Baci Coffee

Pistachio butter is the house signature here, spread on croissants and stirred through the latte that carries the city’s name. Baci Coffee House is an Italian coffee-and-pastry café in San Diego, built on Italian coffee culture rather than a grab-and-go counter.

Signature coffee drinks and sweets

The coffee is Lavazza, the Turin company founded by Luigi Lavazza in 1895, and the espresso menu keeps to the Italian structure: espresso, macchiato, cappuccino, latte. The house signatures depart from it in a more playful direction. The San Diego Pistachio Latte comes first, built on the Italian pistachio butter the café also uses on its croissants, which makes pistachio the clearest link between the drinks and the pastry case. The Tiramisu Latte works as a dessert in a cup, and Rose Matcha covers the non-coffee side.

On the sweet side, the named items are the house croissants, zeppole and freshly baked pastries, with breakfast and brunch plates behind them. A long list of housemade fillings and syrups broadens the range: cheesecake, banana crème, tiramisu and whipped ricotta fillings, vanilla and strawberry syrups, plus lemon dill and garlic aioli for the savoury plates.

A casual San Diego coffee stop

The name means “kisses” in Italian, and the tone follows: warm, unhurried, more Italian hospitality than American coffee-shop efficiency. It works as an everyday stop and as somewhere to sit for longer, with outdoor seating for the days that deserve it.

Its range stretches past the counter, too. The kitchen handles catering and larger gatherings, so the same pistachio and tiramisu flavours that anchor the drinks list turn up on a bigger table. Inside, the café stays casual: order, choose a pastry, and stay as long as the coffee lasts.

Order the pistachio latte first, then decide on pastry

The San Diego Pistachio Latte is the clearest first order, and the one that connects the drinks to the kitchen, since the café makes the Italian pistachio butter that goes into it. Pair it with one of the house croissants, which are finished with the same pistachio butter, and the visit holds together around a single idea rather than two unrelated choices.

For a dessert-led espresso drink, the Tiramisu Latte is the one, especially since tiramisu also appears among the housemade fillings. For a non-coffee signature, take the Rose Matcha. For food, zeppole are the most Italian order in the case, while the breakfast and brunch plates, built around the aiolis and ricotta, give the café a savoury side worth staying for.