Daniels Coffee Bean

Prices are more expensive than the airport here. Three bucks for a single shot of espresso and $ 4.50 for a tiny sized cappuccino. At 50% more expensive than any where else you’d expect better flavor but I’d give the flavor a four out of ten. There is no seating either as this place is just a stand.

A trip to Balboa Park isn’t complete without coffee from Daniels Coffee Bean. Their cart always seems to have a line around it which in my opinion is a great sign that speaks volumes to their products and customer service.
Over the years, I’ve tried everything on their menu, but my favorite is the Mexican Mocha. When my kids were little, we would always stop here and get vanilla steamers every time we went to the park. They loved them as they could pretend to drink coffee with the adults.
Also you can stop by early as they are one of the first places — if not the first place — to open in the morning.

I had a vanilla latte and it was pretty good. It was a cool day and I ordered a hot one. The young woman at the cart was pleasant and it was definitely one of the best lattes I have had. It was pricey but the cup was pretty big.
Defiantly stop by — it’s a small cart but it’s on the inside of the moorish court to the left of the visitors shop.

This is the place for coffee if you are at Balboa Park or before or after you go to the Zoo! My favorite drink is the Mexican Mocha! It’s so good! When it’s hot out I ask for it blended and that’s even better! My husband loves the Matcha green tea Frappé with mint. The staff is very nice as well! Some days down there can be a little busy and they do a great job in the small space they have to work with!

The staff are rude and inconsiderate. After I waited in line behind a family with a hundred «specific» drink requests, I asked for some water and a cup so I could give my puppy some water on a hot day. First I waited for the family who took forever, then the staff person halted and told me to wait while she was otherwise engaged. Then mid stream as I was trying to give my order, she stopped again and fiddled around. Finally, she tells me they don’t sell water! I asked for a cup so I could give water to the dog and the girl asked if I’d like a glass of water (finally the light goes on) and I say «yes. Instead of just giving me a cup or giving me a glass of water, she takes my 50 cents (for the cup!)and then directs me to the line where people wait for their drinks. The «barista» had a long list of items. and it would have been a LONG wait This whole transaction had already wasted 15 minutes. Really? for a simple glass of water I needed to be in line as if I were getting some kind of «coffee beverage»? I asked for a cup and left, with bemused staff taking absolutely no responsibility for providing a service. They are set up for tourists who they figure they won’t ever see again. For locals, this place is a loss. Next time I’ll get my coffee before I cross the bridge into the Prado. No plans to ever go back to this slow, rude, unhelpful place.

The coffee isn’t too bad here (tried the mocha and cookie cream blended). It’s pretty much the only coffee place at balboa park and open early. But the service is pretty horrendous and very slow.
There was 4 people working and still took me 10 mins for 1 drink and I was 2^nd in line. They pretty much just talked to each other. Monica the one who was taking orders helped the person in front of me the whole time (got his coffees for him, got cream and made sure everything was taken care of). I get up and she barely makes eye contact takes my order and says. Pick up is over there.
I only give 2 stars for the coffee but the service is no stars and I won’t be going back here.

When you’re in Balboa Park and need a coffee fix, this is a great option. It’s relatively cheap, has good options, quick and friendly service, and the coffee is relatively good. I’m not sure if there are any other options nearby, but this one is pretty good.

$ 5 for a small latte. Is this the Ritz Carlton? No it’s a coffee cart in a park and the coffee is nothing special. I’ve been using the cart at this location for several years and suddenly the prices have all jumped by over a dollar a cup. I just used it for the last time!

Giving a star is necessary to write a review.
So I guess we can attribute this one star to this cart being the only place that was open early morning.
Coffee selection– not impressive.
Pastries– tasted old and stale.
And WORST of all… customer service was BEYOND HORRIBLE.
I stood there for a good couple of minutes while the two girls working just flirted with some guy.
After being acknowledged, the girl who «helped» me could not contain her laughter while the guy was talking. Just giggling and flirting away while I’m just trying to get a drink and pastry. So I had to repeat myself a few times.
Sad. Just sad. Balboa park is a really touristy place, and I feel the two workers here would give anyone and everyone a bad impression of SD.

Daniel’s is a cool little coffee cart located in the same lovely courtyard as The Prado Restaurant in Balboa Park. I come here almost daily.
The blended drinks are tasty, their tea is bomb, and their staff is awesome. Daniel himself is there sometimes, and he seems to be a chill boss to work for.
Kudos to Ruth, Meena and Duke for making each visit wonderful!

This is the only «food» place near the Art museum area of Balboa Park. It is located behind the visitor’s center. I was surprised that beverages and snacks were cheaper than the nearby food carts.
So we grabbed some Coffee, Danish, Croissant and Muffin. For 2 $ a piece the baked goods were decent and filling. I wish they had some savory options though, especially because there are no restaurants in the vicinity.

Nothing special, everytime I
coffee here is kind of burnt. I asked a couple of times and they say it was they roasting style. Still I keep going to this cart, located just nearby the Balboa Park info center because is convenient, does not obstruct the view of any buildings or creates an ugly presence in the park… and is practically your one possibility to get coffee drinks af the park, unless you want to El Prado restaurant, but that is another story and you will end spending more plus is not to go as here. Never encountered long lines.

Decent service and organic fairly traded coffee, they also sell these delicious vegan, gluten free, oat, heart shaped bars, they have them in chocolate chip and green apple… yum :9

If you’re in Balboa Park and in need of coffee, Daniels coffee cart by the Prado is the place to go. Actually, it may be the only place to go. It’s located in the courtyard area by the information place (kind of near the center fountain/​plaza area).
The wait’s not too long depending on how many people are in front of you, but I’ve never seen more than a short line/​wait there. The last time I went, my hazelnut drink took a little longer since the guy apparently messed it up and had to remake it. I’m just glad he caught whatever mistake it was before handing me my coffee! It hit the spot since it was chilly out and I was in dire need of some coffee.

Grab and go in Balboa Park.

I stopped by here this past Thursday afternoon with my fiancé for a pick me up while we were in Balboa park. There’s not much to this coffee place as it is essentially a stand right by the visitors center. I decided to go with a Sumatra coffee, iced since it was hot outside. The barista was nice enough to me but I thought that my coffee was awfully bitter. As a matter of a fact I ended up drinking it in large gulps in order to avoid tasting too much of it.
The bottom line for me is that I probably wouldn’t stop here again in the future. My coffee was pretty bitter and I did not really enjoy it at all.

The coffee is good, it’s a coffee cart. Usually the vanilla coffee is burned though.

Americano, quite good. Complete with crema. This is a cart next to the Prado restaurant. Near the information center for the park.

Friendly service. I’ve been here before and they make a great toffee blended coffee! This time they didn’t have it, but my husband and I shared an iced pumkin spiced latte. It sadly was not too great and kinda gave us an upset stomach… But the other times their drinks had been great! Plus, if you have a dog with you, you get a great doggie discount and your dog always gets a treat.

This place has great coffee and a good selection for just being a little cart in the Prado courtyard. The Mocha de Mexicano is delicious.
I would give it more stars, but really, can you give a coffee cart a full A++ rating? I’m not so sure.
In any case, I recommend this place for your coffee needs. The Prado restaurant has a nice seating area in its courtyard (complete with overhead heat lamps for the cooler days).
Enjoy!