The Mill

The Mill is a joint venture between two San Francisco businesses: Four Barrel Coffee and Josey Baker Bread. Josey Baker started baking in his Mission apartment in the summer of 2010, and the bakery now has a team of 16 people who bake more than 450 loaves a day. The space on Divisadero Street takes its name from the mill on which the bakery grinds its whole grain flour fresh every day, and the bread is made with a sourdough starter that Josey was given by a friend's grandmother.

The menu is short and simple: toast, coffee and fresh bread. The toast, made with the day's bread, is the thing to order, and it is a good way to taste the different loaves before you buy one to take away. The coffee comes from Four Barrel, whose team spends months each year with coffee growers in East Africa and millers in Latin America and hand-roasts the beans in a vintage steel roaster.

The Mill has clear house rules. There is no wifi, there are no power outlets and there are no pre-orders, so it is a place to sit and talk or read rather than work on a laptop. That makes it a relaxed spot for a slow breakfast with friends or a solo coffee and a book.

The café is open every day from 7am to 5pm. For questions, you can phone the café or email it, and the bakery has its own email address for bread enquiries. As there are no pre-orders, come earlier in the day if you want a particular loaf, as the choice narrows as the day goes on. The bakery also runs home baking classes for anyone who wants to learn to make their own loaves, which are worth looking at if you are staying in the city for a while.

The Mill is at 736 Divisadero Street, and it makes a good start to a day exploring the neighbourhood on foot. Buy a loaf on the way out for a picnic later, or pair a visit with dinner at Nopa, further down the same street at number 560.