The 31 Best Craft Coffee Shops in Los Angeles

It’s time to switch up your work-from-home routine.

If coffee is black gold, then there’s been a gold rush in the past 15 years, with specialty coffee powers descending on LA from across the US and beyond. Homegrown coffee companies have also stepped up, with some developing chains that source world-class coffee while others roast their own beans locally. In many cases, Angelenos have benefited. Of course, the COVID-19 crisis changed how people interact with coffee bars, though marathon laptop sessions are back in style and regulars can once again belly up to the bar to chat with their favorite baristas, as long as they’re masked.

Coffeehouses hold a treasured place in communities, fostering connection, furthering local causes, and championing local artists, in addition to keeping customers caffeinated and full of fresh-baked pastries and breakfast items. It’s a scene that was dearly missed while we were quarantined and working from home for much of this year and last, and we couldn’t be happier that our favorite coffee shops are back open and ready to add some variety to our remote working days. Make sure to tip your latte artist generously—not only do they deal with hordes of grumpy Angelenos first thing in the morning, but they do it with grace and skill. Here are 31 of the best coffee options in LA right now.

Hot and Cool Cafe

Leimert Park and Canoga Park

This vegan social enterprise intentionally chose to settle in Leimert Park in 2018 to provide more vegan and healthy food options to the neighborhood’s predominantly Black residents, and now they’ve brought their community-minded coffee shop to a new location in Canoga Park. The cafe proudly serves coffee that’s hand-selected and roasted by co-owners Tony Jolly and Tina Amin, with a new seasonal cold brew that they’ve dubbed The Be Cool, that’s infused with blueberries and blackberries. The food menu includes hits like cauliflower wings with a house-made vegan ranch sauce, and vegan nachos supreme with fresh spinach chips covered in house-made vegan nacho cheese, salsa, avocado, double bean chili, and microgreens, with walnut meat or Beyond Meat. In addition to hosting community events like Wonder Years Wednesdays where they screen the new TV series and offer free drinks and snacks, both locations are spacious with plenty of seating to accommodate the work-from-home set.
How to order: Walk-ins welcome and pickup and delivery online.

Available for Delivery/Takeout

Hilltop Coffee + Kitchen

View Park & Inglewood & Glassell Park

This coffee shop is run by two LA locals (with Insecure producer Issa Rae as one of their partners) who wanted to create a space where the community could make connections and support one another, or as they put it, “Find your hilltop.” They’ve got an impressive cafe menu that’s got all your standard coffee choices, as well as signature options like an almond turmeric latte with house-made almond milk, turmeric, ginger, black pepper, cinnamon, and honey, and a Matcha Chata, with matcha tea, cinnamon, honey, and vanilla, served over an iced oat milk latte. They’ve also got a solid all-day menu with highlights like a Spanish-style chorizo- and cheddar-filled croissant; a sizeable Soul Bowl with creamy grits, braised collard greens, charred corn, and a poached egg; plus a menu of decked out toasts that they refer to as “Droptops” (the smoked salmon droptop is a must-order), churros, beignets, and waffles.
How to order: Walk-ins welcome, or order pickup from your preferred location.

Available for Delivery/Takeout

Coffee MCO

Koreatown

Joseph Shin and Jed Mitra co-founded Coffee MCO in 2019 next to a bustling tour bus depot. They named their two-story coffee bar for Shin’s two dogs, Mason and Cohen, who each got a signature drink in their honor. Cohen the Weimaraner inspired an iced latte featuring house-made Earl Grey tea syrup and oat milk that’s “sophisticated with a unique touch of sweetness.” Mason the German Shepherd motivated a whole milk latte with house-made brown butter caramel and smoked sea salt that’s “playful & sweet with a familiar flavor.” The multi-roaster cafe showcases Little Wolf beans and supplements with coffee from companies like Saint Frank, Sey, Market Lane, and Luminous. To eat, Coffee MCO offers daily brunch, including a Korean-style braised brisket breakfast burrito co-starring spicy house-made salsa. The stylish space features neon “Coffee” signage, framed album covers from artists like Dr. Dre and the Gorillaz, a spacious patio, and mezzanine with bucket seats that look down on the action.
How to order: Walk in.

