Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

The Lazy Hummingbird: Coffee and Culture in OB

In the comments section of my bit on Industrial Grindl, a reader suggested I visit Lazy Hummingbird coffee in Ocean Beach. I've now done so, and I still think that it's got a totally fantastic name.

The little coffee shop has been open for about six months and seems to be generating a loyal following of caffeine-deprived OBecians.

Much like Industrial Grind, the Lazy Hummingbird can be a bit of a trick to find. The shop has signage, and it's on a fairly developed stretch of Santa Monica in OB, but half the building is a FedEx store and the residual injunction to "PRINT PACK SHOP" is still emblazoned on the purple awning above what is actually the charming little coffee stop.

The entire shop has a lovingly hand-lettered, organic feel that stands a strong counterpoint the the ultra-slick, Euro-cool aesthetic that's almost normative in coffee shops right now. Much like the surrounding neighborhood, Lazy Hummingbird carries a bohemian majesty that is if anything enhanced by its unlikely co-habitation with the office supply shop.

Gentle, acoustic jams fill the air and late-afternoon sunlight spills in from the big windows, which together creates a very cozy vibe that could easily induce prolonged stays.

The espresso is on point, flavor wise. And the prices are on the cheaper side of reasonable. Ordering a double americano ($2.45) earns an invitation to select a mug from the rack on the wall. Personal choice reigns supreme!

Refraining from using paper cups and disposable goods whenever possible is central to the business ethics at Lazy Hummingbird, which appeals to my very strong tendency towards eliminating waste and refuse. I especially appreciate the option to mix coffee with a spoon, instead of a piece of wood. The sound of a spoon clinking around the inside of a coffee cup reminds me of being a little kid and listening to my parents drink coffee on weekend mornings.

Maybe the biggest thing that might set Lazy Hummingbird up in the ranks of the favored few coffee shops is that the little place is host to a litany of cultural events. There's something going on there most evenings. Maybe it's just my skewed perception of the world, but I detect echoes of my beloved 1990's when coffee shops seemed to carry a greater reputation as artsy, bohemian, cultural centers where cool kids hung out to read nihilist philosophy and draft screenplays for independent movies.

Tambourine making isn't exactly Nietzsche, but it's not exactly not Nietzsche either and I'm willing to expand my fantasy a bit for a good cup of java and the chance to use an insouciant, rhetorically cunning double negative.

The Lazy Hummingbird
4876 Santa Monica Avenue
619-200-5016
Weekdays 6:30am-10:30pm
Weekends 7:30am-10:30pm

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Bait and Switch at San Diego Symphony

Concentric contemporary dims Dvorak

In the comments section of my bit on Industrial Grindl, a reader suggested I visit Lazy Hummingbird coffee in Ocean Beach. I've now done so, and I still think that it's got a totally fantastic name.

The little coffee shop has been open for about six months and seems to be generating a loyal following of caffeine-deprived OBecians.

Much like Industrial Grind, the Lazy Hummingbird can be a bit of a trick to find. The shop has signage, and it's on a fairly developed stretch of Santa Monica in OB, but half the building is a FedEx store and the residual injunction to "PRINT PACK SHOP" is still emblazoned on the purple awning above what is actually the charming little coffee stop.

The entire shop has a lovingly hand-lettered, organic feel that stands a strong counterpoint the the ultra-slick, Euro-cool aesthetic that's almost normative in coffee shops right now. Much like the surrounding neighborhood, Lazy Hummingbird carries a bohemian majesty that is if anything enhanced by its unlikely co-habitation with the office supply shop.

Gentle, acoustic jams fill the air and late-afternoon sunlight spills in from the big windows, which together creates a very cozy vibe that could easily induce prolonged stays.

The espresso is on point, flavor wise. And the prices are on the cheaper side of reasonable. Ordering a double americano ($2.45) earns an invitation to select a mug from the rack on the wall. Personal choice reigns supreme!

Refraining from using paper cups and disposable goods whenever possible is central to the business ethics at Lazy Hummingbird, which appeals to my very strong tendency towards eliminating waste and refuse. I especially appreciate the option to mix coffee with a spoon, instead of a piece of wood. The sound of a spoon clinking around the inside of a coffee cup reminds me of being a little kid and listening to my parents drink coffee on weekend mornings.

Maybe the biggest thing that might set Lazy Hummingbird up in the ranks of the favored few coffee shops is that the little place is host to a litany of cultural events. There's something going on there most evenings. Maybe it's just my skewed perception of the world, but I detect echoes of my beloved 1990's when coffee shops seemed to carry a greater reputation as artsy, bohemian, cultural centers where cool kids hung out to read nihilist philosophy and draft screenplays for independent movies.

Tambourine making isn't exactly Nietzsche, but it's not exactly not Nietzsche either and I'm willing to expand my fantasy a bit for a good cup of java and the chance to use an insouciant, rhetorically cunning double negative.

The Lazy Hummingbird
4876 Santa Monica Avenue
619-200-5016
Weekdays 6:30am-10:30pm
Weekends 7:30am-10:30pm

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Industrial Grind Coffee: Hard to Find Caffeine

Next Article

Lumpy Coffee

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader