Brown Dog Coffee

What a great coffee shop! So many options as well as some fresh baked goods. Their scones were outstanding.
I came in for the Almond Scone and a Salty Dog latte. The salt really added to the flavor and I would order it again!
Most of the the guests came in for brewed coffee so most of the guests got their orders long before I did.
Other than the slight wait, this shop is spot on!

Scones were delicious (butter pecan and raspberry were sampled) and warm. Smoothie was not good (full of berry seeds, no creaminess, out of bananas); we tossed after a couple of sips. Service was gruff and unwelcoming, but scones were good enough to raise rating.

They were great at working around my allergies. The food was delicious. I’d definitely go there again.

Great coffee!!! Brown Dog Coffee is a must stop every time we pass through Buena Vista!

We stopped there today, we got double cappuccino, cheese and jam croissant and a home made pumpkin with chocolate chips muffin. Everything delicious and with amazing views!

Definitely not impressed with the place. Our first and only time went in for a quick cup of coffee and a quick breakfast. Was told the burritos were pre-​made. Ew. Then settled for a bagel. Disappointed it wasn’t toasted (as you toast it yourself, with a toaster that they got out for self service) and from like Safeway, store brand.
The place was a mess. I was not impressed nor happy to have stopped there.

At least décor-​wise, this is a super cute coffee shop. In addition to coffee and tea drinks, sandwiches, pastries and other sweet treats, the shop offers coffee beans, local pottery, jewelry, and coffee and tea mugs and accessories for sale.
We ordered two turkey and Swiss croissants, a coffee latte for Mr. P., and a chai tea for me. One gal was working the register, another was making all of the drinks, and there was a guy in back apparently doing nothing. By the time our drinks were ready, there was a very long line at the register. We thought we had beaten the rush but that wasn’t the case because we kept waiting and waiting and waiting for our sandwiches. In fact, after about 15 minutes, we had to go ask about them, at which point the person in the back cracking eggs or whatever finally jumped in to help his co-​workers. They all seemed surprised that we would expect efficient service. Because, hey man, we’re busy.
We probably would have had a better experience getting frozen croissant sandwiches from the gas station across the street. They were no frills, without much turkey or cheese, and obviously microwaved. To top it off, my chai tasted like coffee. Super lame.

This place is not that great at all. The food tastes like its been siting in the display case for the last 8 years and the service isn’t that great either. Not that great.

Cute place, worth a detour between denver and points south. Good coffee. Just not a great place if you need a place to work or meet — pretty loud.

Super friendly owner and humongous muffins and baked goods that were so tasty!
Also had the nice chorizo breakfast burrito which was perfect, with just enough spice.
Huge patio outside and great find in the small town of Buena Vista!

This place is a winner in terms of quality, service, and atmosphere.
There’s a spacious patio that includes a water dish for your furry friends (couldnt help bringing my chocolate lab out there) and plenty of seats.
There’s a LARGE selection of hippie worthy free trade organic teas to purchase for home and a good selection to order in shop. I got an iced black tea that was fantastic… Along with a peanut butter chocolate bar (life’s about balance, right?). The PB bar was AMAZING. Crunchysoftsugarydeliciousness. We ordered the chorizo breakfast burrito. It was very good. No complaints about the taste, but it was slightly small for the price (we assumed it would be enough to split but it was definitely a single serving for $ 5.50…only reason it’s not a 5 star)
My boyfriend is a coffee drinker and said it was great. Let’s take his word for it.
This is most definitely my favorite stop for coffee/​bfast/​tea in Buena Vista. Snaps.

I had never been to Brown Dog before because I had never been in this area but I have been hearing about it for years from my husband who travels from home to Salida on a yearly trip and always stops here. It certainly lived up to my expectations. This café was very busy on a Monday morning with a mix of tourists and regulars as could be seen from the welcome and recognition interplay between the staff and customers. Nice to see such a following.
There was a large case of delicious looking homemade baked goods along with several empty plates where the selections had already sold out. But we still had plenty of choice and settled on the sour cream coffee cake. I guarantee from my experiences back east in my youth that this was an authentic NY style recipe with quality ingredients and I loved every bite. And clearly very fresh. Our espresso drinks were good, even my decaf which is hard to do right.
We sat on the cute front porch where there is more summer seating. I think it could get pretty packed in winter inside. But then maybe there are only locals in the winter. If I lived near here, I would certainly stop in often and for people on the road, it is a real find. Lots of customers were already getting take out items for lunch when we stopped, though we weren’t ready ourselves. The menu and items we saw looked great.
Also, super friendly staff and ample parking, but it is a dirt lot so on a morning after a big rain, there are plenty of deep puddles to avoid.

