"It’s 7am and you've just stumbled out of a bar on Fremont—the sun is rising, and you need coffee immediately. Get an excellent cup at Publicus. They source from roasters all over the world, like coffee with notes of chocolate truffle from Indonesia and Costa Rican light blends. Stick around and enjoy one of their breakfast options like the Mahalo Bento, which has eggs, spam, rice, kimchi, and macaroni salad while watching the neighborhood crowd pass through." - emmy kasten, melinda sheckells, edward thompson, milena difiore
"Bright, bookish, and playful, this downtown coffee shop is defined by floor-to-ceiling windows, shelves full of curios, and a bold mural of eggs and bacon. The daily-special display tempts with bento boxes of sticky fried chicken and cucumber salad, pozole bowls topped with avocado, vegan carrot cake with pillowy frosting, and almond croissants set beside spiky Stegosaurus figurines. Visits before lunch call for the supreme breakfast sandwich—soft bread piled with over-medium eggs, crispy hash browns, melted cheese, thick-cut bacon, and tangy aioli—and the beverage standout is the Death Cream, a caffeinated cold brew finished with luscious sweet cream. Seating ranges from communal benches around faux trees and tables facing a wall-sized earth mural to a quieter backroom near a suspended steel sculpture of an upturned hand, making it as much a cozy hangout as a grab-and-go stop." - Janna Karel
"This airy art-filled cafe is known for exacting pour-overs made with single-origin beans, which are dialed in to highlight specific flavor notes like cherry or chocolate. Like most pour-overs, the coffee here is best enjoyed freshly brewed, and sipped on-site in a mug instead of out of a paper cup on the go. Luckily, the food menu, loco moco, avocado toast, and more, offers a great excuse to settle in for a while." - Janna Karel
"When your workday is going to keep you tied to your computer for more than a few hours, PublicUs offers a rotating menu of breakfast and lunch dishes, available to pair with your coffee. Try the tofu bento or shakshuka and take a seat at one of the communal tables at the back. The ample wall art, fake trees, and bright windows will surely spark inspiration." - Janna Karel
"This downtown coffee shop features single-origin coffee in a canteen-style environment. This airy and art-filled cafe is known for exacting pour-overs. But the sample dishes between the queue and the open kitchen make a strong case for settling in with a breakfast sandwich, bento bowl, or baked treat." - Janna Karel