South LA’s Hilltop Coffee Expands Into Eagle Rock Next Week

Eagle Rock gets a new cafe and daytime restaurant starting Monday, and this time a major presence from South LA. Hilltop Coffee + Kitchen debuted just over two years ago in Windsor Hills/View Park, and an Inglewood location in late 2019. The new Eagle Rock location sits on the ground floor of the new Perch apartments.

It’ll be a welcome addition to the neighborhood, especially when sitting indoors becomes a possibility. Until then, Hilltop has a 100 square foot patio with six tables. Once social distancing restrictions are ultimately lifted, the interior includes plenty of daytime laptop hangout space with 1,000 square feet and a 30 foot window-facing bar towards bustling Eagle Rock Boulevard.

Visitors familiar with Hilltop’s menu can expect the same coffee beans from Tectonic Coffee, and menu favorites like beignets, the breakfast sandwich with lemon-chili mayo, and open-faced sandwiches or “droptops.”

Owners Ajay Relan and Yonnie Hagos planned to open the Eagle Rock Hilltop at the end of 2019, but it took nearly a year to account for coronavirus-related delays and construction challenges.

Hilltop will face some established competition with nearby Found Coffee, Little Ripper, and Swork Coffee. Hilltop brings just a second dine-in cafe other than Habitat Coffee to this southwest side of Eagle Rock, where new housing development is a frequent presence. Hilltop’s hours are 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.

Ed Rudolph Photography

• Popular South LA Cafe Doubles Down With New Locations in Eagle Rock and Inglewood [ELA]