Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

30th Street Cafe

It's tough to look at the 30th Street Cafe in North Park and try to infer what made the owners think it was a good location for a coffee shop. Not all blocks are created equal, and the segment of 30th that splits the distance between University and Upas is dismal in comparison to the the territory a few blocks north or south. I don't have the answer to why that section of road feels ten years out of touch with the rest of the neighborhood, but a quarter of a mile can make all the difference in the world in terms of real estate.

As if to pile on the oddities, the Cafe occupies two-thirds of its building, but they're non-consecutive thirds. The dining area is separated from the miniature kitchen and coffee dispensary by a long hallway that leads to the offices of a small nonprofit. Peculiar. The patio seats out front are raised up off the sidewalk and well shaded by trees and umbrellas, so they trump the inside seating by a country mile.

Despite the physical limitations, 30th Street Cafe has some strong points. The staff seemed very friendly and the coffee was inexpensive, though only average in quality. The menu reached impressive depth considering the miniature kitchen's lack of space. Egg dishes, waffles, pastries, bagels, and other breakfast staples all managed to fit into the minimal square footage. The pile of capers that festooned my lox and bagels might have been excessive for some people, but for me it satisfied. A fresh lemon wedge and a few slices of red onion rounded out the dish, which had a large portion of salmon.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/aug/27/30323/

In typical coffee shop fashion, the Cafe has sandwiches for the lunch crowd, all of which are interchangeable with the sandwiches at any other uptown coffee shop. If 30th Street is able to distinguish itself, it's as a breakfast spot, especially since it closes early.

There's tension between the underwhelming location/decor and the unexpected bonus of good breakfast. If there was more patio space instead of the uncharismatic dining room, or if the building itself was somehow cooler, the cafe might be a total winner despite being caught in the no man's land between the heavily developed corners to the north and south. As it is, it's a matter of personal preference. Coffee shops depend on regular customers, who can be fiercely, illogically loyal. For the kind of people who want a convenient spot to pick up breakfast on a weekday morning, and don't necessarily care about it being cool to hang out, the 30th Street Cafe might engender just that kind of loyalty.

4620 30th Street
Mon-Sat 7-3
Sunday 8-2

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Angry Pete’s goes from pop-up to drive-thru

Detroit Pizza sidles into the husk of a shuttered Taco Bell
Next Article

San Diego's Uptown Planners challenged by renters from Vibrant Uptown

Two La Jolla planning groups fight for predominance

It's tough to look at the 30th Street Cafe in North Park and try to infer what made the owners think it was a good location for a coffee shop. Not all blocks are created equal, and the segment of 30th that splits the distance between University and Upas is dismal in comparison to the the territory a few blocks north or south. I don't have the answer to why that section of road feels ten years out of touch with the rest of the neighborhood, but a quarter of a mile can make all the difference in the world in terms of real estate.

As if to pile on the oddities, the Cafe occupies two-thirds of its building, but they're non-consecutive thirds. The dining area is separated from the miniature kitchen and coffee dispensary by a long hallway that leads to the offices of a small nonprofit. Peculiar. The patio seats out front are raised up off the sidewalk and well shaded by trees and umbrellas, so they trump the inside seating by a country mile.

Despite the physical limitations, 30th Street Cafe has some strong points. The staff seemed very friendly and the coffee was inexpensive, though only average in quality. The menu reached impressive depth considering the miniature kitchen's lack of space. Egg dishes, waffles, pastries, bagels, and other breakfast staples all managed to fit into the minimal square footage. The pile of capers that festooned my lox and bagels might have been excessive for some people, but for me it satisfied. A fresh lemon wedge and a few slices of red onion rounded out the dish, which had a large portion of salmon.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/aug/27/30323/

In typical coffee shop fashion, the Cafe has sandwiches for the lunch crowd, all of which are interchangeable with the sandwiches at any other uptown coffee shop. If 30th Street is able to distinguish itself, it's as a breakfast spot, especially since it closes early.

There's tension between the underwhelming location/decor and the unexpected bonus of good breakfast. If there was more patio space instead of the uncharismatic dining room, or if the building itself was somehow cooler, the cafe might be a total winner despite being caught in the no man's land between the heavily developed corners to the north and south. As it is, it's a matter of personal preference. Coffee shops depend on regular customers, who can be fiercely, illogically loyal. For the kind of people who want a convenient spot to pick up breakfast on a weekday morning, and don't necessarily care about it being cool to hang out, the 30th Street Cafe might engender just that kind of loyalty.

4620 30th Street
Mon-Sat 7-3
Sunday 8-2

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.