Leif An started this roastery in 2013, opened a Buena Park cafe in 2015 and added a Newport Beach restaurant-cafe in 2020. This year, they expanded to Echo Park with a minimalist-looking space featuring modular wood furniture and stainless steel. The counter hosts a Poursteady pourover bar and a sleek, silver three-group La Marzocco espresso machine with pedal steamer from designer Kees van der Westen. Two single-origin espressos are exclusive to this location. Regional manager Hannah Kim isn’t always at this location, but is quite knowledgeable, presenting Ethiopia Kayon Mountain pourover and Honduran Miguel espresso with true enthusiasm. Stereoscope also offers cold brew, iced pourover, and teas. Impressive attention to detail includes measuring TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) daily to ensure ratios stay consistent. They chart each coffee by acidity, aroma, sweetness, complexity, and aftertaste on a graph. Stereoscope plans to add a slow bar for special roasts and classes.

Syndicate

Sierra Madre

This coffee bar, cafe, and bakery from co-owners Alex Novack and Erin Ritter debuted in Sierra Madre’s bucolic downtown in 2019. Their motto sets the tone: “Dare to be brilliant.” Syndicate’s coffee program certainly lives up to that goal, utilizing a silver, three-group Slayer, Unity coffee beans, and some of LA County’s most ambitious signature drinks. Regular offerings include the Bolt, a latte enriched with house-made dark caramel and garnished with chardonnay oak smoked sea salt. They serve seasonal drinks like the s’mores inspired Big Bear Mocha. Mood Ring is the barista’s choice “for the bold and adventurous.” Syndicate also whisks matcha, brews nitro iced tea, and produces a thoughtful food menu, including house-baked bagels and bread for sandwiches and toasts (including French toast), along with tantalizing pastries on display by the register.

Jonathan Yang, Matt Chung, and Cody Wang started Thank You Coffee in 2020 with a pop-up inside Paper Please on Gin Ling Way, focusing on bottled lattes and delivering complimentary beverages to frontline medical workers. The trio joined Paper Please in moving to a higher profile space on nearby Hill Street. At their tiny back bar, a red La Marzocco Linea Mini espresso machine and beans from roasters like House Roots and Be Bright help inform signature espresso drinks like You’re Welcome Latte, made with lapsang souchong smoked black tea syrup (made with smoked black tea from Fujian, China), chicory pecan bitters, and oat milk. Yang describes their Five Spice Latte, featuring Chinese five-spice bolstered cardamom and chile flakes, as tasting like “pumpkin spice meets pho.” Largwa provides cookies and more unique items like corndog muffins topped with pork floss. Thank You Coffee also collaborated with Pasadena’s CAR Artisan Chocolate on an exclusive white chocolate and hojicha bar. Thank You Coffee’s owners have long-awaited expansion plans for Anaheim.

Coffee Coffee

Larchmont Village

Ricky Hernandez took over Coffee Coffee’s original Fairfax location in 2016. He and wife Gandi Rahadian recently built on that success by opening a more fully realized location on the corner of Melrose and Larchmont. Tectonic roaster Deaton Pigot supplies custom beans to Coffee Coffee, which they brew using a hammered copper, two-group Victoria Arduino manual lever espresso machine. Hernandez prides himself on their cortadito, a sweet Cuban-style espresso drink. He credits Straus’ “extra rich” whole milk from Petaluma for making their espresso drinks so luxurious. They also offer specials like the layered hibiscus matcha lemonade. The couple hired former Kali chef Adrian Castro and pastry chef Gisele Habib, who help make exquisite food in a casual setting. They offer house-made ham sandwiches on pressed Japanese milk bread, dress-roasted Japanese eggplant with sofrito, and serve bowls starring wild mushroom and lentils that would look at home on a museum pedestal. Crispy pasteis de nata (Portuguese egg custard tarts) are also memorable. Coffee Coffee is currently in expansion mode. They recently hosted a pop-up at the American Film Institute and will soon replace Caffe Vita across from the Vista Theatre.

