486 San Mateo Avenue
The Avenue, San Bruno
Food: $2–$6
Coffee Drinks: $1.5–$4
Website
This coffee shop has been well loved as the worn, comfy couches show. I consider that a plus in a coffee shop. Outlets abound, and except for a small lunch rush, it was pretty quiet over the couple of hours a friend and I spent there. The bakery case was only a third full at best, but the desserts inside looked quite appealing. However, we wanted lunch, which is a mix of sandwiches and crepes with mundane fillings. More importantly, we wanted to try their specialty espresso drinks. Yelp informed me that mighty fine latté art is available if you ask. So I did, and the barista sadly informed me that it's not available for what I wanted due to the consistency of the mocha.
But what I got was delicious anyhow. It was a pistachio mocha, and the texture was so fluffy! There was very little mocha taste, which was good because the pistachio was a lot subtler than expected but perfect that way. My friend had the yin yang mocha instead, a blend of white and milk chocolates.
She was able to get some artwork in her cup courtesy of chocolate and caramel syrups. Hooray!
For lunch, I decided on a tuna melt crepe.
If you're looking for a perfectly crisped French crepe, these aren't them. But if you're quite happy with a thin one without the golden edges, you'll be fine. I honestly expected to just find it a satisfying lunch, nothing to write home about, but the tuna surprised me. It was spiked with mustard, just enough to give it a unique tang that tuna salad normally doesn't offer. My friend's chicken club sandwich had large chunks of chicken in it and a healthy helping of avocado.
Never Too Latté's espresso drinks are worth spending an afternoon in the coffee shop, and I have a feeling the desserts are also remarkable. The food is run-of-the-mill but still a good option. Next time I'm in the area, I will definitely try a red velvet latté—it's another highly recommended drink and I have a feeling it'll show off the foam artwork the best.
Reviewed 8 October 13.
