Goodthing coffee

The pistachio Einspänner is the drink Goodthing coffee is known for: espresso under a thick, pourable cap of sweetened pistachio cream, eaten with a small wooden spoon before it is stirred in. The Burlingame shop is the original branch of a neighbourhood café and bakery that opened in October 2024 and built its name on light-roast coffee, matcha, cheesecakes and canelés.

Light roasts, pour-overs and a bakery case

The coffee programme runs light and single origin. Espresso rotates between Dak Coffee Roasters in Amsterdam and La Cabra in Copenhagen, and pour-over is central, with four to six options on at a time from origins including Colombia, Kenya, Ethiopia, Panama and Costa Rica. Flat whites come out with careful latte art.

The sweets carry equal weight. Goodthing is closely associated with Hokkaido milk cheesecake, a Japanese-style cake with a cloud-like texture, in flavours including tiramisu and yuzu matcha. Cookies run to walnut chocolate chip and Dubai chocolate, and canelés and fresh cake fill out the case. A limited-run banana pudding latte, made with the kitchen's own banana pudding, shows how far the line between dessert and drink bends here.

A small room with a back patio

The feel is minimalist, airy and neighbourhood-scaled rather than formal. Seating runs to a handful of indoor tables and a small back patio, enough for a quick caffeine stop, a solo hour or a catch-up. Baristas are relaxed and know the menu, and the matcha can be adjusted to taste.

The room was always tight. In the early days one of the founders baked overnight because there was no space to make pastry during service, and the Palo Alto branch that followed took some of that pressure off. What has not changed is the format: order at the counter, find a seat if there is one, and pair a drink with something from the case.

Start with pistachio cream, then add cheesecake

Order the pistachio Einspänner first. It comes in espresso and matcha versions, the matcha one named Urban Angel, and both arrive topped with pistachio cream, foam and crunch. Eat the cream with the spoon before mixing; the texture is half the drink.

For a different route, the guihua oat latte uses osmanthus syrup for a floral finish, and the same syrup turns up with matcha or tonic water. The matcha is flavour-forward rather than sugary, which makes Urban Angel a better order than most sweet matcha drinks. Add Hokkaido cheesecake for the clearest pairing, or look for yuzu matcha and tiramisu cheesecake, walnut chocolate chip and Dubai chocolate cookies, and canelés when they are out.