Kumquat Coffee

Highland Park

Coffee is part of the atmosphere in Highland Park, which is full of cafes, but Kumquat manages to stand out. Andres Jinhan “AJ” Kim and Scott Sohn have become known for scouring the world for beans. At last check, they carried bags from 14 roasters, including companies like Lilo Coffee from Osaka, Momos Coffee from Busan, Korea, and Edison Coffee from Flower Mound, Texas. A two-group Faema E61 espresso machine contributes to signature drinks like Cloudy (With a Chance of Peanuts), a latte topped with cacao nibs and honey peanut foam; and Tennessee, a latte seasoned with sorghum syrup and smoked sea salt. They also take matcha and hojicha seriously and offer Gary Nguyen’s crispy, detour-worthy breakfast burritos. Kumquat Coffee’s owners are expanding to Cypress Park and plan to add their own roasts to the mix.
How to order: Walk in or place an order online for coffee beans and other items to be shipped.

Available for Delivery/Takeout

Civil Coffee

Highland Park

Alex Morales and brother Alan spent time at Handsome Coffee Roasters and Tiago Coffee Bar + Kitchen before branching out on their own. Their stylish café on a bustling stretch of Highland Park sports an eagle logo, white-and-blue color scheme, and a high ceiling. The baristas brew Coava, Dune, and Heart coffee for standard orders and specialty drinks like Liquid Gold, an iced lavender matcha with oat hemp milk. Over time, they’ve brought savory food prep in-house, adding barbacoa burritos and smoked salmon toast with beet cream cheese to the mix. They also offer creative Sugarbloom pastries. A shaded back patio features picnic tables and plants.
How to order: They provide counter service or order ahead online.

Available for Delivery/Takeout
Coffee Commissary
Photo by Joshua Lurie

Coffee Commissary

Various locations

This growing chain, which has an imposing rooster logo on the wall and the obligatory Instagram-friendly tile, now keeps studio workers well caffeinated during TV, film, and radio productions. Proprietor Tyler King rotates through craft roasters like LA's Unity and Portland’s Coava. Their shiny stainless steel Slayer powers espresso drinks like a Cubano co-starring house-made cinnamon syrup. Bonus: The Burbank location has a full kitchen, meaning you can find fried chicken sandwiches, breakfast burritos, and impressive baked goods delivered daily from their nearby Glendale headquarters.
How to order: Walk in or schedule pickup online.

Available for Delivery/Takeout

Cognoscenti Coffee

Culver City and Downtown LA

Considering owner/architect Yeekai Lim earned his reputation with pop-up coffee bars around the city, it’s nice to see a fully realized take on his vision. At his first brick-and-mortar location in Culver City, he built a beautiful indoor-outdoor space amidst art galleries, complete with colorful chairs and a wise owl logo, and his two Downtown LA spots are equally sleek and modern. DTLA locations focus on Lim’s Fashion District roasts, and the Culver City line-up changes depending on what’s really popping that season, though Seattle’s Kuma Coffee, LA’s Unity, and Portland’s Heart make frequent appearances.
How to order: Schedule pickup online and order single-origin Cog beans through their website.

Available for Delivery/Takeout

Copa Vida

Pasadena

This multifaceted café has managed to stand out in Old Pasadena, a neighborhood that has seen a glut of coffee concepts in recent years. Steve Chang and wife Elaina started in 2013 by featuring superlative West Coast roasters before expanding to San Diego and switching to self-roasting. The menu is mostly classic, though they do shake double shots with brown sugar simple syrup and ice to make Iced Freddos and serve seasonal creations like the iced strawberry dipped mocha with espresso, house-made dark chocolate ganache, and strawberry milk. Their sandwich and toast-centric food program capitalizes on house-baked bread. To satisfy basic coffee (or tea) cravings for 10-12 people, Copa Vida also offers 96-ounce “Travelers.”
How to order: Schedule pickup online.

