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Making latte art.
Wonho Frank Lee

17 Essential Coffee Bars in Los Angeles

Caffeinate well with lattes, cappuccinos, and coffee

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Making latte art.
| Wonho Frank Lee

Los Angeles’s coffee scene has come a long way since the days of sugary syrups and poorly foamed milk. The number of local shops doing it right has grown by leaps and bounds in the past few years, making it possible to find a great latte, cappuccino, or brewed coffee in nearly every corner of the city. Here now are the essential coffee bars in Los Angeles, presented from west to east (not in any particular order).

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Laidrey

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Everything about this sunny cafe in Tarzana is a labor of love. Customers get a front-row seat to watch co-owner Gacia Tachejian roast beans in small batches behind the counter a few times a week, and she produces flavor profiles that hint of strawberry and chocolate. Her coffee selections change with the seasons, so there’s always something new to look forward to. Fun drink selections like red velvet and lavender lattes, as well as food items like breakfast burritos and matcha pistachio croissants, round out the menu for a complete Laidrey experience.

10 Speed Coffee

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Appealing to bicycle culture on the Westside, this Calabasas and Santa Monica cafe does well-crafted espresso drinks and a light menu of teas and tonics to help cyclists to continue their routes. Otherwise, the Santa Monica shop is a light-filled oasis to work or host in-person meetings or just get out of the house.

10 Speed Coffee, Santa Monica
10 Speed Coffee, Santa Monica

Menotti's Coffee Stop

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Venice’s popular Menotti’s has become a beachside favorite, serving exacting espresso drinks with a creative flair, all coupled with curated tunes from the record player. Enjoy coffees out on the sun-soaked patio that’s taken over the street.

Menotti’s
Menotti’s
Menotti’s

Goodboybob

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Culver City’s outpost of Goodboybob does a fantastic job with its house-roasted beans and craveworthy chapatis served right at the entrance to Citizen Public Market. Goodboybob also has a flagship shop in Santa Monica and another smaller outlet in Manhattan Beach, both of which offer house-made pastries.

Chapati and cappuccino from Goodboybob.
Chapati and cappuccino from Goodboybob.
Goodboybob

The Boy & The Bear

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The Boy and the Bear’s Redondo Beach flagship serves up some of the city’s very best espresso drinks in cozy-cool environs just a few blocks from the ocean. As a bonus, the Redondo location roasts everything on-site in a warehouse-style space with indoor and outdoor seating. The Boy and the Bear has outposts in Westchester, Pasadena, and the Culver City area as well.

Cognoscenti Coffee Bar

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Culver City's modernist coffee bar is the perfect place for a late morning or early afternoon pick-me-up, with espresso and single brews prepared by affable baristas. With a wide selection of beans from roasters around the country, it's a coffee geek's paradise. Cognoscenti also has locations in the Fashion District and Downtown LA.

Sip & Sonder

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Sip & Sonder brings quality coffee and a cozy gathering space to Inglewood’s historic Market Street. It’s got caffeine and snacks for those in need of a daytime workspace, as well as art shows, live performances, investors’ clubs, and fireside chats within its 2,000-square-feet. For those in the San Fernando Valley, the co-founders opened a third location last month in Sherman Oaks.

Well-appointed back counter of a coffee bar with neutral beige color accents and wood shelves with espresso machine in center.
Sip & Sonder in Inglewood.
Sip & Sonder

Basecamp and High Horse Dinette

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Basecamp can feel a world away from the city some mornings, as horse riders trot down the foggy morning streets in search of nearby trails. Thankfully the coffee menu isn’t lost in the woods, opting instead to focus on traditional espresso drinks, East Coast-style frappes, and teas. This is the cozy Valley spot for hunkering down with a warm-up and a book.

Alchemist Coffee Project at The Pearl

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This second outpost of a popular Koreatown coffee bar is quite the scene during the week, given its location in the middle of the neighborhood. It’s always bustling with those seeking caffeine. The cafe serves Onyx Coffee from Arkansas, and baristas always make sure the latte art is top-notch.

Maru Coffee

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An exercise in Korean minimalist design, Maru’s two locations in Los Feliz and the Arts District are incredibly pleasant places to enjoy coffee in Los Angeles. The beans are roasted at its larger Arts District space.

