Outset Coffee - Financial District

I stumbled upon this place on my way to work one day. The bright orange theme of the shop caught my eye so I quickly bookmarked it on Yelp. After lunch that day, my colleagues and I wanted to grab a coffee so I quickly suggested this new spot in FiDi. We loved it!

Easy self ordering at the kiosk, prices are very affordable for the area, and quick service. The menu is pretty extensive and very unique! I ended up getting the Day & Night, iced with an extra shot and oat milk. It was so delicious omg. It was basically an oolong tea flavored coffee with cream. I usually like coffee and tea separately and don't often mix the two together, but it actually works so well. I tried a bit of my coworker's Osmanthus Latte, and it was also fuego af. Highly recommend! Only thing is I wish the portions were larger since I'm trying to get wired at work.

Yummy drinks, snacks, & great service! And love the convenience of the location in downtown SF.

Try their pizza toast! The bread is so delicious, buttery, fluffy yet crispy. 10/10!!

This bright, cheery, and spacious location is walking distance from downtown SF. Not sure if they're related to Zero& but I saw that they sold similar cakes and had an orange juice machine with its branding.

Originally, I wanted to try their Durian Latte but the self-order kiosk indicated that it was already sold out around 3:00pm. Instead, I decided to pick the Black Sesame Mudslide (14 oz - $5.95) with the recommended coffee level and less ice.
+Even though I couldn't adjust the sweetness, I thought it was the perfect sweetness.
+Black sesame layer was rich and nutty: It reminded me of Chinese black sesame paste (芝麻糊).
+Paper straw here was sturdier than others I've used.
-No option for 0% ice

*Verdict: Since they have such a diverse menu, I want to come back to try their other drinks and pastries. Hopefully the Durian Latte won't be sold out!

Convenient location and the Vietnamese cold brew was good. I know juice x coffee combos are a trend but I am not ready... that said, I think it's cool how many variations of it you can get here.

The chairs and tables weren't all that comfortable but the space is large.

You order at a screen like most beverage places these days, but two staff answered my questions as I was going through selections.

Overall, it feels like a coffee and tea shop hybrid without boba toppings. I'm curious about their espresso drinks but hesitant about how good those would be with their focus on the more fun and adventurous drinks.

Not too busy in the morning. Had an ube croissant. They have a good amount of choices for croissants and toasts. Also a kiosk if you want to order without talking to anyone. Lol. My croissant was yummy. Will likely return for a quick breakfast as it's on my way to work. Many coffee choices and flavors too! Will need to try.

Ordered two drinks via DoorDash: Traditional Iced Matcha and Matcha Strawberry Yuja.

The drinks arrived in aluminum cans, which was a nice touch. I don't think I've ever seen a coffee shop do that before.

The Traditional Iced Matcha was impressive - definitely one of the better matcha drinks I've had recently. Smooth, not too sweet.

But the real star of the show? The Matcha Strawberry Yuja. It was nothing short of extraordinary. The combination of flavors was unique and refreshing. I found myself wishing I lived next door so I could drink this daily.

If you're a matcha lover or just in need of a pick-me-up, don't miss out on this place. The Matcha Strawberry Yuja alone is worth the visit. I'll definitely be back for more!

I've been curious about Outset for a while now - I love specialty coffee and their menu is so fun!

I popped in to the FiDi location around 1 on a Saturday and it was surprisingly busy. No line, but I'm assuming everyone ordered at the self serve kiosk like me. After ordering you're told on screen how many orders are ahead of you. I had about a ~10 min wait and couldn't snag a table, but waited on a bench for my order.

Since every drink looked delicious I had to order two (it's a bad habit!) - I tried the donut latte (hot) and black sesame mudslide (iced).

Both were delicious but I preferred the black sesame mudslide. Sweet, creamy and had a satisfying nutty, sesame flavor! Was surprised the donut latte wasn't overly sweet!

Overall amazing experience and I have about another 10 drinks I have to try on the menu!

Summary:
Unique, but bit-too-sweet specialty coffees

Details:
I have to echo the sentiments of several other Yelpers here, in that the Outset seems to veer on the sweet side of things with their specialty drinks, which is likely even more noticeable to those who generally prefer their espresso drinks without any added sugar.

Opting for something that sounded like one of the less sweet options, I got myself a Day & Night several weeks back, which was a mixture of oolong and coffee: something of a fancy yuenyeung. And while it was enjoyable at the get-go, even with the less sweet option, I found it sweeter than I would have liked, and was craving something savory to balance things out afterwards.

If I were to relate this to milk tea, I'd imagine it to be closer to a 50-75% sweet option at your average tea shop, so take that as you will.

Accessibility:
Surprisingly large space with a variety of seating options, including counter seating and smaller two-tops, so accessibility shouldn't be a problem.

A cute little coffee shop in Fidi. I love how the drinks are very unique and different from other traditional chain coffee brands. I recommend the Sunset Americano!

Happy to have found this place to grab our last SF coffee before we went on our road trip home. Love the Asian flavor inspired drinks which made it a little difficult to choose what to get. I opted for the matcha strawberry yuja, a seasonal item, while my boyfriend had the toasted banana latte. My matcha was on the sweeter side, but was refreshing. Tried a sip of the toasted banana latte and liked it as well. Would definitely get that another day if I lived in SF. Great banana flavor, with a wider straw for the banana puree in the actual coffee. I also got an ube almond croissant, with ube inside and ube encrusted on top. I intended to only eat half initially, but ended up eating the whole thing. The ube inside reminded me of the an ube pan de sal.

Another plus is they allow dogs! An important consideration for us since we had our dog with us. There are 2 kiosks you can order from or you can order at the register. We used the kiosk so we could easily see pictures of the drinks as well. Parking was a little tricky but no biggie, it wasn't unexpected. We ended up finding a parking garage a few blocks away.

The brown sugar almond toast is amazing good! It's perfect to pair with any coffee, great snack or breakfast meal.
It's cheesy, sweet with cinnamon and brown sugar, with the almond flakes on top makes a little bit crunchy. The toast itself is nicely toasted.

Super fast with my pick up order, the staff are friendly.
Next time I will definitely try the coffee!