Settlers of Cafes

This Starbucks is huge. Plenty of seating spots plus large windows that capture a lot of sun light. They have a designated focus area for people who want a quieter space. Perfect for work / study. 1) wifi 10 / 10 It works. 2) seating 8 / 10 There are plenty of seating spots in this Starbucks. But there are proportionately more people here. 3) power outlets 7 / 10 There is a table at the back with power outlets. Plus the outside facing table. So you may have to wait a while before a power outlet becomes available. 4) vibe: 7 / 10 It's a Starbucks. You will be fine with you laptop there specially if you find a spot on the smaller focus area to stay away from the loud crowd. Overall: 8 / 10 It's one of the better Starbucks in my opinion.

Today I tried another Peet's Coffee. There were no surprises there. Reliable wifi, adequate seating, some power outlets. The vibe was neutral as is typical with Peet's and Starbucks. 1) wifi 10 / 10 It works. 2) seating 7 / 10 There are some chairs and a bench to the right of the entrance. The tables are round which makes it a little harder to work on your laptop specially if you have a mouse. 3) power outlets 5 / 10 I saw them only near the bench. 4) vibe: 7 / 10 A neutral vibe. Subtle background music. A few people talking loudly here and there. Most people stay half an hour or so to drink a coffee or have a light snack. Overall: 7 / 10 Another Peet's. Has adequate seating. Not too many but this neighborhood doesn't get too crowded or crazy. A few power outlets. Overall could work, but not a top choice.

I was on the fence about including this particular Starbucks in my website. A Starbucks inside a mall is clearly intended for the shoppers. As is with many cafes in fi-di, when a lot of people go to a cafe for work, they either add more seats to accommodate, or remove wifi and/or power plugs to get rid of the new crowd. So far almost every time I have been to this Starbucks, I have been the only one there to work. And it should stay that way otherwise they are going to take away my precious power outlets. 1) wifi 10 / 10 It works. 2) seating 7 / 10 There are some small tables and some bar tables looking outside at the Union Square. It can get pretty crowded in the evening when people go shopping. Generally you will be able to find a seat withing 10 minutes or so. 3) power outlets 4 / 10 There are power outlets near two of the small tables. There are two more at the sides of the big window looking over the Union Square. It is  hard to get those if you are there ...

Another favorite spot of mine is the Peet's Coffee on Fillmore and Sacramento. It has a good seating area. It can get crowded to the point that finding a seat is difficult. Good news is that there are other cafes within one block, so worst case you swing by another one. 1) wifi 10 / 10 It works. 2) seating 8 / 10 The coffee shop has both indoor and outdoor seating. It is on a busy street so in the peak hours it gets pretty full. You might have to wait a bit or take a seat without a power outlet sometimes. 3) power outlets 9 / 10 There are plenty of outlets in this coffee shop. The bar table that extends along the windows has power outlets underneath and is perfect for longer work hours. 4) vibe: 8 / 10 Half the crowd are there to work and the other half are drinking coffee and taking a short break from San Francisco's craze. You will feel comfortable working there and there is some background noise from other people's talks. Overall: 9 / 10 It is ...

Today it was sunny and warm and we (my girlfriend is also a cafe settler) decided to explore the piers so that we could have short walk at lunch and for our breaks. I was very pessimistic about the chances of us finding a good coffee shop at the piers. We tried the Peet's Coffee at the ferry building. And it wasn't bad at all! 1) wifi 10 / 10 It is a Peet's. So it wifi works great. 2) seating 7 / 10 The seating area is huge. Not all of it belongs to Peets but as part of the Ferry building, it is ok to use the rest of the area (see pictures). Because it was a weekday we were able to grab a table by the power outlets. So everything worked just fine. Note that on the weekends the ferry building is quite popular and it is even the location for the farmers market. So it won't be easy to find a good place. And even if you do the place is going to be to crowded with kids running around. 3) power outlets 3 / 10 There were two power outlets in the entire cof...