Cream Coffee Bar

Very spacious with lots of tables to study. No a/​c though, which is only a pain a few days during the summer when you actually need air conditioning here.
yummy drinks, good sandwiches, great place to study and nice employees.

The mural of the beautiful girl that stares at you on the side of this establishment is the best thing about this establishment.
The staff is neutral. The coffee is neutral. The ambiance is boring and needs better lighting. The music is okay.
With so many amazing coffee shops in the area, you would think this place would try harder to stay current.

Cream is… ok.
It’s conveniently located about a 15 second walk from my house which is a big plus (though their free wifi doesn’t quite reach to my house, bummer!), but their coffee is pretty mediocre/​average, in my opinion. The regular drip coffee is fairly bitter and requires a lot of cream/​sugar to mask that, and their latte drinks are fairly bland, and the espresso almost always taste burnt.
I hate to say it, but their customer service is pretty mediocre too. I’m not sure if I’ve done something to piss off the one guy that’s usually working when I’ve gone in, but his attitude makes me think either I offended him… or the world did. If I somehow offended him, my apologies, but if he can’t fake being cheerful, customer service is probably not the job for him. Just sayin’.
Bottom line… I want to like you more, Cream, especially since we’re practically neighbors, but with Twiggs and Monicas at the Park just a block or two away, I’ll go there instead since they have better drinks and better customer service.
Update: Their hours listed on Unilocal aren’t correct (and neither is their address… it’s on Park Blvd not Adams Ave). Lately they’ve been closing on/​before 8pm during the week for some reason, so if you’re jonesing for a late-​night caffeine buzz, try Twiggs instead.

Not bad. Met some friends there, only got to try the drinks (fine, nothing too exciting) since the kitchen closed too early. Good open space, lots of light, even some patio seating. Little local hangout, convenient to the neighborhood, but has some serious competition just down the street.

Been twice. The first time I had high hopes but my latte was not top notch and the wi-​fi situation was really bizarre. Their username is something really non-​obvious and I think you have to ask for the password. I do enjoy the spaciousness and décor.
The second time a friend and I really wanted lunch but it was late in the afternoon and Cream was virtually the only place serving in the area. We waited in line for 15 minutes for mediocre sandwiches. Only one person was working. I have sympathy for the lone girl behind the counter but overall: not impressed.

+ Great people.
+ Good coffee.
+ Interesting drink options.
+ Yummy breakfast sandwiches.
+ Veggie options on their food menu
+ Chill environment for studying or work
AND…Shawn makes a kickass hot vietnamese.

I decided to get some coffee and breakfast before my weekly hitting up of the farmer’s market, so started to stroll down Park to see what was available. I passed Parkhouse eatery, which looked delicious, but included a 20 minute wait. I walked down to Twiggs, where the atmosphere is super cozy and comfortable, but the food selection was scarce. So I ended up at Cream Coffee, where they had a delicious sounding breakfast sandwich on a croissant — the breakfast of (fat) champions.
The guy behind the counter was friendly enough, and I ordered a Vietnamese and the sandwich. Took a seat at one of the many tables they have available (after conspicuously avoiding the dirty looking couches) and waited. This place isn’t really a place you go for the «aura». If I were to give a color to CC’s aura, it would probably be a split pea soup green. Or Just a little… dirty. The sandwich was tasty (though a bit more egg for my taste) and the Vietnamese was very good, but if I come back again I think I’ll get my food to go.
I think if they just took some soapy sponges to the walls and threw a few tablecloths and couch covers around, this place would look 100% better.
To go: 4 stars.
Staying in: 2 stars.
Overall: 3 stars.

This place needs some serious upkeep. It just looked run down. Tables were dirty, windows were dirty, walls were dirty and then the food and drinks weren’t that great either!
The coffee wasn’t great, the food was just okay, and the service was HORRIBLE! Baristas are supposed to be friendly and cheerful but not the lady that was working the register. It looked like she was hating life. She didn’t greet me, didn’t smile, threw down my receipt, just pointed to the water (which was empty) and napkins when I asked where they were. Not good service at all and I will not be coming back here.

