Bird Rock Coffee Roasters: Eleven Cafés, and They're Not the Same

Overview

Bird Rock Coffee Roasters has been roasting in San Diego since 2006, and in 2012 it was named Roaster of the Year by Roast magazine — a national award the company describes as "once in a lifetime." It also took a Good Food Award in 2017, and says it's a consistent winner of 90-plus scores from Coffee Review.

That's the credential. Here's the thing that actually matters when you're deciding where to go.

There are eleven cafés, and unlike almost every other multi-location coffee company, they are not interchangeable.

One sits inside the working roastery, where you can watch production and the QC team. One has a brick oven turning out from-scratch pizza. One is a kiosk on the UCSD campus. One is a pour-over bar that was among the first in San Diego. One has, in the company's own words, "debatably the best outdoor patio in SD" — and a different one claims the best indoor patio.

So the useful question isn't whether to go. It's which one.

Which Bird Rock You Want

If you care about the coffee itself — La Jolla

5627 La Jolla Blvd · Mon–Thu 6:30 a.m.–4 p.m., Fri–Sun 6 a.m.–5 p.m.

This is the one with the pour-over bar, brewing through Kalita 185 ceramic, which the company says was one of the first in San Diego. Rotating brewed coffee and seasonal espresso. It also opens earliest and stays open latest at the weekend — half an hour before everywhere else on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

If you want to see how it's made — Morena Blvd

1270 Morena Blvd · daily 6:30 a.m.–4 p.m.

The café is inside the roasting facility, which opened in 2012. It started as a coffee cart in the corner and became a full café in 2020. You can "catch a glimpse of our production team" and the QC team at work. This is the one to take a coffee person to.

If you want the best patio — Torrey Pines

2212 Carmel Valley Rd, Del Mar · daily 6:30 a.m.–6 p.m.

Their claim, not ours: "Debatably the best outdoor patio in SD," looking at Torrey Pines State Reserve. Also one of the two latest closers in the group.

If it's raining — Waterfront

1420 Kettner Blvd · daily 6:30 a.m.–4 p.m.

"Debatably the best indoor patio in SD," with the signature garage-door windows and a spacious lobby. Walking distance to downtown and Little Italy.

If you're bringing a laptop — Little Italy

2295 Kettner Blvd · daily 6:30 a.m.–4 p.m.

Garage-door windows and bar ledge seating, described as "perfect for gazing, typing, and reading." It's close to the airport, so you get planes coming in over the city while you work.

If you want lunch — The Village

8980 Villa La Jolla Dr · daily 6:30 a.m.–6 p.m., pizza Mon–Fri 11 a.m.–5:30 p.m.

A coffee roaster with a brick oven. Fresh, made-from-scratch pizzas on weekdays, plus a sunny patio. The pizza is weekdays only — worth knowing before a Saturday trip.

If you're already at Liberty Station — Liberty Station

2401 Truxtun Rd, Suite 101 · Mon–Thu 6:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m., Fri–Sun until 6 p.m.

An open patio, and the Bird Rock milkshake, which is exclusive to this location.

If you want breakfast — Bressi Ranch

2656 Gateway Rd, Suite 150, Carlsbad · daily 6:30 a.m.–4 p.m.

Their first North County café, with a wide open patio and the fullest food offering named on the site: Bird Rock Burritos, breakfast sandwiches, avocado toast, granola and yogurt parfaits.

The rest:

• Park and Market — 1100 Market St, Suite 120, downtown · daily 6:30 a.m.–4 p.m.
• Encinitas — 947 S Coast Hwy 101, Suite D101, in the Lumberyard · daily 6:30 a.m.–4 p.m. The only location where the company mentions parking — "plenty of" it. Order the sandpiper latte
• UCSD — 9500 Gilman Dr, east side of campus · Mon–Fri 7 a.m.–4 p.m., closed weekends. A kiosk, and the only one shut at the weekend — don't drive to campus on a Sunday

What You Need to Know

• Phone: 619-272-0203
• Mobile ordering is available at every café — worth using at UCSD, where the company tells students to order ahead
• Most locations open at 6:30 a.m. The exception is La Jolla at 6 a.m. Friday through Sunday
• Three of the eleven are outside the city — Del Mar, Carlsbad and Encinitas — despite the company describing them as "throughout San Diego"
• Weekly cuppings are open to the public. No schedule is published, so ask in store or call

The Coffee

They buy direct. The company says it "goes beyond the confines of the fair trade structure and engages in direct trade with farmers," and that it "passionately pursues and maintains their direct trade farm relationships."

