A Cafe Oasis Lands in Coffee Sparse East Hollywood

LA’s newest independent coffee addition, Mestizo, opened last Wednesday in East Hollywood. Stationed slightly west of Vermont Avenue on Fountain, Mestizo is an anomaly in LA’s coffee-saturated market. Just one glance at a neighborhood map, and Mestizo is the single caffeinated oasis for many blocks.

Owner Jose Barrancass moved to the U.S. from Venezuela in 2010, where he started in small New York restaurants, and eventually landed at the Mark Hotel. Barrancass came LA a year ago, managing Supa Coffee while plotting to open Mestizo.

Mestizo translates to “a mix of cultures” or “race” in Spanish. Barrancas aptly chose medium and dark roast beans from D’Amico Coffee Roasters to accompany the cafe’s tropical flavors. These single-origin beans are the base for Mestizo’s Turkish coffee, affogatos, or the ‘mulato,’ which is coffee and butter. With bread from Larder Baking Co., Barrancass prepares a simple avocado toast with garlic, salt, and lemon. And there’s also pastries, seasonal dishes, and specialty açaí bowls.

Barrancass transformed a former furniture store into the 660 square foot cafe space, which feels slightly larger because of the narrow layout. There’s outdoor seating, but nine people can fit inside. Hours are 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.

Mestizo. 4876 Fountain Avenue, Los Angeles, CA

• How This Coffee Entrepreneur Beat Incredible Odds to Give Back to War-Torn Rwanda [ELA]
• A New Third Wave Coffee Shop Shakes Up the South Bay Coffee Scene [ELA]
• A New Specialty Coffee Shop Adds to Rampart Village’s Development Boom [ELA]