Available for Delivery/Takeout

Endorffeine

Chinatown

Jack Benchakul is a coffee scientist who applies exacting standards to his minimalist coffee bar in Chinatown’s Far East Plaza. Sit at the nine-seat, horseshoe-shaped bar and watch the master at work behind the stainless steel Modbar. Bottled signature beverages incorporate coconut milk and include unique flavor combos like vanilla-pandan coffee and matcha coconut tea. Cold-brew growlers are double filtered and steeped for 36 hours. For the pandemic, Endorffeine built a patio with four well-spaced stools behind LEGO-inspired boundary walls.
How to order: Walk in or schedule delivery for 64-ounce cold brew growlers, bags of coffee beans, four-packs of ready-to-drink coffee and tea lattes through Instagram.

G&B Coffee
Photo courtesy of G&B Coffee

G&B Coffee

Downtown

Even in this group, the open-air Grand Central Market stall with 360-degree bar service that Kyle Glanville and former partner Charles Babinski founded still stands out. Sure, both United States Barista Champs trained staffers to take a meticulous approach, sparing no gram when pulling espresso shots or brewing cold brew, but the crew also has fun. Just look at specialty drinks like their turmeric-ginger and almond macadamia, or the powerhouse shake made with GCM neighbor, McConnell’s Ice Cream. Sibling concept, Go Get Em Tiger, roasts beans in Vernon and provides baked goods like banana macadamia loaf and plum coffee cake. During COVID-19, they also sell pantry items.
How to order: G&B prefers scheduling pickups online, though they also allow grab-and-go takeaway orders.

Available for Delivery/Takeout

Menotti's Coffee Stop

Culver City and Venice

Seasoned veteran Christopher “nicely” Abel Alameda clocked time behind some of Seattle and LA’s best coffee bars before teaming with Louie and Netty Ryan and drummer Derek G Taylor on this beloved Venice coffee bar. In 2019, they expanded to Culver City, where they brew Cat & Cloud Coffee, including collaborative blends and nitro brew. Their latte art may also be LA’s best -- after all, nicely is a three-time Latte Art World Championship winner. Menotti’s also has a secret menu hidden behind a photo of Cesar Menotti that reveals unique drinks like the Heavy Metal Jack Jack: pitch black cold brew shaken with maple syrup, half and half and Schizandu activated charcoal, chilled with cold brew ice cubes. The Culver City location also showcases a photo mural of legendary social justice champion, James Baldwin.
How to order: Walk in or schedule pickup online.

Available for Delivery/Takeout

The dream team that opened this Sunset Junction coffee bar in 2007 has long since disbanded, but Intelligentsia’s first LA branch remains a juggernaut. The coffee is roasted in nearby Glassell Park, the quality remains good given the high volume, and the signature Angeleno beverage is as popular as ever, featuring a quadruple shot of espresso shaken with milk, agave, and ice. Black Cat espresso is the star ingredient that graces most cups, though Intelli has diversified into chai and matcha drinks over the years.
How to order: Walk in or schedule pickup through Intelli’s Toast site.

LAMILL co-founder Jean Shim went solo in 2015, debuting her fashionable coffee bar in Hollywood’s Columbia Square complex, in a space that features blue-grey and red walls lined with art and two elaborate chandeliers, including one crystal and another that resembles spaghetti. They promote BKON vacuum-processed RAIN technology for coffee and tea, and they have many nitro drinks. During simpler times, they offered a cascading nitro flight with cold brew coffee and three teas: matcha, ginger ale green, and hibiscus. Now creative beverages are simply available on a piecemeal basis, including cold-smoked chile mocha latte and hot rose vanilla latte. Food’s limited during the pandemic, though they still offer Elia’s oversized chocolate chip cookie, which the owner’s daughter makes.
How to order: Counter service is available, and they also provide online pickup and delivery.