Customers sit inside a stylish Los Feliz coffee bar.
Maru Coffee in Los Feliz.
Maru Coffee

Bloom & Plume Coffee

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Easily one of LA’s most stylish coffee bars, this colorful flower boutique and espresso bar in Historic Filipinotown is one of the top shops in town, with plenty of modifications like honey lavender or peppermint to spice up an everyday latte.

Morning Service Coffee

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Tucked into a hidden location off the LA River in Elysian Valley/Frogtown, this multi-roaster coffee shop is part showroom for specialty brewing equipment and part cafe serving stellar espresso drinks. Roving food vendors serve things like banh mi and breakfast burritos, so look out for them just outside the cafe.

Morning Service coffee in Elysian Valley with wood counter and brewing equipment.
Morning Service coffee in Elysian Valley.
Matthew Kang

Endorffeine

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This ultra-minimalist space in Chinatown has settled in nicely to Far East Plaza. The rotating roaster selection gives coffee enthusiasts something new to try on every visit. Try some of the Southeast Asian-influenced shaken ice drinks.

Kumquat Coffee Co.

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This delightful coffee bar in Highland Park serves beans from a variety of roasters, with an eye for pleasing latte art and proper brewing techniques. Kumquat also has a newer sister shop called Loquat in Cypress Park, which boasts a stylish yellow-tinted design and serves its own propriety roasted beans.

Civil Coffee

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This sleek Highland Park coffee bar has now expanded to shops in Downtown LA and Studio City with a streamlined espresso and brewed coffee service. Civil uses its own branded beans and leans as much into art and lifestyle as it does quality coffee. In addition to drinks, Civil serves an array of thoughtful breakfast sandwiches, burritos, and toasts.

Copa Vida

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Pasadena's best coffee shop may well be Copa Vida, a corner stalwart that also offers a full slate of food options to pair with its sunny vibe and well-calibrated espresso drinks. Try the different types of cold brews, or opt for a well-made iced latte for warmer days.

Espresso machine and menus at Copa Vida in Pasadena.
Espresso machine and menus at Copa Vida in Pasadena.
Copa Vida

Café Santo

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Oaxacan-inpired drinks reign at Café Santo, a window and budding cafe from Pilar Casteñeda and Marlon Gonzalez. The duo used to operate in farmers markets but have debuted this window at Montebello’s chic BLVD Market. Try the memelas and the Oaxacan iced mocha for proper late morning refreshment.

Oaxacan mocha at Cafe Santo.
Oaxacan mocha at Cafe Santo.
Joshua Lurie

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Laidrey

Everything about this sunny cafe in Tarzana is a labor of love. Customers get a front-row seat to watch co-owner Gacia Tachejian roast beans in small batches behind the counter a few times a week, and she produces flavor profiles that hint of strawberry and chocolate. Her coffee selections change with the seasons, so there’s always something new to look forward to. Fun drink selections like red velvet and lavender lattes, as well as food items like breakfast burritos and matcha pistachio croissants, round out the menu for a complete Laidrey experience.

10 Speed Coffee

Appealing to bicycle culture on the Westside, this Calabasas and Santa Monica cafe does well-crafted espresso drinks and a light menu of teas and tonics to help cyclists to continue their routes. Otherwise, the Santa Monica shop is a light-filled oasis to work or host in-person meetings or just get out of the house.

10 Speed Coffee, Santa Monica
10 Speed Coffee, Santa Monica

Menotti's Coffee Stop

Venice’s popular Menotti’s has become a beachside favorite, serving exacting espresso drinks with a creative flair, all coupled with curated tunes from the record player. Enjoy coffees out on the sun-soaked patio that’s taken over the street.

Menotti’s
Menotti’s
Menotti’s

Goodboybob

Culver City’s outpost of Goodboybob does a fantastic job with its house-roasted beans and craveworthy chapatis served right at the entrance to Citizen Public Market. Goodboybob also has a flagship shop in Santa Monica and another smaller outlet in Manhattan Beach, both of which offer house-made pastries.

Chapati and cappuccino from Goodboybob.
Chapati and cappuccino from Goodboybob.
Goodboybob

The Boy & The Bear

The Boy and the Bear’s Redondo Beach flagship serves up some of the city’s very best espresso drinks in cozy-cool environs just a few blocks from the ocean. As a bonus, the Redondo location roasts everything on-site in a warehouse-style space with indoor and outdoor seating. The Boy and the Bear has outposts in Westchester, Pasadena, and the Culver City area as well.