This is a great place to hang out with a friend, or bring your laptop and get productive. It makes a quiet mobile office with free Wifi.
The best part is their Chai Tea Lattes! (Enjoy a menu of several varieties.) I’ve tried so many lattes around the city, and Cream has the best! The soup is also very tasty, with unique flavors everyday.

It’s settled: this is my favorite coffee house in San Diego. The food is good and not too pricey. The service is fantastic: Sean is super nice.
The drinks aren’t the highest quality, but I stick to teas and americanos. Their wireless is pretty reliable for me now, and I can usually find a good table, esp. if I get there early. My most recent thing has been to arrive before 8 am and stay alllllll day working. Breakfast and lunch, baby. Especially with this recent broken ankle, Cream meets all my needs and I am pretty productive.

Great place to study and grab a bite to eat!
This hip coffee bar has plenty of mod tables, chairs and couches. There are several plug outlets along the walls with extension cords that reach to the center tables. You may have to share a table with a stranger, though. There was at least one person at every table when we arrived.
Surprisingly, Cream offers up a full menu. I had the California Breakfast Sandwich — a yummy omelet wrapped in a croissant. My hubby had the Torpedo Sub and gave it two thumbs up. They also offered good looking salads and smoothies.
The wi-​fi signal («dlink») is strong and no-​strings-​attached easy-​to-​get-​on. There is free street parking in the neighborhood behind Park St. In fact, Park St is full of cute places to shop and eat, so take a stroll after you visit Cream.

I see this place all the time on my way to Twiggs. It’s usually busy looking. After having a coffee here for the first time I can’t see why.
At 9 o’clock in the morning they had no bagels left. That’s life, I’ll order my coffee anyway. The guy behind the counter looks like someone you’d see in an S&M club. The coffee is ready and it looks good. There’s one pack of raw sugar left amongst a bunch of old sweetener wrappers and bagel crumbs. That’s ok, I only use half a pack anyway. Sugar is in the coffee, stirred, time to sit down. I literally could not find a clean table, the one I settled on in the end was the cleanest and was covered in crumbs and food from the previous occupants. As I sit sipping my coffee I start to look around more, I notice the peeling paint and the dead, half dead and fully alive flies buzzing around me near the window. I notice the dirt on the window sill, the rip in the furniture I’m sitting on.
The coffee is fine. Whoever runs and owns this place obviously just doesn’t care is all. This is the first time I’ve been to this place, this is the last time I will go to this place. I try not to judge things on first impressions, but sometimes you’re left so totally uninspired that you have no desire to give it a second chance. The reality is that I don’t even need another great coffee shop in SD, there are plenty of others. I guess you try new things, sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t.
In retrospect I’m kind of glad they were out of bagels. If the front of a shop looks bad what the hell does the back look like?

I’m not sure how I feel about this place… sometimes I like it, sometimes not so much.
The reason I bumped up the rating from the average 3 stars (or as I like to refer to it as the «whatever rating») is because they serve alcohol. Sometimes I’m in the mood for a beer or glass of wine AND look for the coffee house atmosphere. So for that Cream Coffee Bar I adulate you. However, you barely got my adulation because it doesn’t always feel like a coffee house. Sometimes it just feels like a garage with tables.
The artwork on the wall is sometimes impressive. I read from a few Unilocalers that they also felt the heat in there (lack of ac… not so cool). Free wifi is expected these days, but I still appreciate you for offering it.
Its not a bad place to hang out if you’re in the University Heights area.

I had been hearing a lot about Cream from friends and, as somebody who works from home, recommended it as a great spot to get some stuff done. I happened to already be in the University Heights area for a meeting so I decided to drop in to see what all the fuss is about.
Before getting down to business, I decided to try their Tropical Cyclone smoothie. Filled with blended mangos, papayas, strawberries, pineapples, banana, and orange juice, the smoothie left a slightly dry taste in my mouth. It was full of flavor, but probably isn’t going to be a favorite of mine here.
As a café, Cream was pretty average and sort of resembles an urban, coworking space. There are tons of people on their laptops and plenty of tables and outlets to choose from, and I’m told there are lots of people working on independent startup companies who camp here. WiFi speeds are impressive considering how many people are connected to their network and it’s generally a pretty solid place to get some work done. For that reason alone, I would definitely come to check this place out again. However, unless I was already in the area, I probably wouldn’t go that far out of my way.
Food: ⁶⁄₁₀
Service: ⁶⁄₁₀
Price: $
Atmosphere: ⁷⁄₁₀