Available for Delivery/Takeout
Verve Coffee Roasters
Photo by Joshua Lurie

Verve Coffee Roasters

Various locations

This Santa Cruz import from Colby Barr and Ryan O’Donovan made a great first impression, with its first LA shop brightening an emerging part of Downtown, and others popping up around the city. The Arts District outpost, which debuted in 2019, is the most ambitious to date, complete with a glass-fronted Roastery Del Sur; three space-age Kees van der Westen espresso machines; 18 taps devoted to flash brew, flavored lattes, and specialty drinks in an upstairs tasting lab; and a patio sporting stylish orange, black and grey tiles. Before COVID-19 hit, this SoCal flagship served the city’s largest coffee mocktail menu, including rosemary grapefruit flash brew and a Cascara Negroni with coffee cherry vermouth and house-made juniper tonic. During the pandemic, they’ve pared down, but even their standard drinks shine. Verve Roastery Del Sur also touts an impressive food menu, including a smoked salmon toast and a breakfast sandwich with house maple bacon, everything-spiced hash brown, egg, cheddar, and sundried tomato jam. They also sell a 96-ounce coffee box that caffeinates eight to ten people and stock a full “pantry” with items like Verve maple granola, mixed berry jam, and nitro flash brew cases.
How to order: Schedule pickup online.

Available for Delivery/Takeout

Bar Nine

Culver City

Hayden Tract is a hub for innovation, with designers, filmmakers and Vespertine all in residence, so it makes sense that coffee pro Zayde Naquib and business partner Jereme Pitts set up their roastery-cafe nearby in 2014. The modern space with the countertop Modbar, vintage black Probat roaster, and communal seating has clearly captured the imaginations of neighborhood creative types. Baristas take care when presenting espresso drinks, pourover, and tea. Their effort to “push coffee forward” also involves customer education. Bar Nine even offers coffee subscriptions. Bar Nine’s food program has become increasingly focused and ambitious over the years and now incorporates bread from local bakeries Lodge and Bub and Grandma’s to produce exquisite toasts and breakfast sandwiches. Even their granola is thoughtful, made with buckwheat, amaranth, hazelnuts, pepitas, and seasonal fruits they compress, dehydrate, and turn into syrups. In 2020, they added Ten in Marina del Rey. Will their next cafe crank it to 11?
How to order: Schedule pickup online.

Available for Delivery/Takeout

Demitasse

Santa Monica

Coffee maverick Bobby Roshan turned a triangular corner space with an umbrella-shaded patio in the Kajima Building into a coffee destination. His staff’s willingness to experiment has no doubt paid dividends. Their approach starts with equipment, which extends beyond an espresso machine and pour over cones to Kyoto-style cold brew towers and illuminated vacuum pots. Roshan also empowers baristas to create new signature drinks like a strawberry ginger latte and spicy Kobe Bryant inspired Black Mamba latte made with Okinawan black sugar and ginger. For summer, they created an inspired affogato with espresso and a chocolate coated honey lavender popsicle instead of ice cream. Their food program centers on Sugarbloom Bakery pastries and compact breakfast burritos, including a veggie standout that incorporates brown rice, summer squash and matsutake mushrooms. Nearby on the Third Street Promenade, sister concept Kindred Spirit brews coffee, including a signature orange caramel latte, crafts Nikki Popkow’s non-alcoholic cocktails and also bakes seasonal pastries and desserts in-house.
How to order: Walk in or order ahead using their Ritual page.

