Playback Coffee Co

Tip Top House Cleaning Services

This café is one of my favorite spots. Parking is super easy, which already makes the experience stress-free. The staff is incredibly attentive and welcoming, and the coffee is absolutely delicious. The coffees are really good, and I also tried their guava matcha, and it was amazing — such a unique and refreshing flavor. The pastries are really good, and they have a great selection of bottled juices as well. The space is large, open, and very comfortable, with plenty of tables and cozy couches. Every time I come, there are people working on their laptops, which makes it a perfect place to work, meet, or just relax. Highly recommend!

Prince Villanueva

Great atmosphere and energy! Visited on a Saturday afternoon when they had live music. The staff were friendly and relaxed, and there’s a nice variety of pastries and lattes. A wonderful addition to the San Pedro Market scene.

Wayne Chang

Love that it opens decently early and open pretty late for a coffee shop! Good amount of space; enough to get some work done too if you don't mind some bustling around. Fun music playing most of the time. Drinks and pastries are good as well. Clean bathrooms.

Olivier Jin

Same owners as Academic Coffee. Great vibes, friendly staff, almost no indoor seating. Cortado was solid. Love the vinyl aesthetic.

Galina Chzhen

Same awesome space and a new coffee shop! Free WiFi, outlets, lots of tables, very bright and spacious with high ceiling! Staff is friendly, I believe it’s their 1st day and they are still setting up. They do offer non-diary milk but no plant-based options for food, just gluten-free. I hope they will add vegan-friendly items soon!

Gareeyasee Saha

Cappuccino was great and tons of seating space. I came in to find a pretty long and so ordered with the QR code and my drink was ready within 5-7 minutes :)

Trillian Eats

We were in San Jose for the NWSL and my birthday over Thanksgiving and visited Playback Coffee daily.

Shiv Tatva

Amazing place to chill, drink coffee and work. Loved the environment and coffee.

Hayley

the coffee shop is a cute stop for music fanatics. coffee is good and plenty of seating as they share the space with the bar next door

Chelsea Comfort

Oatmilk matcha was expensive $8 but they got the color and ice amount just right 💚 I’ve tried all the coffee shops downtown and this matcha is my favorite so far. I love that it’s not too sweet so it tastes healthier and matcha flavor is strong, whereas other places get cheap on the matcha amount. So it’s worth it. And it’s a nice vibe.

GrayOwl16

Good drinks and service. I enjoyed the guava matcha latte and my partner enioyed his chai latte. There is a lot of seating and I like the style.

My favorite coffee shop downtown San Jose, the flavors and unique drink choices are what makes this cafe stand out from the rest. Coffee-> Rich and full of flavors. The toppings are a nice add on. Service-> Friendly and professional Atmosphere: Modern and hip, love the record vinyl decor and ceiling display.

I need to update this review, as they have adapted and improved. This used to be Voyager's old location, they updated and honestly serve a much better product. I only visited voyager for the location, now Playback commands my patronage for product and location. The pastries are great (Manresa Bread), they now will do ceramic cups if you request it (thank you) and the coffee, is as good as you get at Academic. This is at minimal our Sunday spot, or good for later afternoons when our preferred shops are closed.

I really really like this spot in San Pedro Square. I can’t help but think Voyager made a mistake to move down the street.. I wanted to stay loyal to them, but it was hard to as I think I’m more loyal to the location than anything. It has a great big comfy area for mornings and early afternoons— to work, to chill for a while, and especially to bring my big dog. There’s always tables and it doesn’t feel cramped like most coffee shops do. The food and coffee are okay. It’s worth coming for the environment! I think there’s great potential if they add their banana cold foam latte that they’re known for at Academic.

Amanda N

My favorite coffee shop downtown San Jose, the flavors and unique drink choices are what makes this cafe stand out from the rest. Coffee-> Rich and full of flavors. The toppings are a nice add on. Service-> Friendly and professional Atmosphere: Modern and hip, love the record vinyl decor and ceiling display.

Josie

I really really like this spot in San Pedro Square. I can’t help but think Voyager made a mistake to move down the street.. I wanted to stay loyal to them, but it was hard to as I think I’m more loyal to the location than anything. It has a great big comfy area for mornings and early afternoons— to work, to chill for a while, and especially to bring my big dog. There’s always tables and it doesn’t feel cramped like most coffee shops do. The food and coffee are okay. It’s worth coming for the environment! I think there’s great potential if they add their banana cold foam latte that they’re known for at Academic.

nextdoorwarren

I need to update this review, as they have adapted and improved. This used to be Voyager's old location, they updated and honestly serve a much better product. I only visited voyager for the location, now Playback commands my patronage for product and location. The pastries are great (Manresa Bread), they now will do ceramic cups if you request it (thank you) and the coffee, is as good as you get at Academic. This is at minimal our Sunday spot, or good for later afternoons when our preferred shops are closed.

Great new spot in San Pedro market. I got the tiramisu coffee and it was pretty good. the Iced vanilla latte was mid tho.

Samarjit Singh

Great new spot in San Pedro market. I got the tiramisu coffee and it was pretty good. the Iced vanilla latte was mid tho.