I like my coffee shops a little lived in, but Cream Coffee Bar tends to be more worse for wear. This isn’t entirely negative as the ‘aged’ quality adds a splash of kitsch that definitely differentiates it from other cafes. The chairs aren’t the coziest and the tables aren’t the most conducive to long stints of pouring one’s thoughts upon paper, but the atmosphere, albeit a tad aloof, lends ample an opportunity for compulsive laptop-​toters to zen out in the name of productivity.
To be fair (after all, it is a café), this review would be incomplete if I didn’t provide an assessment of the drinks. I’m a self-​proclaimed coffee purist (translation: I’m usually too unadventurous to order anything other than black coffee and tea). Bearing that in mind, I cannot reliably comment on the quality of any drinks residing outside of the gamut of black coffee and tea. From my exiguous experiences, the coffee has been well-​brewed, and never woody, weak, bitter or burnt-​to-​the-​taste. Consistency is always a virtue. For that reason, Cream is swimming in 3.5 territory. The tea options are fairly proportional to other cafes, so the pickings are never slim.
If you’re a no-​frills, all-​business type, you’ll appreciate the fecundity this spacious den affords. On the other hand, if you’re jonesing for more of a «Friends» feel (my preference), where the normal cast of characters are as commonplace as the fixtures that adorn the café, Cream probably isn’t your cup of tea.
p. s. Bring your i-​pod and a stellar set of headphones as the music here, much like my haunt Claire de Lune, tends to oscillate from ear-​bleedingly bothersome to evacuate-​the-​building unendurable.

Being someone that works from home, I can attest that it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. The idea of working from home, especially when you’re stuck in a cubicle all day long, is a beautiful concept. You can wear your jammies while you work, turn on The Price Is Right while you return e-​mails, watch porn, er… YouTube whenever you desire, and more! Granted working from home CAN be pretty neat, but in my experiences over the last year, it’s more of a pain in the ass than anything else.
You wake up, then you’re supposed to get crackin’ in the same space you were just kickin’ back under the covers. Unless you have a dedicated office with a desk, printer, file cabinet, etc… it’s hard to turn that switch to work mode. I live in a quaint 1br granny flat with a cute rabbit and a pantry full of chocolate bars… what do YOU rather be doing? Eating sugar and petting a bunny? Or submitting a fully-​detailed Q2 marketing proposal? My point exactly.
You may be asking at this stage of the review, what the hell does any of this nonsense have to do with Cream Coffee Bar in University Heights? Well, Cream is my unofficial home office. It’s my salvation. It’s where I go when I really need to crank shit out and be productive. I’d go as far as to say that roughly 90% of my real, quality work goes down at either Lestat’s in Normal Heights or Cream here on Park (where I’m actually jotting down this review as I speak). Sitting on a couch in the middle of the day busting a gut while watching Stephen Colbert and The Daily Show doesn’t lend itself to the most productive work day, lemme tell ya.
I don’t know the owners, but I have to imagine they set this place up for a guy like me. It’s pretty much an internet bar that serves coffee and sandwiches. They have huge tables everywhere to spread out your work and school materials, which I really dig. My rig is pretty elaborate. I have a laptop stand, a separate keyboard and a mouse connected to said keyboard. I easily take up a 3X3 space, and Cream has no problem accommodating my workspace girth (that’s what she said). Most other coffee shops in the hood have tiny, tiny tables which makes it hard to get comfy. The argument could be made that those other places don’t want a bunch of punk ass kids using their WiFi all day for free, but in my case, I’m glad at least one spot in the city doesn’t seem to mind people hanging out for hours on end.
I’ve literally eaten breakfast, lunch and dinner here in one day. I was here for 10 hours one time, no joke. I was really, really busy that day… and I’m sure the staff hated me. BUT, I spent roughly $ 30 on food and coffee… which is more than I can say for about ¾ of the other patrons. It’s an unspoken rule that you need to buy at least SOMETHING if you’re gonna use anyone’s free WiFi, so it’s important that a drop a little cash.
Their breakfast sandwiches are pretty standard, their salads are pretty good as well… but I’m partial to their sandwiches. Almost everyone I’ve tried so far has been great, and they come with a side of Kettle Chips. Yumo, as Rachael Ray might say.
If you’re a student, a person working from home, or just someone looking to get away for a few hours with a newspaper or good book, Cream will satisfy your needs. It’s not the quaint coffee shop experience you might be used to… it’s almost like a coffee warehouse. Don’t let that drive you away, though. It’s dope.