Origins currently listed: Brazil, Colombia, Congo, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Kenya, Panama, Peru, Rwanda, Sumatra and Tanzania.

Everything is roasted at the Morena Boulevard facility, which is also why that café is worth the visit.

Buying Beans

Subscriptions are the clearest pricing the company publishes, and there's a 5% subscription discount:

Blends — $20 each: Bird Rock · Midnight Surf · Monkey Bite · Little Italy · The Optimist · Cafe Del Sol. Fifty-Fifty is $22.

Single origin:

• Inga Mystique, Colombia — $22
• Decaf SWP Natural Sidama, Ethiopia — $22
• Tiger, Sumatra — $23
• La Avila SL28, El Salvador — $23
• Lima Decaf, Peru — $23
• Tres Dragones, Colombia — $27
• Miraflores (Pink Bourbon), Colombia — $37 — the splurge

Curated plans:

• The Home Barista — $20. An espresso subscription
• The Cupping Table — $47. A monthly rotation of their favourite single origins, single or double bag
• Meet In The Middle — $47. For people who want both a blend and a single origin
• Sunrise & Sunset — $49.50. Includes an evening decaf
• Safe For Work — $222.30. The 5lb plan for offices and small teams

Who's Behind It

Jeff Taylor bought Bird Rock in 2017 from, in the company's words, "his friend and Bird Rock Coffee Roasters founder." Taylor started his first coffee company in 1993 and built PT's Coffee Roasting Co. in Topeka and Kansas City — now described as Bird Rock's sister company.

Olivia "Maritza" Suarez-Taylor is Director of Quality Control, and makes sure "all of our Direct Trade partners are meeting, or surpassing, our quality standards." Tony Gomez is Production Manager.

The Takeaway

Go to La Jolla for the pour-over, Morena to watch it being roasted, Torrey Pines for the patio.

What makes Bird Rock worth writing about isn't that San Diego has a good roaster — it's that a company with eleven locations resisted making them identical. A kiosk, a roastery café, a pizza oven, two competing patios. That's a rarer thing than a Roaster of the Year trophy, and it's the reason it's worth knowing which one you're driving to.

For more spots worth knowing, browse our Local Picks.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many Bird Rock Coffee Roasters locations are there? Eleven — in La Jolla, downtown (Park and Market), Little Italy, the Waterfront, Liberty Station, Morena Blvd, UCSD, The Village, Torrey Pines in Del Mar, Bressi Ranch in Carlsbad, and Encinitas.

Where is the original Bird Rock café? The company doesn't say which location was first. It describes Little Italy as "our second location," and opened the Morena roasting facility in 2012.

What time does Bird Rock open? Most locations open at 6:30 a.m. daily. La Jolla opens at 6 a.m. Friday through Sunday. UCSD opens at 7 a.m. and is closed at weekends.

Has Bird Rock won awards? Yes — Roaster of the Year from Roast magazine in 2012, a Good Food Award in 2017, and consistent 90-plus scores from Coffee Review.

Which Bird Rock has food? Bressi Ranch lists the fullest menu — burritos, breakfast sandwiches, avocado toast and parfaits. The Village serves brick-oven pizza on weekdays, 11 a.m.–5:30 p.m. Waterfront has sandwiches and salads.

Where does Bird Rock roast its coffee? At its Morena Boulevard facility, which opened in 2012. The café there is inside the roastery.

Does Bird Rock do coffee subscriptions? Yes. Blends start at $20, single origins from $22, and curated plans run $20 to $222.30 for the 5lb office plan. There's a 5% subscription discount.