Dark Horse Coffee Roasters

Dark Horse is arguably the best roaster in San Diego. And very reasonably priced compared to most modern cafes, especially Los Angeles cafes. Drip coffee and a vegan donut for $6. Hard to beat that.

The coffee is good here. Nice atmosphere and good service. You can also buy various accessories and coffee beans to take home.

In the neighborhood, coffee experience. My Dirty Pumpkin coffee was sinfully delicious. Great location. It's near the park, so anytime you're hanging out with the grandkids, there's a great sip right across the street. The staff welcomes you with a smile and a bit of conversation

A cool place in a neighborhood where everyone knows each other. When we go for a walk, we come in for a cup.

It's a cool coffee shop in La Mesa, but the prices are more expensive than coffee shops in Beverly Hills and Dubai. How does anyone in East county afford coffee here?

During our visit on Sunday morning, the staff's unfriendly demeanor was quite evident. Their lack of initiative to assist or inquire about our needs set a disappointing tone. When I inquired about espresso beans, the response lacked enthusiasm. They pointed vaguely, indicating the location behind us, and casually mentioned that any beans could be used for espresso. Seeking clarification on dark beans, I was simply directed to those labeled "dark." Well okay then. I was looking for a nice suggestion maybe a little conversation. The overall experience left much to be desired, highlighting potential areas for management to focus on improving customer service and communication strategies.

Love me some Dark Horse! Starbucks has gone wayyy downhill and DHCR has been my saving grace. The coffee is consistently fresh and delicious. The service is great and the seasonal options are always *chefs kiss* Never a bad experience here :)

So great having Dark Horse in East County. Their house made syrups are yummy. I usually get the salted maple iced latte. Their Champ is really popular too. They have an assortment of pastries and breakfast items. There is also a small area with bagged coffee beans, merch, and some art.

As a self-proclaimed matcha latté connoisseur, I believe Dark Horse offers the best iced matcha oat latte in San Diego and in the whole world! It's always mixed well and has just the right balance of matcha, milk and sweetness. Also, their vegan strawberry vanilla protein chia parfait is out of this world! I need more! Their vegan donuts are also delicious. Not a fan of cake but these aren't as dense; rather, they're softer, lighter, fluffier.

If you're a coffee fanatic like me, it's first about the beans and always about the vibe. I'm not mainly fond of the roast at DH, and this is not the reason for the single star. There are things I like, the vegan pastries and the location is very convenient. However, the service is terrible! This is not the first time we've experienced rude service at this location by this female server; I've finally had enough. We visited on St. Patrick's Day this past Sunday. The store closes at 4:00, and we arrive around 3:45! My wife ordered a double iced espresso and was told, "We don't have espresso and have shut down the machine. Wait, what? DON'T HAVE ESPRESSO! You're a coffee shop! My wife was taken off guard, and I guess I won't get anything. Without blinking, the server approached my daughter and asked what she wanted. ( she couldn't be bothered. This behavior isn't nice! Service like this is not uncommon at this location. I don't get why my girls continue to come here other than they enjoy the roast. I'm guessing one could argue it was ST. Paddy's, and they wanted to leave early. OK, at least be nice. Right after, another patron came in and was given the same story by the other server ( gentlemen), who was at least friendly. If you're open till 4:00, Fifteen minutes can't make that much of a difference in your closing routine. From time to time, the product will be a miss. But there is no excuse ever to be rude.

Yes, the place is inside of an attached building. I also provided a photo for the signs that allow you to park in specific areas. This place is cute & quaint! Really appreciate the cleanliness of this place and the aesthetics of how industrial and minimal the decor is. A quick stop by and you'll keep coming back! The baristas are super friendly, great attitudes and make the place very welcoming. All in all, the coffee is great! The cappuccino is perfect and the favorite Vanilla Latte (with Oat Milk) was smooth. 4/5 first impression. 5/5 cleanliness. 4/5 coffee.

Just thought I'd give a shoutout to the employees that work at this location! First of all, the coffee and the avocado toast (not pictured because I ate it ) was SO good. But secondly, they had a lady that had been very rude, annoying other customers with her shouting, and literally told them to bring the coffee to her (around the counter) because she could be bothered. They were super nice and friendly despite how they were being treated. True customer service even when the respect was reciprocated. Definitely going back!

Excellent coffee and excellent pastries. Service was always quick as well. A godsend when I was visiting the area and didn't have any coffee where I was staying.

Coffee/espresso is top tier in the area. Very smooth and robust espresso flavor. They make their own dirty chai sweetener which is the best in the area, highly recommend. The inside ambiance is definitely a grab n go kinda place, not much seating and not great for meeting with friends. Very friendly staff.