Found Coffee

Eagle Rock

When Annie Choi left Demitasse’s Santa Monica outpost as general manager, she made a big jump and launched Found Coffee: a bright and airy café punctuated with pops of color like green metal chairs and a yellow La Marzocco espresso machine. She hasn’t forgotten her roots, and still serves Demitasse’s roasted beans at her shop, but her patrons also get to try a California roaster roster that includes local mainstays like Stereoscope and Peri, plus other rotating favorites. Choi also brings in food vendors for pop-ups at Found Coffee, slinging everything from gourmet avocado toasts to next-level churros.
How to order: Walk in or call ahead to 213-866-1231.

This coffee bar from Andrew Atkin, Joshua Atkin, and Michael Teahan has been a hidden gem in a residential neighborhood across from Adams Square Mini Park since 2017. KAFN promises “f-n good coffee” and delivers with a multi-roaster line-up that includes LA’s Unity, Arkansas based Onyx Coffee Lab, Topeka-born PT’s Coffee, and local Boketto Cold Brew. They use a three-group lever espresso machine to power unique drinks like Julio’s Pamplemousse, cold brew with pulpy fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice and agave sweetener served over ice. The Shamrock was a March special for St. Patrick’s Day, an iced minty matcha that hopefully resurfaces. KAFN’s house-made syrups come in flavors like caramel, lavender, and pumpkin spice, and they also serve spicy chai on tap made with almond milk.
How to order: Call 323-863-5236 to order ahead or schedule pickup and delivery through Yelp.

Tierra Mia Coffee

Various locations

Ulysses Romero has built a business that reflects his hometown’s Latin flavors, starting in South LA and now extending north of downtown. Tierra Mia recently built a new headquarters next to the 5 freeway, which is where team members roast beans for their community focused coffee bars. Their Lincoln Heights facility houses a particularly large café featuring an umbrella clad patio lined with succulents and interior touting tile floors, farmer photos on white walls, and a pastry case for house baked goods like guava cheese pastries and tres leches muffins. A three-group Strada espresso machine fuels beverages like dulce de leche latte and cafecito Cubano. Ice-blended frappes are also popular, particularly cinnamon dusted “rice & beans” featuring horchata and ground coffee beans.
How to order: Schedule online pickups online.

Available for Delivery/Takeout

Sip & Sonder

Inglewood

Lawyers Shanita Nicholas and Amanda-Jane Thomas opened this spacious café in early 2019 in Inglewood’s resurgent downtown, just one mile from the new SoFi Stadium. This Black-owned business has become a community hub, and not just for coffee, complete with a communal wood table, lounge seats, and art-lined walls. Red Bay Coffee beans from Oakland and a two-group La Marzocco espresso machine help baristas serve some of the area’s best coffee drinks, including a floral iced honey rose latte. People may not be familiar with the word sonder, and the owners define it on the wall: “The realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own—populated with their own ambitions, friends, routines, worries and inherited craziness.”
How to order: Order ahead using the Joe Coffee app to schedule storefront pickup.

Heather Knox and fiancé Joshua Oliveros both worked in other people’s coffee bars before debuting this stylish café to start 2020. They named Obet and Del’s for his parents Delia and Robert, who designed their personal logo decades back. The colorful space includes a sleek curved racing stripe design, wood tables with cushioned seating, and a coffee bar that showcases local Bicycle Coffee beans in sometimes novel ways. Filipino iced coffee is a powerfully caffeinated, creamy, and sweet concoction made with Filipino purple yam and oat milk.. Thai Town latte nods to the neighborhood, combining tea with oat milk, star Anise, vanilla, and tamarind.
How to order: Walk in or schedule pickup through Toast.

This highly personal roastery and cafe next to Wilson Park touts twin counters, a shared wood table, and photos on the walls, which during our visit depicted Maya Women in LA. Owners Deanna and Geoffrey Martinez clearly stand for more than just what’s in their cups. A heartfelt sign on the wall reads, “First and foremost, we acknowledge our position as guests on occupied Tongva land. Patria Coffee is a space intended for Communities of Color to share a safe place.” The message finishes by saying, “The most beautiful coffee is grown by Black and Brown hands. We aim to honor their labor by presenting it to you the best that we can.” They represent the farmers well in espresso drinks, filter coffee, and cold brew. They even offer a signature drink that speaks to the community: cafe de olla featuring cold brew and syrup crafted with cane sugar, cinnamon and cardamom.
How to order: Schedule pickup online.

