There’s a new coffee shop in the Mission District just near 17th Street called Abanico Coffee Roasters. The owner, Ana Valle, is originally from El Salvador and grew up in Daly City in the 80s’ after her family fled the civil war.
The sleek look of the interior in photos I saw made me decide I wanted to seek this cafe out as well as the unique story behind it.
Initially, I passed the shop on Mission Street, you have to look closely for their sign as they are still getting it up. When I made it inside the owner herself was the register taking orders. We started chatting it up before I made my decision to try their Cafe de Morro. Morro is a fruit used in the Salvadoran horchata.
The most noticeable thing about this latte is that it keeps true to the coffee and doesn’t try to infuse too much sweetness or milk. I care about the pure taste of coffee above everything.
The pour of coffee by the barista demonstrates experience and control, complete balance. I’m not much of a latte guy these days and have mainly reverted to just drinking black coffee during the pandemic, but this was honestly a great experience.
The cafe has a tall table next to the register and a bar that faces Mission Street. It’s great for people watching and the random bus viewing as well. I set up next to the register with my laptop to do some work and was impressed with the fast, quality Wi-Fi here. You won’t find any plugs inside which is typical for the Bay Area, especially in the city though.
The cafe was a little slow on my visit and I managed to get some good conversations with the baristas and learned quite a bit about the struggles during the pandemic and how the cafe finally opened in May of this year.
To me, a cafe is only as good as its baristas and both the baristas at Abanico that I have met seem to have a dedication to a quality pour of coffee.
For food I ordered the Spinach and Feta croissant and it was delicious and better than what I’m used to in cafes across the coast. A good quick snack and prices were fair.
I was left with a good vibe after my visit and decided to return back the next day for another visit. On this visit I grabbed both a drip coffee and an espresso and noted they don’t have any sparkling water yet, hopefully it will be added in the future.
You don’t really see many cafes on Mission Street itself despite it being a very busy street filled with foot traffic and personally I can see how this cafe has the potential to become a community hub for those in the area as San Francisco comes back to life.
Abanico Coffee Roasters is in the very beginning of its journey with a planned grand opening on July 24th, but I am hoping to come back again and again for more coffee and conversations.
Name: Abanico Coffee Roasters
Address: 2121 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94110
Phone Number: (415) 896-4678
Website: abanicocoffee.com
Carlos Eats 