A Guide to Coffee Houses in the Inner Sunset Neighborhood of San Francisco

The Inner Sunset is a residential neighborhood that also draws a lot of visitors because it is next to Golden Gate Park. The main restaurant and shopping district is on 9th Avenue between the park and Judah, and on Irving (one block up from the park) between 7th and 9th Avenues. Within those few blocks, there are several coffee houses. Each one draws a slightly different crowd.

The Canvas -- This is right across the street from the park, on Lincoln and 9th Avenue. You can't miss it -- it has huge plate glass windows facing the park. As the name suggests, there is a lot of artwork on display, and the art is quite good. In fact, the Canvas bills itself as a combination cafe and gallery. In addition to the usual coffee house drinks and desserts, they also have alcoholic drinks and food that is substantial enough for a meal. At night, they have live music and other entertainment, often for free. It draws a 20-something and 30-something hipster crowd.

Tart to Tart -- On Irving between 7th and 8th. They've been closed for a long time, doing renovations, and now they've reopened and they look almost exactly the same as they did before! This is a hangout for medical students from nearby UCSF, who come there to study in groups. They have good cakes and pastries at pretty low prices.

The Beanery on 9th Avenue, between Irving and Judah -- This is a small cafe with one row of seating along the wall. They have good coffee. The crowd there is all ages, from babies to senior citizens. It's also a good place to buy beans to take home.

The Beanery on Irving, near 7th Avenue -- this is another branch, only two blocks away. It's even smaller than the other one, with just a couple of tables inside and a couple more out on the sidewalk.

Starbucks -- on Irving, between 8th and 9th. San Franciscans love to say they hate Starbucks, but this place still gets crowded. It can be hard to get a table on the weekend. The crowd is mixed, but skews older than most of the other cafes. An an old fart myself, I like that. I like the music there too.

Arizmendi Bakery -- on 9th Avenue, between Irving and Judah. This is more of a take-out bakery than a cafe, but they do have coffee, and they have a couple of tables inside and a bench outside. It's a worker-owned co-op that is related to the Berkeley Cheese Board. They have wonderful pastries and pizza.