Available for Delivery/Takeout

Full Service Coffee

East Hollywood

Is there another specialty coffee bar better equipped to handle a pandemic? Unlikely. Benjamin Montoya, Edoardo Chavarin, Jeff Solorio, and John Juniper restored a bygone Texaco station north or Koreatown and debuted Full Service Coffee Co. in 2018. Now, when customers pull into the station, their car trips a wire that rings a bell for a barista instead of a gas attendant. Full Service offers a simple menu to keep cars moving, limited to drip coffee, cold brew, and espresso drinks made with Tectonic and Unity coffee beans and a La Marzocco GB5 behind glass. Just grab and go.
How to order: Drive through or schedule pickup through their Square site.

Rwanda native Jack Karuletwa roasts African beans in Boyle Heights (where his roastery-café is currently closed) and brews them at the Echo Park spinoff at the base of the historic Jensen's Recreation Center building. The space features framed Burlap coffee sacks on a brick wall, central bar with an aqua stained wood panel base, and large logo of the company’s majestic namesake animal. The company donates to Gorilla Doctors and benefits other charitable organizations back in Rwanda. Visitors can order unadulterated African coffees that Karuletwa sources. Flavored nitro coffees are also popular, including cinnamon and frothy vanilla oat. This location has a more robust food menu than the Boyle Heights original, including breakfast wraps, salads, and sandwiches, with several vegan options.
How to order: Walk-ins are welcome, though it’s possible to order ahead online and via Uber Eats or by calling 213-318-5048.

Available for Delivery/Takeout

Alan Gomez moved next door to make way for Analog Record Shop. His retooled coffee bar now looks better than ever, with exposed white rafters, sea blue tables, wood benches with mauve piping, and a round bar showcasing Onyx Coffee Lab beans from Arkansas. Traditional espresso beverages and brewed coffee shine, though Gomez also serves Rose Gold lattes made with turmeric and cayenne and barrel-aged coffee that absorbs flavor from a small countertop oak barrel. Complementary dishes include breakfast sandwiches, breakfast tacos, and toast spread with house-made coffee butter, cinnamon, and sugar.

Constellation Coffee

La Cañada-Flintridge and Silver Lake

Since 2017, Kevin Kim’s multi-roaster café has been the best place to grab coffee before traversing the windy Angeles Crest Highway above the San Gabriel Mountains. The strip mall café features a quill log and stylish blue and white color scheme with some fun flourishes. Constellation brews beans from companies like Mad Lab, Be Bright, and Demitasse, and baristas deliver espresso drinks with consistently impressive artistry. Their “grenade” is a fun signature drink named for the key ingredient, teaming tangy pomegranate syrup with house-made chocolate ganache, espresso, and a choice of milk. In 2020, Kim added a second location near the Silver Lake Reservoir that’s popular with neighboring yoga practitioners.
How to order: Call 818-864-6770 to order ahead for pickup.

Maru Coffee

Los Feliz and Arts District

Jacob Park and David Kim brought their minimalist aesthetic and attention to detail to a freestanding Hillhurst building to start 2017 and followed that up with a larger DTLA location. In Los Feliz, they teamed wood furniture with white walls and a vintage-ish Marshall speaker to create an inviting vibe. Maru roasts their own beans, which benefit simple beverages and spiced cold brew that balances red pepper flakes, cinnamon, whole milk, and sweetened condensed milk that finishes with a tongue tingling slow burn. Creamtop is another signature drink with a fun twist: an iced Americano topped sweet cream. The name came from the Korean expression “san maru” and translates to “top of the mountain,” which is Maru’s goal.

Joshua Lurie founded the LA-based website Food GPS in 2005 and leads custom culinary tours. Follow him on Instagram.