It’s a decent spot. It used to be the Voyager Cafe before which is now moved across the street. The cafe shares it place a bar and there are a lot of seats. Both Indoor as well as outside. Saw a bunch of people working. Is pretty busy and it took a while to place my order. There is also a kiosk if you don’t want to interact in person. Got an ice lattice, and it was pretty okay. Again, nothing exceptional. Got the butter croissant as well. It was pretty bad and not worth it at all. Maybe because it was sitting there for a while and wasn’t fresh. Would not order again. Overall, a bad place to grab a coffee.

A lot of the people whined about the price here, claiming it’s about $9 a drink. That’s not entirely true. Only the tiramisu latte is expensive. Everything else is the same price as else where. I had high hope for this place, but they made the most watered down matcha and very strange after taste. Might come back for tiramisu latte, hopefully that won’t be my last time.

Most expensive matcha in the bay- almost $10 for a latte that would be $7.50-8 at all other matcha spots. (That doesn’t include tip.) The matcha was good but not good enough for the price. The matcha cafe nearby is still my preferred spot. The honey cream was $2.25 alone and they don’t give you enough to justify that price. It’s also a bit too thick. When you sip from the lid, it gets stuck in the ice instead of being able to drink. I’m still glad I tried it once while my other spot was closed. Maybe I would get it again, but the price is hard to support. Especially when they don’t have a dedicated seating area. I will also add that I liked the branding and staff was very nice! And I didn’t have to wait in a line.

Suman Hazra

It’s a decent spot. It used to be the Voyager Cafe before which is now moved across the street. The cafe shares it place a bar and there are a lot of seats. Both Indoor as well as outside. Saw a bunch of people working. Is pretty busy and it took a while to place my order. There is also a kiosk if you don’t want to interact in person. Got an ice lattice, and it was pretty okay. Again, nothing exceptional. Got the butter croissant as well. It was pretty bad and not worth it at all. Maybe because it was sitting there for a while and wasn’t fresh. Would not order again. Overall, a bad place to grab a coffee.

Thu Bui

A lot of the people whined about the price here, claiming it’s about $9 a drink. That’s not entirely true. Only the tiramisu latte is expensive. Everything else is the same price as else where. I had high hope for this place, but they made the most watered down matcha and very strange after taste. Might come back for tiramisu latte, hopefully that won’t be my last time.

Mia Savannah

Most expensive matcha in the bay- almost $10 for a latte that would be $7.50-8 at all other matcha spots. (That doesn’t include tip.) The matcha was good but not good enough for the price. The matcha cafe nearby is still my preferred spot. The honey cream was $2.25 alone and they don’t give you enough to justify that price. It’s also a bit too thick. When you sip from the lid, it gets stuck in the ice instead of being able to drink. I’m still glad I tried it once while my other spot was closed. Maybe I would get it again, but the price is hard to support. Especially when they don’t have a dedicated seating area. I will also add that I liked the branding and staff was very nice! And I didn’t have to wait in a line.

The only thing this spot is good for is the plentiful seating and ambiance. I got a double espresso ($4.40), and it was some of the worst I’ve had. I know black espresso is supposed to be bitter.. but this was giving more burnt beans. I’d come here again, but maybe after I’ve already had my caffeine elsewhere.

The coffee is amazing at this place! I love their Tiramisu latte, except... for the rude barista that continued to give attitude, it felt like we were bothering him when he was taking our order. I asked a simple question if the coffee itself is sweet, he kept side-eyeing me and had a sarcastic tone throughout the transaction. I'm so disappointed in the service. I was really looking forward to grabbing coffee and now it makes me hesitant to come back. The ladies have been so kind every time I come here. He was to busy dancing the day away than to be a friendly person. Service matters.

Michell Genevieve

The coffee is amazing at this place! I love their Tiramisu latte, except... for the rude barista that continued to give attitude, it felt like we were bothering him when he was taking our order. I asked a simple question if the coffee itself is sweet, he kept side-eyeing me and had a sarcastic tone throughout the transaction. I'm so disappointed in the service. I was really looking forward to grabbing coffee and now it makes me hesitant to come back. The ladies have been so kind every time I come here. He was to busy dancing the day away than to be a friendly person. Service matters.

The exterior of the place is very nice and aesthetically pleasing. The line was quite short when we arrived, but we waited 45 minutes for our drinks. We had ordered two drinks—a chai latte and a tea latte—but both tasted like water. Not only that, but we were initially only given one drink, and the staff insisted we had only ordered one, even after checking their computer system. We had to clearly show them our receipt to finally receive both drinks. The drinks were terrible, and the customer service was equally poor. You're better off going to Voyager right across the street. You'll actually get a delicious coffee you won't regret.

ryan barragan

The exterior of the place is very nice and aesthetically pleasing. The line was quite short when we arrived, but we waited 45 minutes for our drinks. We had ordered two drinks—a chai latte and a tea latte—but both tasted like water. Not only that, but we were initially only given one drink, and the staff insisted we had only ordered one, even after checking their computer system. We had to clearly show them our receipt to finally receive both drinks. The drinks were terrible, and the customer service was equally poor. You're better off going to Voyager right across the street. You'll actually get a delicious coffee you won't regret.