Inside, the Nest Cafe is a gorgeous space that not only doesn’t feel like Frisco, it doesn’t even feel like Dallas. The space will feel much more familiar to anyone who has spent time in cafes in cities like Los Angeles. Dark, textured woods contrast white walls adorned with beautiful framed art pieces depicting various coffee-producing countries. The floor-to-ceiling windows that uninterestingly span the retail strip on the outside bring in heaps of light, highlighting the clean, minimal aesthetic of the space.
“The concept of the Nest Cafe is building a home – or nest — where community members enjoy quality food and coffee with friendly service,” says Nest’s owner, Andrew Jin. “My vision was to create a simple, cozy, yet stylish coffee shop.”
Jin grew up in Seoul, South Korea, and moved to the United States to pursue a master’s degree in social work. After earning his degree, Jin spent time in Los Angeles working for the State of California as well as in Ann Arbor, Michigan. While in Ann Arbor, Jin worked part-time for a while at Zingerman’s Delicatessen, a company specializing in everything from bread to smoked meats to coffee. At Zingerman’s, Jin learned the ins and outs of running a customer service-oriented business. But it was Los Angeles, Jin says, that inspired the aesthetic behind the Nest.
“During my stay in Los Angeles, I was able to explore a lot of good coffee shops and brunch places where I saw people enjoy great food and coffee with their friends, colleagues and family,” Jin says. “Being a social worker, I realized that this is another way to practice social work by providing a place where people can connect to each other, share their lives, support each other and simply feel happy. Since [I] myself was a coffee and brunch lover, I started inviting my friends over to my place on the weekends and served them brunch. I enjoyed every single moment I spent with my friends sharing the food and coffee I made.”"Frisco is one of the fastest growing communities in Texas, yet there are not many craft coffee shops with a good food program."
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Eventually ending up in North Texas, Jin’s dreams of opening his own cafe never diminished. Two weeks ago, these dreams were realized when the Nest Cafe first opened its doors in Frisco. For Jin, the location represented a welcomed challenge.
“Frisco is one of the fastest growing communities in Texas, yet there are not many craft coffee shops with a good food program,” Jin says. “I knew it could be a bit of challenge because of the customer base in Frisco being mature family who are typically not the main consumers of specialty coffee. However, I knew there are many people like me who crave for good coffee but cannot drive to Dallas.”
The Nest Cafe serves up coffee from Dallas’ Tweed Coffee Roasters, as well as breakfast and lunch served out of their small kitchen.
The cafe is serving Tweed’s Timepiece blend as the house espresso and their Foxtrot blend as batch brew, and they’re also featuring a single-origin offering from Ecuador as both espresso and pour-over. These espressos are pulled off in a gorgeous custom Victoria Arduino Black Eagle espresso machine, and they’re sweeter and cleaner than you’ll find anywhere else in Frisco; in fact, they’re not far from what you’d expect from Tweed’s own retail-cafe sister-company Houndstooth, which has two locations in Dallas. Expect sharp-looking latte art and a variety of teas from Milwaukee’s Rishi Tea.
For cold brew lovers, there’s good news and bad news. The bad news is the cold brew from the system Jin designed isn’t quite available yet. The good news is it’s expected to be ready to roll out next week. The apparatus in question resembles a wooden book case with a glass panel on one side, turning it in to a sort of giant shadow box. Inside are two levels of glass canisters designed to hold ground coffee, each with a decanter below to brew into. The shelves contain a series of copper water lines that are plumbed into the shop’s water supply, and these lines run to spigots above each coffee canister that can slowly dispense water over the grounds at a custom flow rate. This type of coffee often brews over periods of time ranging from 8 to 16 hours and is highly concentrated, so come next week, should you need a little pick-me-up, you’ll know what to ask for.
In addition to coffee and tea, the shop offers a full food menu through the first two meals of the day. Breakfast includes offerings such as muesli with fruit and honey ($5.25), avocado toast with a poached egg ($7.26) and ham and Gruyere waffle tartines ($10.75). Lunch is comprised mostly of paninis such as the caprese ($7.75) and a bulgogi panini with Korean marinated beef, onions and mozzarella ($10.25).
Waffles are a specialty at this cafe. The Nest Waffle ($7.75) features blueberry compote, creamy mascarpone and lemon zest. Other options include a s’mores waffle ($7), and a salmon waffle ($11.75) adorned with smoked salmon, capers and creme fraiche.
Brunch starts at 8 a.m. on the weekends, and you’ll find expanded offerings such as eggs Benedict ($10.75) with a zesty, flavorful hollandaise, and a croque madame ($10.50). Across all sections of the menu, the food is tasty and beautifully plated. But brunchers beware: Don't expect mimosas with your brunch because there's no booze on the menu. The space is BYOB, however, and conveniently located next door to Sierra Market, which sells beer and wine.
Next time you’re in Frisco buying a chair you’re going to put together incorrectly or doing whatever else it is you do in Frisco, the Nest Cafe is worth a visit. Don’t judge this book by its beige cover.
The Nest Cafe, 7777 Warren Parkway, Frisco
