Caffe Trieste

Venerable local icon offering Italian coffee, pastries, wine & beer, plus live music on occasion. The North Beach location of Caffe Trieste has been around for over 50 years, serving Italian-style espresso to the masses. It’s host to a crowd of neighborhood regulars, who prior to the pandemic could be found discussing, art, poetry, music, and more on the sidewalk outside. These days it’s more of a grab-and-go affair, and just up the street, Caffe Trieste has also opened a retail store for beans and more.

Caffe Trieste is a world-famous, impeccable quality coffee mixed with the best music—from the heart! It is this unique pairing and style that have made our coffee houses comfortable dens for artists of all types. A Google search reveals a staggering amount of listings, including a Wikipedia page!

Our historic caffe location at 601 Vallejo Street (North Beach-San Francisco) was the first espresso coffee house established on the West Coast (1956). “Papa Gianni” Giotta and his family single-handedly launched the Espresso movement as we know it. The Caffe has become famous across the world for its combination of essences: Old Italy, Bohemian poets, art and music, and excellent Espresso.

The Caffe has served as a comfortable respite for actors such as Michael Douglas and a movie set for many feature films and television shows (starring Bill Cosby, Demi Moore and many others) and has been the subject of many articles, news stories and documentaries across the globe. The walls are adorned with pictures of famous celebrities who have visited the Caffe (some, such as Mr. Cosby, are regular customers who take their Caffe Trieste coffee with them everywhere they go, including media interviews and even on stage!) as well as of the hundreds of musical events in which the various members of the Giotta family have participated. Established in 1971, the Caffe Trieste Saturday Concert, is the longest running musical show in San Francisco, and certainly one of the oldest in the United States. All five members of the Giotta family (Papa Gianni, Mamma Ida, ***Gianfranco, Sonia and Fabio have been performing on stage, radio, television and in films since 1953; they have performed with and for many celebrities (Luciano Pavarotti, The Drifters, Frankie Laine, Claudio Villa, and Domenico “Volare” Modugno, to name a few) in front of thousands of local, national and international audiences. ***Gianfranco Giotta (1944-1999).

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  • Saturday07:00 - 21:00
  • Sunday07:00 - 21:00
  • Monday07:00 - 21:00
  • Tuesday07:00 - 21:00
  • Wednesday07:00 - 21:00
  • Thursday07:00 - 21:00
  • Friday07:00 - 21:00
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