Café Catelog: Los Angeles

***UPDATED 2019

Some new ones to add to the list, and a return to old favorites…the baby edition.

When I lived in Los Angeles from 2005-2009, the only cafes I went to were Starbucks and Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. I don't know if I had bad taste, or if great local cafes just didn't exist in the city back then. I'm pretty sure every cafe on this list opened in the last decade, so it's quite possible that we are in the midst of a coffee renaissance in LA. Now that I have documented great cafes all over the world, I looked forward to returning to my former home and sampling the very best of the city. 


 In order from my very favorites:

 Verve (downtown)

This is my default oasis and one of the most beautiful and atmospheric cafes in the world. I wouldn’t even suggest bringing a computer for trying to get work done. Sit in the cover patio and soak up the lush greenery. As this is located in a fragile territory between downtown LA and the fashion district, expect to reminisce to the sound of car horns and buses. I can never get sick of this place. 

Giorgi Porgi (downtown) *closed

A hidden gem and one-of-a-kind experience in LA. This café feels more like an art installation that a coffee shop. No sign. Enter though the door covered in old newspaper,  and come in under a moss wall. In the glow of neon lights, the owner Giorgi will ask you some simple questions. Coffee or tea? Hot or cold? A little or a lot? Milk or no milk? Depending on your answer, she will prepare for you whatever inspires her in the moment. Our coffees came drizzled with coco. Keep the laptop in your bag and enjoy sitting at the bar and chatting with her. She was the one who recommend Coffee Hall and Spoke to us.  

Maru Arts District

The only negative of the original Maru in Los Feliz was that it was too small and didn’t have enough seating. Well, then way overcorrected that flaw with their store in the Arts District, which is the size of a warehouse in itself.

RVCC (Arts District)

A must-see-it-to-believe-it café with impressive interior design and architecture. The space houses a café, community space, barbershop, art gallery, and soon-to-be mezcal bar. The latte I ordered was among the best I’ve ever had, but I was stunned with the layout of this lavish and impressive space. 

Blue Bottle (downtown)

Like Intelligentsia, this place is a chain found throughout the city, but a stunning and spacious downtown location makes this one of my favorite places. Plenty of seating and natural light, and even a mini library!

Verve Mateo

Verve in the fashion district is already my favorite café in Los Angeles, so I was excited to see their Mateo outpost which is gorgeous.

Coffee for Sasquatch (Melrose) 

A stunning testament to café architecture and welcome addition to the Melrose neighborhood, Coffee for Sasquatch does not disappoint. It’s curved white walls and natural light made me feel as if I was sitting in a dry bathhouse. I loved my iced latte and relished being in this light and airy space. 

Trinity (Echo Park) **2018

A new hip café-cum-restaurant off Sunset in Echo Park. Order one of their unique offerings, like the Black Sesame cortado and Buttered Yam Latte, and pair that with Icelandic Cod or wild mushrooms. Flip through an issue of Monocle and savor the all-black interior.

Black top (downtown)

Black. White. Chocolate. The minimalist menu says it all. This simple café is a gem on the outskirts of Little Tokyo. Lack of tables make this a difficult place to work from, but who wants to look at a computer screen when you are surrounded by lush vines.

 

Coffee Hall (Chinatown)

A small minimalist cafes in an old shopping mall in Chinatown, Coffee Hall brews local roasters amid hipster heaven. A ping-pong table and collection of Kinfolk magazines will keep you busy as you wait. Well worst a visit for the experience of seeing the new hip side of LA Chinatown. 

Nossa Familia Cal Edison (downtown)

A Portland transplant makes its debut in the stunning Cal Edison lobby. This tiny stand is worth going to for the amazing architectural experience as well as friendly bartender. We drank a drip coffee with cream and cinnamon. 

Rose cafe (Venice)

A spacious and hip café-bar-restaurant in Venice with hanging plants galore with one of the best Vietnamese Iced Coffees I’ve had in the U.S.  Rose Café is a place I would return to again and again if only I could tolerate the rest of Venice. 