It was okay.... The food was good. No donuts to be found unfortunately. My avocado toast was good though. My boyfriend got a breakfast sandwich with sausage and he wasn't a huge fan of it. He pointed out that it's a turkey sausage and not very hot. The coffee was okay. The entire time we were there, we felt like a huge inconvenience to them. The place itself is really small. I wish there was more seating inside. I did see a bathroom though. Probably wouldn't go out of my way to go there again.

Feels like a kind of random location, but great if you're one of the people that lives in the adjacent apartments! They have about three dedicated stalls for Dark Horse patrons. I am a big matcha latte drinker and my only gripe is that their matcha comes pre-mixed with sugar, so you can't get it unsweetened. It does taste absolutely delicious, but that's probably thanks to all the sugar in it. If you're wanting to enjoy a pastry, come early, as they are usually sold out by noon. Love having a local option to frequent instead of Starbucks, so recommend stopping in here instead!

They have 2 degsinated parking in the lot, but there was def enough street parking around. Well, when I went on a Wednesday morning. The shop is right across the school/park and like those little under condo shops that you can miss if you're not looking for it. The staff was super quick and helpful! The drinks weren't as strong a I'd like a coffee to be, but ehh. Donuts were okay as well, but they are vegan!

Great coffee and delicious pastry's. I get fresh roasted beans here once a week and always get the maple latte... it is my favorite. Cool merch and staff are friendly.

Super disappointed in the experience my partner and I had here, as the great reviews were what led us to try out one of the coffees. Spent over $20 for two lattes and a chia pudding. We both got the maple latte, which ended up tasting like black coffee over ice. If we hadn't left before tasting, I would have asked for a remake because it is so bad. The chia pudding was barely cold (almost seemed melted) and the mango in it was not ripe. On top of it all, the customer service was lacking; one employee was slumped over her phone while the other acted as if the world was her enemy - my partner's description. This might have been a fluke experience but I can't say I'm willing to lose another $20 to try it again.

Love their coffee and pastries. You cannot go wrong with this location as well. Service is friendly and fast and the vibes are always good.

The service was terrible.. very rude person at the cashier.. I was looking forward to visiting Dark Horse.. sharing coffee with my friend.. I will not be back .. After speaking with the management they took responsibility for my experience.. in a very professional manner.. I will give them another chance as I want to support local businesses in La Mesa..

Beautiful coffee house with excellent drinks and fair vibe. They have vegan bakery goods also. Fun place to visit.

Go to local coffee roaster for us. Friendly service, fun merch, delicious drinks. Apparently the post needs at least eighty five characters to post, as if there's more one needs to say about a great local coffee spot. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

So great having Dark Horse in East County. Their house made syrups are yummy. I usually get the salted maple iced latte. Their Champ is really popular too. They have an assortment of pastries and breakfast items. There is also a small area with bagged coffee beans, merch, and some art.

First time checking out this coffee shop and I have to say, really great coffee and vibes! The staff is sweet, helpful and overall friendly. I will definitely go back to try out their other flavors!

Dark Horse roasters is doing coffee right from the drip coffee to cold brew, seasonal lattes, cortados to their tea scene. I ordered the Salted Maple Latte with almond milk, which was not overly sweet but smooth, nutty and luxurious with a hint of the salt popping through at the end. My husband ordered his usual iced vanilla latte with almond milk. Both were delicious. Pick up a bag of beans, grab one of their churro donuts with a coffee and hang out on the patio for a while.

I hesitate to write a 2-star review, but really don't understand the better ones for this place. First, parking is street-only in a busy, mixed residential/business area, so hope for a spot. Second, don't expect to be acknowledged by any of three employees, even when you're the only person at the counter, seriously. Third, not much to choose from in coffees or pastries. Oh, and no indoor seating. Frankly, an ok spot if you live in walking distance but there are many better choices in La Mesa for coffee or meet up with a friend.

I remember apartment hunting not too long ago and noticed that it on the bottom level of an apartment complex, there was a dark horse coffee right there! How elite, right? The setting kind of reminds you of downtown, but it a suburb kind of way if that makes sense. Anyway, there's plenty of street parking to go in and get your coffee. I ordered the champ, which has honey and cinnamon in it-it's pretty good, I do recommend it. It was just a little pricey, in my opinion. I'm not sure when they open, but the staff seemed a little tired, lol, but other than that very nice.

coffee is made quickly but the ratios of everything is off at this location so the drinks taste bad. the guy at the front is nice but the girl in the back has an unfriendly vibe but i think she just really wants to go home probably (felt). Normally I wouldn't care...if the drinks tasted good.