I went here yesterday to work on a group project with fellow UCSDers. I did not have any food or drinks here, so this review is 100% based on ambiance for studying.
Reasons this place is a good place to get work done:
1. Plenty of electrical outlets to keep your computer going.
2. Clean tables. This isn’t as common as it should be at coffee houses.
3. Lots of natural light coming in through the large windows.
4. High ceilings, so feels quite airy.
5. While there they have music on, it isn’t too loud to distract you.
6. It is basically one big spacious room.
In sum, I felt really comfortable here and would have no qualms studying here again.

I say about 3.5 stars?
I had a good experience i guess. i had vietnamese coffee and it was strong, but that’s how it should be. :)
/​/​edit
besides that, it was really nice to study in. i love the oldies that were playing and it was really loud, but if you are like me and can zone out all the sound, this is the place to go to study.
i’m guessing they had free wi-​fi since everyone had their laptops out. i just wish it was slightly more ventilated. but nothing too bad to complain about.
/​/​add.
i went there again today… it was lunch time, i was hungry, i orders turkey pesto… the chips that came with the sandwich was so so oily, but other than that it was delicious!!! **today the vietnamese coffee i had was wayyyyyyyyyyy too sweet though, but the pesto sandwich was delicious and totally made up for it. i thought it was slightly expensive though for a sandwich considering foot-​long subs are $ 5 these days. but still yummy and filling!
i add one more star for the yummy sandwich.

I hate to give this place 4 stars. I wish I could give it 5. Certainly, I’m a regular there and I use the place enough. And let’s face it, I really love a place where you can choose between a coffee and a glass of wine. But the internet connection here is just too darned unreliable. I’ve walked into this place too many times and gotten almost nothing.
It’s annoying, too, because there are other cafes around that are equally nice, some of which don’t have internet at all. So whereas, ironically, I may have given one of them a 5 (for being a nice café), I actually feel like I’m *penalizing* Cream for having a bad internet connection and rewarding other places for not having a connection at all. I recognize that this doesn’t necessarily make sense. But still, I can’t get past the fact that the connection here is so bad so consistently.
To make a long story short, I love this place. But it’s hard having a favorite coffee place when you can’t consistently count on it to provide you with one of the key things I go there for.
AMENDMENT I (March 25, 2008).
This place keeps getting better. They’ve added a few new and wonderful wines — including a few from San Pasqual Winery (see my last review). For this, they deserve some credit.
But there’s still a problem with the internet connection. As it turns out, soon after I wrote this review, I received a message from the owner — who, it should be said, is a nice guy who cares a lot. He explained the situation to me and outlined a few ways he was going about fixing the wireless problem. Sadly, I have to report that in the 90 minutes I’ve been here today, I’ve been ‘kicked off’ the internet 4 or 5 times. I’m leaving now. I’ll still come here. I’ll still enjoy the coffee, the wine, and even the internet connection when I can. But if I absolutely NEED to connect to the internet, I’ll go elsewhere.

A lot of good choices at this place. You can get coffee or smoothies or even beer and wine. They also have a good selection of sammiches and pastries/​cookies and even gourmet chocolate.
The free wi-​fi is fast (I’ve been to other places with free wi-​fi that just takes forever for things to load.) Plus as mentioned by other Unilocalers, there are plenty of outlets to plug into so that you don’t need to worry about your battery (unless you are outside.)