Maru Coffee (Los Feliz)

This tiny gem in Los Feliz is a real treat. Reminiscent of Japan, Maru coffee has a cozy and sparse atmosphere. I ordered a green tea latte - which was the right choice. The only downside is that all the tables are too low to work from, so this is a place to enjoy the company of others, or a silent, self mediation. 

  

Intelligentsia (Silver Lake)

A shaded gem on Sunset Blvd, I spent hours people-watching from this cafe's ceramic-tiled patio. Lack of seating inside is one downside, but if you are lucky enough to be on the patio, you will witness a magnificent spectacle of human migration.

Paramount Coffee Project (Melrose)

An Australian export that has become an icon in LA. This beautiful green café feels foregin from the start. The only café I’ve been in with table service, I enjoyed sitting in their back patio outside and ordered a few lattes, which were masterfully prepared. 

Eightfold (Echo Park)***2018

One of Echo Park’s most popular cafes, Eightfold’s zine wall and marble countertops make it a perfect place to Instagram. We enjoyed a great latte on a sunny Sunday afternoon. 

Cognoscenti

Local chain has a nice outpost in downtown. Really enjoyed my iced latte.

Paramount Coffee Project (The Row)

I loved the Paramount branch on Melrose and was excited to try their outpost at The Row. It was packed on a Sunday during the farmers market but I still got to enjoy a nice latte.

Paper or Plastik Café (Little Ethiopia)

A popular place for meals and entertainment. But full of rules. Kitchen opens and closes at odd hours throughout the day. They sell magazine but don't allow browsing. You can only open your laptop on community tables - smaller tables are reserved for those guests who wish to dine. But all is forgiven because of their amazing Lavender Chai. In hot and iced forms this drink is worth.

Don Franciscos (downtown)***2018

A beautiful new Cuban café located in a newly developed underground breezeway on Spring Street in downtown. The lavishly designed interior is what drew me to the location, where we enjoyed a strong latte, Cubano, and Cuban toast. 

 Endorffeine Chinatown)

Minimalist space tucked away in a busy Chinatown shopping plaza, Endorffeine

 Has some original offers for the coffee aficionado. I took home a vanilla-pandan cold brew. Absolutely delicious and the first and only time I’ve ever had pandan in coffee. I must say now I want it all the time. 

Coffee Colab (downtown)

An alternative cafe in a back ally near Santee, this cafe seems strangely out of place in LA's quickly gentrifying fashion district. Ten years ago no one would ever think of opening a boutique coffee shop in this district, but it seems well-loved by the neighborhood. No seating so grab your coffee to go and savor the charm and grit of the streets as you walk away.

 

Go Get Em Tiger (Larchmont)

A frenzied neighborhood joint tucked almost discreetly on Larchmont Street. Popular for their kale salad and other fad-food, this place is constantly packed and a bit chaotic.

Dinosaur (Silver Lake)

A bustling space with interior design that evokes the likes of the Fukuoka Starbucks, but lacks the atmospheric quality of a truly artistic space. When I arrived, it was on the eve of their one-year anniversary, and they had a petting zoo in their parking lot to celebrate.   

 Tilt (downtown)

A sweet little cafes tucked away inside a newish apartment complex. This little place has all the essentials, and being located inside the courtyard garden of an apartment, feels cloistered away from the chaos of downtown. 

Spoke Bicycle Cage (Frogtown)

A excellent traditional latte  to be enjoyed amidst the outdoor patio overlooking the River in Frogtown (a place I didn't even know existed!). The café has the advantage of being nestled between a quiet neighborhood and a river.  

Menotti's (Venice Beach)

I might be biased because I hate Venice Beach, but Menotti's is a nice retreat from the neon thongs and blaring pop music of the main drag. I ordered an iced vanilla latte which was wonderful. The size of the cafe and constant shuffle of people coming and going makes it impossible to work from, but the coffee and service were good. 

 

 G&B (downtown)

An overrated and over-hyped joint in the famous Grand Central Market in downtown. Let me clarify: the market is awesome; but G&B coffee is disappointingly just "ok." After waiting 20 minutes for a drink I was expecting something spectacular, but my macadamia latte was barely drinkable. I must have ordered the wrong thing.

