Mike L.
Yelp
"If you build it, they will come."
Correct, that's not the exact quote from Field of Dreams, but it's still fitting nonetheless. When Philz closed up their location on Shattuck on the north side of Cal's campus, surely had nothing to do with performance. The few times I stopped in, there was no shortage of customers and it was always packed with Cal students camped out to study. So, when I heard that Philz opened up this outpost by Rockridge, I wondered if Cal students would make their way out here. It's not exactly a trek from campus, but there's plenty of great coffee shops in between to study at. Well, as the quote goes, if you build it...
Aside from the fact that getting seat here is practically impossible (the two times I've been here, every seat was occupied with Cal students), this Philz is pretty convenient. I can understand how parking isn't super plentiful on College, but I didn't have an issue finding a spot on Claremont on either Saturday afternoon I was here. More importantly, though, the staff here makes the drinks just right - both the Tesora and Mint Mojito I had were perfect. The menu also looked like it included a couple of new drinks, but I'm not sure if it's a location specific thing or if they've always been an option and I've just never paid attention to it (it's hard for me to order anything other than one of my usual go-to favorites).
The other thing that I like about this particular location is the staff. In general, Philz baristas are usually friendly and welcoming, but I thought the team here was especially nice. That said, I'm clearly just partial to Philz. As with the students from Cal, if they build a Philz, I will come...and check it out so that I can write yet another pointless, positive review ever so shamelessly.