (805) 280-9380
- Hours: 7:00AM – 4:00PM
- Website
The shop is tiny, with half of it dedicated to roasting beans on-site and the other half for preparing coffee drinks.
A partially-shaded terrace served as the only seating area, but was very pleasant on a November afternoon.
My cappuccino was great, though it did not blow me away. I’d definitely go back though. My wife had a decaf Americano and my son drank water.
One complaint: some of the black metal tables outdoors are wobbly. When my son grabbed the table to climb up into his chair, my wife’s coffee tipped over…
CONCLUSION
Half the fun of coffee is finding the right little café. In past trips I’ve just gone to Peet’s on State Street, which I still like, but was glad to find a more local option.
Do you have a favorite coffee shop in Santa Barbara?
Try Goleta coffee company(technically in Goleta but you get my point). Great coffee and scones.
Lucky Llama Coffee in Carpinteria (just 15 minute drive south of Santa Barbara) is wonderful and has a small cult following! It is on Carpinteria Avenue, surrounded by lots of shops and restaurants.
Hmm. 15 minute transit from SB to Carp? That’s something that Jean Luc Picard would be lucky to pull off. Traffic between these towns is often shockingly horrendous.
Two best local roasters… handle bar and dune (formerly French press)
The roaster of low pigeon was head roaster of both!
Handlebar Coffee Roasters and Dune are both downtown and very solid as well.
And when you are down in the OC next, try Moongoat Coffee in Costa Mesa. Easy to reach from the 405.
Already have! I love it.
https://liveandletsfly.boardingarea.com/2019/08/05/united-singapore-san-francisco-economy-class/
Do you have a favorite Cafe in Frankfurt/Mainz since you’re there often? Freiburg has some good ones.
My favorite is Da Vito in Mainz. I haven’t found one in Frankfurt that has truly impressed me.
I wish more people would patronise these small independent businesses. It’s terrible that the (generally clueless) millennial crowd doesn’t look beyond Starbucks; I guess they deserve the crappy coffee they get.
If you’re going lecture me on coffee; You might want to try this little piece of haven. I’ve been all around the country. Vices and spices has the best coffee. They might not have the grinding capacity; What they do have is: A great atmosphere, Jamaican blue mountain, and kona alongside other favorites like one of my top that so far can only be found at the pier. Chocolate covered gummy bears.
So sorry that you’re table wasn’t working. Try this place instead!
Low Pigeon is great. So glad to have another pioneering business on E Haley Street. I like to say we are the missing link between downtown SB and The Funk Zone.
Next time you’re in the area you should stay with us at Haley Hotel. We brew local coffee every morning and we are right in the center of the fun.
Marcus, thanks for your comment! I’ll check you out. We are very loyal to the Hyatt Centric, but perhaps we try you during their construction.
Matthew, thank you for an interesting coffee place in Santa Barbara, I’ll have to give them a shot (as well as the others mentioned in comments).
Across the street from Low Pigeon is a newer place called Caje. They opened up at 416 E Haley and offer truly unique coffee blends…they say they’re “taking coffee mixology to the next level.” I’m not as creative with my vocabulary, but I can say that I stop there often and thoroughly enjoy the drinks and the atmosphere.
Hi Scott! I passed that place and noticed it was crowded. I’ll have to try it next time.