Last updated: August 23, 2024
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While this cafe has a charming interior, the lack of Wi-Fi and noise levels makes it a difficult place to work out of.
S3 is located right off of the 8 freeway in Grantville. Finding this spot should be fairly easy for you, with a dedicated parking lot that occasionally fills up depending on the time of day. I’ve been here a few times now, and the lot typically has one or two spots available at all times. There’s also side streets with parking if the lot is at capacity.
The interior is quite spacious with several tables available to sit at for long periods of time. There’s four large tables ideal for spreading books and laptops out, while the center tables have limited table space There’s also a large shaded outdoor patio area, which can be really nice, weather permitting.
While spacious, I can’t say that it’s comfortable. Seating has back support, but is either metallic or wooden with no padding available. I will say that the bathrooms are clean, and air conditioning has always been on when I’ve come through. It is a charming interior with plants and unique wall art taking up half of the cafe.
There are only three outlets available within the entirety of the cafe located where the bar stools are pictured above. You’ll want to come with your devices fully charged.
By far, the largest issue is that the Wi-Fi does not work. If this wasn’t the case, I’d recommend this location as a good place to work. Unfortunately I’ve been here several times, and it’s never worked across multiple devices.
Prices are on the higher end here with a vanilla oat milk latte running me about $8.25 before tip. After the obligatory 18% “just a couple of questions” screen my total was $9.73. A little steep compared to some of the other cafes you’ll find in San Diego.
Finally, this cafe gets pretty noisy. Not only is the music at a higher volume, but conversations really bounce off the walls here making it difficult to focus if you don’t have noise-cancelling headphones on you.
Because of the lack of Wi-Fi, noise levels, scarce outlet availability, and uncomfortable seating I can’t recommend this as a good place to work out of. If you can work off of a hotspot, have noise cancelling headphones, and you don’t mind metallic seats then I would say it’s worth a visit.