So glad to find Dark Horse in La Mesa!! It's a cute little store front with some seating out front. We got a chai and a latte. My chai was delicious. I'm glad I asked if it was sweetened and only did half. It was perfect. My daughter got the salted maple latte and once it was cool enough to drink she enjoyed it. We'll be back!

When we first relocated to San Diego from New Orleans, we would stop at dark horse every weekend. Their selection of donuts (if you're early enough to be so lucky) never disappoint. I recommend the vanilla latte with their house made vanilla. My hubs always gets the chocolate latte. Depending on the location you might have a bit of a wait but I highly recommend you stop in and get some coffee and cute swag on your way out!

I ordered the S'Maple which I was really excited about because it is a sea salt maple drink. Sadly I tasted no sea salt and no maple . They had no vegan donuts so I ordered the avocado toast. My first couple of bites were unenjoyable as the avocado wasn't seasoned very well but I am glad I continued eating as I ran into some cream cheese half way through and that was a very pleasant surprise! The sourdough bread they use is very nice too. They had a good toast on it, not too hard and not too soft. The staff was amazing though. Everyone was in a good mood and they were laughing and chatting with each other in between taking orders and that made my heart smile. I might go back and try maybe a dirty chai next time.

I've never came here to only visit this place, but i've been here many times as I was in the area shopping. Definitely a cool hip place with cool business' surrounding the area. The breads are fresh, and coffee is obviously made fresh. If you come on the weekends maybe a light wait time for your coffee but you can wait outside if you wanted. Definitely not a place to come to study, but a place to grab and go and half a quick break from whatever you're doing! parking kind of sucks in this lot, but that's not their fault!

Absolutely amazed by the great service not sure about the gentleman name but the person working here 04/18/2022 3:50pm, quick and perfectly micro molecularly balanced lol chai tea with a touch of 2.3775 micrograms of canela lol jk nerds they keep it simple, the churro donut tastes exactly like a churro from pamplona España but in a donut of course! , will be coming back for more and even to get donuts for our offices, The high traffic hour here in La mesa was absolutely forgotten at least for the time I was enjoying the drink and donuts

Best coffee in SD! This location is a little smaller than some of the others but just as good. Chill staff and consistent quality keep Dark Horse at the top of my list, no matter what location.

Still providing great service and even better coffee!! They now have some breakfast sandwiches available, super yum!

As a bit of a coffee addict I was excited to try this place out given the great reviews. I stopped by earlier today and ordered a champ, chocolate donut and one of their flip travelers as my old one was on its last legs. I asked if they could use the new traveler, thinking it's one less paper cup to use. They said no problem and proceeded to pour the espresso straight in. I asked wait, doesn't that need a wash first? The girl shrugged, said looks clean to me and proceeded to finish making my drink. Long and short of it, the coffee tasted strange. Not sure if it was due to some residues from the manufacturing process or just a crap coffee. I ended up just chucking the coffee down the drain. Gave 2 stars as the donut was great. Won't bother coming back again unfortunately

So happy they brought the donuts back! Staff is usually nice - we've been coming here for 4 years. So disappointed with the service on Sunday around 11:00. Blank stares and talking about customers under their breath. One in our party accidentally took the wrong drink (because they don't have a clear system for calling out drinks) and their attitude was rude and dismissive. What a way to ruin a Sunday morning.

There's good coffee. There's coffee that makes most coffee taste bad. Dark horse is the latter. The staff and the shop itself are always inviting. Accept the invitation.

SO cute & yummy - the folks are a pleasure to be around && the vibes are immaculate - 11/10 would recommend

Dark horse is a must visit in SD! My fiance an I stopped in on our way out to east county for a little pick me up. I was happy to find a location in La Mesa since I had only visited the location in North Park. The coffee was still amazing. I got the haupia cold brew and my fiance had an iced americano with vanilla and cream. The haupia has a lightly sweet coconut flavor that pairs super well with the fruity flavor of the cold brew. My fiances americano was STRONG..woo! We had to add some extra water to make it drinkable, but the espresso was still tasty while watered down. My only negative is that the person at the cashier seemed annoyed while we were asking questions about the coffee selection and as soon as the drinks were made they were both on their phones as if we we were not there. Overall, I would return. I love Dark Horse coffee!

Great Lil coffee gem located in the lower level of the apartment complex. Reasonable prices. I wish they offered larger latte sizes. Delicious latte, awesome staff. Prompt , friendly service. The iced champ plus vanilla latte are delicious. The churro and vanilla bean cake donuts are a perfect addition to the lattes. Limited street parking available.

