This is the closest business to my house besides the bodega that sells cigarettes and lottery tickets. It is on the walk to and from the YMCA on Monterey Street, in the decorative and diminutive demi-neighborhood of the Mexican War Streets.
It is a small shop, so you might miss it, but the coffee is good there and the staff is great. It has a really nice ambiance and on a nice day you can enjoy a beverage on the bench outside or even across the street in the flower garden.
I really wish more people from outside the neighborhood would make this cafe a destination to keep business brisk.
In addition to cafe beverages, they also have pastries and a soup of the day.