Buoy

Love this cafe so much! The interior is so quaint, lots of seating and work area. I am OBSESSED with their drinks, I love their suk einspanner -- mugwort flavored drink. It is a mix of nuttiness and herbal matcha flavored drink, would highly recommend trying if you like matcha! Their paninis and pastries are all top tier, lots of Korean inspired flavors here!!

Updated with more photos, including half of the charming alcove. :) (I couldn't get a photo of the other half since there were people sitting there who probably didn't want to be in a photo posted online.)The Ssuk and Black Sesame Einspanner are soooo good. They both had a nice, strong flavor and thick cream on top. The raspberry and red bean roll cakes were delicious too.

The cafe itself is such a very cute cafe to work at, hang and it's very spacious. I rlly wish that this cafe opens up a bit longer than 3pm though:(. Food was yummy too! Everyone is friendly and was very welcome. Would definitely come back

Interesting menu, kinda pricey, mid serviceMenu was intriguing with Korean inspired drinks and desserts. Two drinks and a cake came out to $30. Good seating for studying or coffee dates. Mostly self service, workers didn't not really seem to care for the customer experience. Order came out separately in parts although the cafe didn't seem too busy. Unsure if I'll return for another try

Had this spot on my list of cafes to check out for a while, and was excited to finally drop in on a Saturday afternoon! First take, the space looks lovely and loved how easily you can ease in with a laptop for a couple hours of work - some cafes you feel a bit awkward about pulling out your laptop. However, admittedly I was not very impressed by the service itself. It took a few intentional checks with the staff to make sure that we got our drinks (originally, they only put out one drink out of the two we ordered, and did not even bother to check on the roll cake we had also purchased). Almost felt like I was being the inconvenience by being there to the staff. Perhaps just caught them on an off day? Would give Buoy another visit in the future to try out other items on their menu and if I need to get a bit of work in, but would aim to keep my touch points with the staff to be as minimal as possible.

Heard good things about this place but had a hard time finding it due to the relatively lowkey exterior. The interior, however, is nice and spacious, with a relatively warm ambiance with ample seating and okay service.I had initially gone in for a drink, but decided to get a sesame brownie to take home. Unfortunately it became a little mushy (and some of it got on my hand while I was taking the BART home in spite of the sealing), but the taste was alright. I'm glad I was able to get this photo of it before the frosting got smeared around the side.Overall, it was an alright experience. The coffee was okay, nothing particularly memorable, and the brownie had a sweet taste that still maintained its sesame flavor. It might've been a little sweet for my taste, but I'm sure their other desserts, which are more akin to the kind of sweets I usually gravitate towards, will be better.

Came here to try the lattes and roll cakes on a Sunday morning and saw that they were sold out of their scones and matcha roll cake already. I ended up getting a an iced latte einspanner with the raspberry roll cake and my friend got the black sesame latte. The lattes were great and I enjoyed the einspanner. The black sesame latte isn't by default caffeinated but you can add a shot of espresso. In general both were a bit sweet for my liking but overall pretty good. The roll cake is made from rice flour making them gluten free. The cake is pretty light and it's filled with a cream cheese mixture. Overall it was good and not too sweet but I wish the cake was fluffier along with the filling. The space is nice and welcoming. There were plenty of people sitting with laptops at the tables so if you can find a spot it's pretty good to work at.

I had The Buoy bookmarked for a while and was excited to finally try them! However, maybe my expectations were too high, but I was honestly disappointed with my experience. I came in on a Friday afternoon and ordered the Matcha Roll Cake. I think the cake slice was on the more expensive side; it didn't feel super worth it to me. The cake itself also was just okay. I could taste the matcha, but the overall flavor was super subtle, and I didn't love the texture of the cake or cream. I think both could have been lighter and fluffier. The environment had a lot of tables and I saw a lot of people studying, but it didn't feel very warm or charming--if anything, it felt more dreary. Overall, I think there are much better dessert spots in SF, and I wouldn't prioritize The Buoy over other options.

The atmosphere is great! Bright and clean. Service is also nice! The staffs are very friendly :)

Yummy coffee and delicious chai. Beautiful cafe to work in. The pastries and the food are also very good.