Very good Chai iced tea, nice size veggie burritos. it gets pretty busy here.

@BrownDog_Coffee Tried the iced Americano at both the Buena Vista and Salida locations. The Buena Vista location won me over with the lemon cake all moist and delicious. The iced Americano was strong; just how I like it.
There was a steady stream of customers and the barista was smiley, sweet and helpful. She lauded the cake made by the owner despite being slammed with work and stuffy beverage orders by waifish patrons asking for decaf skim milk sugar free vanilla nastiness. She upsold me for sure.
The locals inside were speaking in a strange local language, which was English, but riddled with so many mountain people inside jokes that I could not comprehend, even with my massive vocabulary. I think I heard the term ‘kelp relish’ blurted out in an almost huff snort.
This location is superior to the Salida location. Buy coffee at local shops. You’ll be glad you did.

I wonder what barista was making the Cubano Shot today, but I never saw of a Cubano Shot using Cinnamon power instead of sugar and it was nasty. So the blond lady that was in the back this morning really give the wrongs instructions in how to make it to the «New» barista.
Traditional, Cuban-​style espresso is made using the darker roasts, typically either Italian or Spanish Roasts. It is identical to Italian pulls, except for the ADDITION of SUGAR directly to the espresso pitcher. The heat from the coffee-​making process will hydrolyze some of the sucrose, thereby creating a sweeter and slightly more viscous result than a normal pull or adding sugar at the table.
But I learned something new, if the barista that I normally get a «Cubano» is not there I should not order that and just walk away. Otherwise is a good place

Yes. Just yes.
The foods great; but who cares. They make coffee that can convert me from a drip «why do coffee drinks have to be so sweet» to still drooling over the salted caramel mocha latte I had last 4^th. 3 times. And again on the 5^th. And 6^th. And then a few others thrown in.
My husband’s taking me to the hot springs in a week for my birthday. I’ll see you again, my frothy, caffeinated love.

I ordered a cortado from a young barista, she didn’t know what that was (totally okay), so she asked me to clarify (awesome! Thanks for being honest!). I then stated that I would like 2oz of espresso and 2oz of steamed milk. I thought everything was going great. The barista took the necessary steps to understand what I wanted. A couple minutes later I was handed a a full 8oz cup as the barista said, «here’s your quad whatever.» Really? We just went over this!
Quality wise, the milk texture was good — real nice microfoam. This was the only highlight of my experience. The espresso was extremely poor. It honestly tasted like cardboard. No sweetness, no body, thin mouthfeel. Literally cardboard. I hate to rip on coffee shops, but it’s hard to call yourself a coffee shop when you can’t make simple espresso drinks.
This was my first and last time visiting Brown Dog. Ever. Period. Game over.
Do yourself a favor next time you’re in Buena Vista, and go to the Buena Vista Roastery (a better coffee shop in town) instead. There’s a reason the Roastery always has a line to the door.

We used to stop here all the time when it was Bongo Billy’s. Since the location is convenient, we decided to continue to patronize the new business. It doesn’t appear that much has changed, and we still enjoy the coffees and (non-​local brand) teas. Still the same friendly service, the same cramped interior, the same dirt parking lot.
The granita this past weekend was very good with just the right balance of mocha and ice. I’ve never gotten real food here except for some baked goods, and it appears they still carry those.
Overall, it’s both small-​town and touristy, and the prices reflect that. We’ll be back!

This is a quaint little coffee shop right off of the Main Street in Buena Vista. It’s locally owned and they serve great Organ Chai tea. This is my favorite Chai so I was pretty happy. I had them add a shot of Espresso and it was delicious!
They also serve breakfast muffins and bagels. I didn’t try them but they look yummy. I liked that they had seating inside and out on the patio. It’s a great coffee shop and I recommend it to anyone traveling through Buena Vista.

Buena vista signature! Amazing coffee roasted there in the shop, which makes for a very smooth and sweet espresso/​coffee. Almond twist pastry is amazing, even had a microwave to warm it up. Salted caramel mocha was great, not too sweet like other mochas.
It is a busy place, I think it took us about 15−20min between waiting in line to order and for our lattes and pastry. But worth the wait.