Copa Vida

Located in SD’s downtown East Village, Copa Vida is a popular, modern cafe perfect for enjoying a cup of coffee or tea with a light meal. Their breakfast menu features burritos, brekkie sandwiches, chilaquiles, croque madam, and a variety of toasts. While you for lunch, you’ll find sandwiches, soups, salads, and rice bowls. And of course, their pastries are insanely delicious! I recommend the Honey Madeleine, Olive Oil Cake, or any muffin! The atmosphere is always pleasant, it’s never too loud, and the staff is welcoming. With ample seating both inside and outdoors (high-tops and regular tables), it’s a great place to get some work done on your laptop, visit with friends, or chill with your significant other.

I walk by Copa Vida every time I'm in the Petco area in East Village and always thought it looked modern with plenty of seating. Today I decided to order from them and pick up to go while walking the dogs. I ordered two Iced Lowfat Vanilla Brown Sugar Lattes online via Square on their web site and they gave an estimate of 20 minutes for pickup. When we arrived to pick up the order I was surprised to find a sign on the door saying dogs were not welcome inside. I've seen dogs on their outdoor patio in the past. That left me with quite a dilemma since I was by myself with two dogs. I wanted to respect their rules so I phoned in to see if someone could bring the drinks to me and the employee was super kind and helpful and said they don't mind dogs coming in for a short period of time for pickups and that the sign is primarily because they don't allow them in the inside dining area for those dining/drinking inside. When I got to the counter I was a bit surprised how small the drinks were and asked how I could have ordered a larger iced drink online because I didn't see that option. The barista said just to leave the size unchecked and it would automatically come in the 16 oz versus the 12 oz cup they had prepared. She offered to make them 16 oz since I didn't know and that won me over on the quality of their service. The drinks themselves were refreshing and not overly sweet. You can definitely taste both the vanilla and brown sugar but it's not overpowering. Copa Vida has ample seating on the patio as well as indoors and is quite spacious with high ceilings. It's a busy place and I'll probably come again sans dogs to stay and people watch on the patio next time. There is no parking available here.

Absolutely loved this place! Very modern and high ceilings. Food was fantastic! I got the croque madame with a side salad. The dressing on the salad was very tasty. Brought my laptop to work from here and it wasn't TOO loud, but of course there are the regular cafe noises. I loved the atmosphere, the service was great, so many coffee and non coffee options available. Food was so tasty! 10/10 would come again!

I have had a lovely breakfast. Nice place to visit and start your morning with. Thanks folks for the vibe and the smiles

Good coffee and nice location. You can get some school to work done. I think they should work in making the outside patio more inviting to reduce the amount of people inside. Also the staff need to smile more and be more friendly.