Cognoscenti Coffee Bar

Culver City's modernist coffee bar is the perfect place for a late morning or early afternoon pick-me-up, with espresso and single brews prepared by affable baristas. With a wide selection of beans from roasters around the country, it's a coffee geek's paradise. Cognoscenti also has locations in the Fashion District and Downtown LA.

Sip & Sonder

Sip & Sonder brings quality coffee and a cozy gathering space to Inglewood’s historic Market Street. It’s got caffeine and snacks for those in need of a daytime workspace, as well as art shows, live performances, investors’ clubs, and fireside chats within its 2,000-square-feet. For those in the San Fernando Valley, the co-founders opened a third location last month in Sherman Oaks.

Well-appointed back counter of a coffee bar with neutral beige color accents and wood shelves with espresso machine in center.
Sip & Sonder in Inglewood.
Sip & Sonder

Basecamp and High Horse Dinette

Basecamp can feel a world away from the city some mornings, as horse riders trot down the foggy morning streets in search of nearby trails. Thankfully the coffee menu isn’t lost in the woods, opting instead to focus on traditional espresso drinks, East Coast-style frappes, and teas. This is the cozy Valley spot for hunkering down with a warm-up and a book.

Alchemist Coffee Project at The Pearl

This second outpost of a popular Koreatown coffee bar is quite the scene during the week, given its location in the middle of the neighborhood. It’s always bustling with those seeking caffeine. The cafe serves Onyx Coffee from Arkansas, and baristas always make sure the latte art is top-notch.

Maru Coffee

An exercise in Korean minimalist design, Maru’s two locations in Los Feliz and the Arts District are incredibly pleasant places to enjoy coffee in Los Angeles. The beans are roasted at its larger Arts District space.

Customers sit inside a stylish Los Feliz coffee bar.
Maru Coffee in Los Feliz.
Maru Coffee

Bloom & Plume Coffee

Easily one of LA’s most stylish coffee bars, this colorful flower boutique and espresso bar in Historic Filipinotown is one of the top shops in town, with plenty of modifications like honey lavender or peppermint to spice up an everyday latte.

Morning Service Coffee

Tucked into a hidden location off the LA River in Elysian Valley/Frogtown, this multi-roaster coffee shop is part showroom for specialty brewing equipment and part cafe serving stellar espresso drinks. Roving food vendors serve things like banh mi and breakfast burritos, so look out for them just outside the cafe.

Morning Service coffee in Elysian Valley with wood counter and brewing equipment.
Morning Service coffee in Elysian Valley.
Matthew Kang

Endorffeine

This ultra-minimalist space in Chinatown has settled in nicely to Far East Plaza. The rotating roaster selection gives coffee enthusiasts something new to try on every visit. Try some of the Southeast Asian-influenced shaken ice drinks.

Kumquat Coffee Co.

This delightful coffee bar in Highland Park serves beans from a variety of roasters, with an eye for pleasing latte art and proper brewing techniques. Kumquat also has a newer sister shop called Loquat in Cypress Park, which boasts a stylish yellow-tinted design and serves its own propriety roasted beans.

Civil Coffee

This sleek Highland Park coffee bar has now expanded to shops in Downtown LA and Studio City with a streamlined espresso and brewed coffee service. Civil uses its own branded beans and leans as much into art and lifestyle as it does quality coffee. In addition to drinks, Civil serves an array of thoughtful breakfast sandwiches, burritos, and toasts.

Related Maps

Copa Vida

Pasadena's best coffee shop may well be Copa Vida, a corner stalwart that also offers a full slate of food options to pair with its sunny vibe and well-calibrated espresso drinks. Try the different types of cold brews, or opt for a well-made iced latte for warmer days.

Espresso machine and menus at Copa Vida in Pasadena.
Espresso machine and menus at Copa Vida in Pasadena.
Copa Vida

Café Santo

Oaxacan-inpired drinks reign at Café Santo, a window and budding cafe from Pilar Casteñeda and Marlon Gonzalez. The duo used to operate in farmers markets but have debuted this window at Montebello’s chic BLVD Market. Try the memelas and the Oaxacan iced mocha for proper late morning refreshment.

Oaxacan mocha at Cafe Santo.
Oaxacan mocha at Cafe Santo.
Joshua Lurie

Related Maps