 

Bulletproof (Arts District)

Known for their famous latte with butter, this chain is now located all over the west coast. My first experience was in the LA arts district and it may be my last. I wasn’t a fan of the orange color palette or intense branding of the store. But I mostly wasn’t a fan of the latte. The butter was just too unsavory an experience. 

Cafes of Koreatown

***Updated 2019

When I was planning my trip to LA after nearly a decade hiatus, there were tow things I knew right away:

1) I wanted to stay in Koreatown 
and 
2) I wanted to go to as many cafes as possible. 

Back was I was a poor teenager trying to make it in the big city, Koreatown was my dream location. I always wanted an apartment there but could never afford it. Now a well-off working adult, I can afford to stay in one of the hundreds of airbnbs in Koreatown and pretend that my dream of living there has come true. 

The other thing the intrigued me about Koreatown was the abundance of cafes, which I don't remember existing when I was there in the mid-2000s. Coffee culture has taken LA by storm since I left and now there are amazing hipster minimalists cafes all over the city. But the ones in Koreatown are a special breed. More akin to cafes in Seoul than LA, these coffee shops have several distinguishing characteristics that set them apart from my standard LA list. 

1) Non-standard espresso drinks. Green tea lattes abound, but there are also interesting Asian-themed additions like Sweet Potato, Hojicha, Red Bean, and some Western-inspired Asian additions like Red Velvet, Maple, Honey. 

2) The wifi-laptop-digital-nomad scene during the day, and the hang-out-with-a-huge-group-of-friends scene at night. Koreatown cafes morph between two worlds. The social, and the social media. During the day, most cafes are occupied by single people on laptops, but then at night they become the nightclub pre-party (or sometimes, post-party) destination. There's valet parking, waitlists for seating, music videos blaring on big screens...

3) Korean and Italian food. Many cafes offer an impressive selection of food items. Some are beloved Korean dishes like Dokkbokki, but many more offer a fine selection of pastas and cakes, catered to the Asian taste. I had some amazing sea-urchin and salmon-egg pasta dishes at several cafes. 

4) Open Early. Open Late. I mean late. Like 11:00pm. 

5) Table service. Some cafes have a system in which you are seated by the host, then have table service like at a regular restaurant. I usually don't like this, but Korean servers are very laid back and don't try to hustle you out of the restaurant as soon as you finish your drink. Many places also have buttons you push to call on the servers so they don't need to check on you needlessly. 

6) Ubiquitous K-pop playing in the background. 

Below is a list of some of the cafes I got to visit during my last few trips to LA. There are at least two dozen more I didn't get to try, so this list is by no means complete, but it  gives a relatively broad sampling of the variety and unique appeal of Koreatown's delightful cafes. 

Document

My go-to cafe in Koreatown. Designed specifically, it seems, the the college student or digital nomad, one could easily spend all day in this space. It also serves amazingly tasty and unique drinks and pastries. I always order the Document Latte (maple flavor) and almond croissant. Do enter and exit through the parking lot, to get a glimpse of their scenic garden and ivy wall (2018 update: the ivy wall is gone). 

Beau Bar***2018

True to its name, Beau Bar has a beautiful aesthetic. It’s a bit contrived, but I'm sure that bothers no one but me. Beau Bar’s signature drinks is a latte that bares its name. It’s sweetened with a syrup similar to the Document latte, and the flavor was very rich. I can see what this place is popular and I do find it a unique and refreshing addition to Koreatown. 

Bia Coffee***2018

Bia Coffee does two things well: Rose and Lavender. They have infused these two flavors into practically everything they make. Most popular are the rose and lavender lattes, both of which I was able to sample hot, and one iced (lavender). Their drinks are accompanied by “real edible organic flowers” (though I didn’t eat mine) and are very Instagram-worthy. But the rose-lavender madness does not stop at their drinks; they also offer cakes, croissants, meringues, and muffins of the same two flavors. Now, as far as actually getting any real work done at Bia, that’s debatable. The interior is minimalistic and the ambiance is not as photograph-worthy as the drinks.    

