Our Favorite Surf-Inspired Coffee Shops in San Diego

San Diego has cultivated a sublime environment of sun, waves and surfing.

And with that comes a large community expanding up and down its coast, attracting all sorts of people who share a common love for the vibe of “Southern California living”.

Whether it is just for the simple pleasure of being by the sea or surf checks, there is a complementary luxury that can often be found in the hands of nearly every beach-goer: coffee.

Surf and Coffee Culture

Anyone driving somewhere between Point Loma in South San Diego up to Oceanside in North San Diego will be able to spot plenty of options to stop in at a local coffee shop along the PCH. There is almost a ritual around the beach scene and coffee culture which work so hand in hand, which is why this article is going to go through some of our favorite surf inspired coffee shops in San Diego.

San Diego Coffee Shops

Spot 1: Surf Lounge, Pacific Beach CA

Surf Lounge is probably the closest thing to combining surfing and coffee. It stands simultaneously as a surf shop and coffee shop, with a shaping bay and surfboard rentals available at the shop.

In regards to the surfing aspect, they not only have shapers working on-site at the shop but also offer shaping classes which one can book by emailing them via their website. Surf Lounge also sells boards and takes custom orders, made available to customers who want to work with the shapers at a personal level.

They’ve got an entire collection of both new and used boards to pick from, whether one is looking just for a quick rental or a new blade to add to the quiver.

They don’t lack any bit less on the coffee side of things. Surf Lounge offers many in house made flavors as well as quality beans from a local roastery in La Jolla. They even sell their own house made syrups.

This spot is definitely worth checking out and loungin’ around at before or after a surf session.

Spot 2: Hermosa Surf Shop, Bird Rock CA

Placed in a prime location walking distance to the beach, Hermosa Surf Shop has a similar vibe to Surf Lounge in a way that it is a full surf store along with a coffee bar and food menu. They offer a full coffee and matcha menu, as well as incredible smoothies and acai bowls. Not to mention their high quality breakfast toasts.

Their surfboard and retail selection is just as good. They have their own shaping company, Hermosa Shapes, with a pristine selection of longboards, fishes, and mid lengths often with glasses in fins, pastel colors and clean glass jobs to be sold on-site.

The store itself feels like walking into “The Endless Summer” film with a vintage TV displaying old surf films, a living room type aesthetic, and plenty of surf tshirts, wetsuits, sunglasses and more.

Spot 3: Pipes Cafe, Cardiff CA

Pipes Cafe is one of the most classic breakfast spots that opened up and blessed the surfing community in 1995. It sits right across the railroad tracks from San Elijo State Beach. It is known as the spot to be before a beach day within the community of San Diegans.

It hasn’t changed much since its opening, with old surf posters, surfboards, and priceless pictures of customers coming in throughout the years plastered all along the walls and ceiling of the cafe.

Pipes not only surfs delicious espresso and breakfast food, yet also is a place for nostalgia of the surf scene with a cozy, home-like feel.

Spot 4: Swami’s Cafe, Encinitas CA

While Swami’s Cafe is a chain along the coast of San Diego, the first shop opened in Encinitas in 2005 right along the PCH. Its old cottage building and collective sticker collection of surf and skate brands inside the entire shop keeps it “OG” and a popular spot for surfers and locals to hit up.

They have a full breakfast and lunch menu, offering smoothies, breakfast plates, salads, burritos and all the likes. The coffee culture definitely thrives in this spot as many coast lovers and livers congregate within the warm and welcoming environment Swami’s offers.

The vibe is all-time here. Just a walk around the cafe and the people that this place brings in is enough to inspire anyone that comes in to go surfing.

Spot 5: Vigilante Coffee, Oceanside CA

Located on the PCH in the middle of Oceanside is Vigilante. Not being open for too long now, it still successfully established itself as the place to be in Oceanside for a coffee or hang out for surfers and friends. This spot has old surf magazines splattered throughout the bathrooms and surf photography/art along the walls, bringing in the classic surfing culture within California.

The locals love this spot, and most dialogue one will overhear is about everyone’s surf sessions at the Oceanside Pier or Harbor earlier that morning. They offer a wide variety of espresso drinks as well as matcha and chai drinks.

Their food menu is filling and inexpensive, and worth a quick pop-in for a toastie and coffee before work or a surf.

The Bottom Line

It’s hard to pick a spot along San Diego’s coastal towns that won’t have a quintessential “surf-themed” cafe or coffee shop. Coffee-lover or not, these shops are a major part of living in San Diego and by the beach – there is a large sense of community that both surfing and coffee bring to the people here.

So next time you’re driving and need a pick me up or just woke up and can’t surf without caffeine, be sure to make a pit stop at one of these places.