National Coffee Day lands on September 29, which is as good a reason as any to admit that a coastal morning runs on caffeine. Fog on the water, cold hands, a walk you have not yet committed to. The cup is what starts it.
Pismo Beach has eight independent shops worth planning a morning around, and most of them sit within a few blocks of each other downtown. Here is where to go, and what to order when you get there.
Scorpion Bay Coffee Co.
Locally owned on Dolliver Street, roasting beans from right here on the Central Coast, and the place to go when you want something more interesting than a drip cup. The specialty menu rotates through lattes built on lavender and honey, peach cobbler, and seasonal flavors that change with what’s in season, plus the standard espresso lineup done properly. They open at six, which makes this the pick if you want to be on the sand at sunrise.
Dulci
The newest arrival and hard to beat on location, a block off the pier on Pomeroy Avenue. Lattes and croissants in the morning, made-to-order flatbreads later, from the sibling team behind Taqueria El Quero on Dolliver. Grab something to go, and you are on the boardwalk in ninety seconds.
The Station at Esteem Surf Co.
The secret menu is the reason to come, and the creme brulee coffee is the one people come back for. Ordering it gets you a show, because they torch the sugar in front of you at the counter. While you wait, you are standing in one of the coolest shops in town, surrounded by hand-shaped boards and hand-stitched apparel, which is a better place to kill five minutes than most cafes give you.
Kortado Bakery and Coffee
Two doors up Dolliver from Scorpion Bay and worth the extra walk for the pastry case alone. The baking is the draw here, and the case tends toward items you haven’t seen elsewhere rather than the usual muffin lineup. Go early, because the good ones go first.
Steaming Bean
The Shell Beach staple, up on Shell Beach Road with a back patio that looks out at the ocean. This is the takeaway shop: get a coffee and a breakfast burrito, drive two minutes to the bluff-top parks, and walk the cliff path at Dinosaur Caves while it is still hot.
Breezeway Cafe
Come for the coffee, stay for the bubble waffles. Ordering one without the other is a missed opportunity. A good sit-down option when you want breakfast while you dine in, and a comfy booth to sit in.
Honeymoon Cafe
The full-breakfast spot, with a menu built on locally sourced ingredients and the strongest vegan and gluten-free options in town. If someone in your group has been eating around a menu all trip, bring them here. The coffee holds its own next to the food.
Surfside Donuts and Coffee
The name covers it. Fresh donuts and a strong cup, on Dolliver a block from the water, which is the exact formula for a morning that starts on the beach. Get there early enough, and the case is still warm.
Build a Morning Around It
The easiest version is a short walk: coffee downtown, ten minutes on the pier while it is still quiet, then breakfast wherever the line is shortest. The Shell Beach version swaps the pier for the bluffs and takes about the same amount of time.
Find hours and locations for all of these on our Pismo Beach coffee shops page, and if you want to walk to your first cup instead of driving, take a look at current lodging deals downtown.
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