Love the barista crew who keep the line moving and serve delicious craft coffees. Before I'm awake, I walk to the register and they know the rest and work their magic with my cappuccino and foam art (swans, hearts, flowers). Newly calibrated grinder and scales so drinks are consistent. Easy to drive by the hole in the wall (a condo space), but worth stopping by daily. The park across the street will be relandscaped soon so their patio will be chill. Better beans, service, wait times, and prices than Public Square on LM Blvd.

THE DRINKS: - Ordered my standard iced latte: initially I was meh, but once I mixed it and let it sit for a bit, the flavors really came out :) Strong chocolatey flavor. 4.5/5 - They got really cute beans, like Fruit Party lol OTHER STUFFLES: - Located at the ground floor of an apartment complex - There's parking in what looks like an apartment parking lot from Mon-Sat

Dark Horse indeed! Cute little location with plenty of parking nearby. We went in for the iced lattes and came out with extra donuts and a puppuccino. Very friendly and accommodating staff. Got there right as it opened mid-week and there was already a (socially distanced) line waiting for it to open. The lattes were delicious, but the unsuspected star of the show was the Earl Grey Donut. Tasted like an appropriately sweet bowl of Fruit Loops. Good assortment of donut/waffle options, and so delicious. Will definitely be making this a regular stop. Just wish they opened a little earlier!

Dark horse has the best chai around! They also have a good matcha latte and coffees. Great to stop for a treat but there's no where to really hang out so it is best if you are on the go.

Great coffee, but FIX THE DAMN CUP AND LID SITUATION! Every cup I've gotten since December has a leaky lid. It doesn't need to be this way

All is well in the land of the Dark Horse this Sunday morning. Espresso machine was running on all 12 cylinders, oat milk was available, great selection of vegan donuts and more. Love Dark Horse.

Fun menu with a lot of nice drinks - their cold brew is a staple! I've arrived a time or two before closing and I got a free donut with what I ordered. Their iced matcha is just the right amount of milk and matcha. I have yet to have the avocado toast, but it's on my to do list. They have a small patio with some chairs, seated in front of the pickleball court so you have entertainment while you sip. Parking wise, there's parking on the side of the complex specifically for the coffee shop or usually pretty ample street parking. The baristas are friendly and personable. I sent my friend a bag of their coffee for Christmas and he really liked it! Fun merch too, from shirts to cups.

Impressed with the ice champ latte - with cinnamon and honey. So good!!!! The quality of the coffee is wonderful and bold but nothing over powering. Friendly staffs. Knowledge of their menu and make suggestions accordingly to ones desires. Modern and simple decor that works well for the small space. I'm digging the covered outside portion where I can sit in the shade, write this review and sip n eat a snack. The Mexican chocolate donut is addicting. Great addition to the La Mesa area!!!! I'll be back!!!!!

There's nothing wrong with Dark Horse Coffee Roasters coming to East County San Diego, yep nothing at all. I had terrific Cafe au Lait and a great churro doughnut. The coffee was smooth and rich and simply tasted great. The doughnut offered that nice churro cinnamon flavor but it had that moist and soft texture inside of a fine doughnut, not to mention that light exterior crispiness. Both the coffee and doughnut were a great match and was the customer service, which was down to earth friendly and inviting. Space inside is limited.

Good, consistent coffee and the baristas are friendly. They offer non-dairy options too. They also have vegan pastries and donuts from Split Bakery which are very good. You would not guess they are vegan. They also offer avocado toast and recently added a breakfast sandwich. Whole beans are also available and they will grind them for you.

Love this little local spot. Excellent coffees from around the world. Favorite is the Brazil blend

PROS: + easy parking + walking distance from Collier Park + outdoor seating + cute turquoise chairs + fun merchandise (pins and mugs) + waffles + churro donuts :) + interesting selection of tea + MOCHA (better iced) CONS: - limited stock of Oat Milk - limited seating inside & not ideal place to work Great place in La Mesa, but I had to docked a star for the lack of oat milk.

My favorite is the champ and it's the perfect combo of coffee to sweetness. I usually don't like super sweet or syrup filled drinks and when I order here I never have to ask for less sweetener. They really have got a good eye at making consistently good drinks. I'd love them even more I'd they'd sell 20 ozs. It's so good that 16 oz isn't enough!!

this places was really good ! definitely recommend ! they're customer service was amazing . it has a beautiful outside area where you can sit and talk . we ordered an iced matcha drink with soy milk and an iced mocha !!!

Avocado toast is 10/10! Best I've had in San Diego :) Such a cute location too! Staff is very friendly

Coffee is great. Girl with reddish hair is rude. Definitely shouldn't be on register :/