Coffee Darshini

One coffee shop in San Francisco operates just like the "darshini" restaurants of Bangalore

This has nothing to do with the “Cafe Darshini” in Jayanagar 3rd block that existed in the last 80s, and subsequently gave its name to a whole class of eateries in Bangalore. Cafe Darshini was basically one of the first “stand and eat” places in Bangalore, that served a limited south indian menu and coffee, and encouraged people to take away the food.

During my first visit to San Francisco in January-February, I had looked up coffee places here and had found some great recommendations on Reddit for one Coffee Movement. I had gone there one weekend, but it was way too crowded, and I had walked on.

This time I decided to make amends, especially since I had time on a Friday morning. The place was ~15 min walk from my hotel, and I remember feeling chilly as I walked up (literally). Again there was a line but since I had gone there specifically for this place, I waited.

First things first - the coffee is absolutely brilliant. I took the “tasting flight” (three different coffees that had been pre-prepared using the drip (most common in America) method). I forget the specific coffees they gave me but each of them was superb.

The coffee apart, the interesting thing I found about Coffee Movement is that it operates pretty much like a “darshini” restaurant from Bangalore.

Space inside the shop is limited, and you need to line up outside (ok this bit is differnt from Bangalore ). You go in, order, and your order quickly gets processed. There is no space inside to drink, but stalls have been set up outside, next to which you stand and drink. You quickly knock back the coffees (unless you are taking away; and they have a limited set of pastries as well), and you move on.

For the quality of the coffee, it is cheap - by San Francisco standards at least. An espresso costs $3, while in most other places in the city it costs upwards of $4. I paid $6 (plus tips, of course) for my flight. I guess they make up for this with sheer volumes, and the constant lines there.