Korobokgur

This is the place where Korean colleges students come to get shit done. I could work here for hours if they were not blasting Korean pop music all day long. Don’t get me wrong, I love K-pop, but I can’t focus when the music is at nightclub volume. But somehow, everyone else could, because there was all kinds of studying going on at this place. I don’t come for the study, I come for the amazing dokkbokki and green tea latte.

Sharp ***2018

A popular place known for it’s logo, known simple as #. They have all the Korean café specialities but do some serious roasting as well. I enjoyed both hot and iced drinks here. 

Haus by Coffee Hunter

A great place to go early. Nice ambiance, spacious booths, and delicious tarako/mentaiko spaghetti. This can feel a little too night-cluby since they are baring K-pop music videos from a giant television, but if you can ignore that, you can  really enjoy yourself.

Loft Café

I had my eye on Loft cafe ever since our first trip to LA in 2015. It took two more trips before I finally went and I am so glad I did. This cafe was everything I wanted it to be. Tall ceilings, mirrors, Parisian Brasserie atmosphere, delicious cakes, elaborate drinks and relaxed music. At night it gets pretty busy, but during the early evening this is a great place to write. 

Yellow House

The best spam musubi. Beautiful outdoor patio and shaded seating. Music is calmer, still K-pop but mellow. I visited Yellow House once in the day time for lunch, and another time at night for coffee (sweet potato latte!) and long talks near the fireplace. 

Alchemist

Another legit-coffee place in K-town. They have a few fancy drinks, but you don't go for the green-tea and sweet-potato - you go for the world-class baristas. The coffee at this place is as soon as any cafe in LA. My only issue is that at 11:00am the places is packed. Limited seating in tight quarters makes brought Alchemist down a few notches on this list. 

Café Concerto

This sprawling mega-plex of a cafe is interested on so many levels.  At night, it looks like a club with valet parking and rows of luxury vehicles in the lot. The interior is classy, with a large drink menu (I ordered the Yuzu-citris drink) and a significant food menu (delicious Uni pasta). 

Klat

Klat is both a restaurant and cafe, with a full brunch menu and delicious drinks like Strawberry basil soda. It doesn't really fall into the same category as the other Koreatown cafes, so it stands on it's own as a nice brunch spot and potential place to write. I didn't have a chance to try coffee this time, but enjoyed my brunch at Klat. 

Alfred Coffee in The Line Hotel in Koreatown

Love this café in the hotel lobby concept, unfortunately the drinks were just ok, but the seating and ambiance was great.

Café Bene

By far one of the largest cafes in Koreatown, and one of the ones I was most excited about. Located right off Wilshire, Cafebene boasts an after-dark atmosphere more similar to a nightclub than a cafe. But in the early morning it was quiet and empty. The drinks are brightly colored and sugary, with a few interesting selections like Red Velvet latte. 

Café Mak

Park junk house, park antique shop, part library part wine-cellar with no wine, Cafe Mak is known for its atmosphere, not its coffee. In fact, I think it only serves coffee because they quite frankly can't charge for anything else. This arty cafe had the worst drinks in Koreatown (my iced latte was made with powdered milk...) but one of the best atmospheres. I wish there wasn't a tradeoff. 

Curiocity Coffee***2018

This local coffee roaster has a spacious new location in Koreatown. I happened upon it one morning and was pleased with the outcome. They offer a variety of Koreatown-esque dessert lattes, like Tiramisu Latte and Cookies and Cream Latte, but that morning I opted for a plain latte. It’s a bit of a risk in this part of town where people like their drinks sweet, but being a roaster Curiocity know how to make a good latte. 

Cafe Scent ***2018

A great quiet late night spot with large booths which are perfect for quiet conversations. I didn’t expect them to do a serious latte, so I ordered a matcha latte and was quite pleased with that. 

Have Some Coffee ***2018

A small but adequate café in a strip mall featuring some signature drinks and desserts. I enjoyed my iced matcha latte.  

Awesome Coffee

Awesome Coffee is a place I should have liked, but its at the bottom of the list for a few reasons: its unmemorable atmosphere, the most bitter Vietnamese iced coffee in the world, and the fact that they had to remake my partner's latte twice because they screwed up, and in the end it cam out just ok. It seems they are trying to find their way, but I would still like to include them in this Koreatown cafe list as an option.