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Best Coffee in Los Angeles: 13 Places to Visit

For you, a coffee shop may be a short stop in the morning, a getaway from work on an afternoon of a weekday, a bright spot when you have a massive hangover, a place to gather yourself, whether with a book, or a place to work with a fully-charged laptop and somewhere that makes you happy.

Coffeehouses have a significant place in communities, promoting connection, supporting local causes and championing local artists, all while keeping customers caffeinated and full of fresh pastries and breakfast foods.

A coffee shop can be anything. A decent cup of coffee improves everything. So Join us in this list of the best coffee in Los Angeles.

Best Coffee in Los Angeles
Image by Cheryl Foong, Flickr/ Copyright 2022

1) Go Get Em Tiger

If you want to experience the best coffee in Los Angeles, Go Get Em Tiger has high-quality coffee that spans from powerful cups of drip coffee to a sweet, simple iced latte that we like to sip whenever we need to feel well, anything.

Go Get Em Tiger is a good option for breakfast, brunch, coffee drinks and a light bite and people-watching. Breakfast is literally a real treat here. The menu is small and if you enjoy eggs and biscuits or a good avocado toast, then this is the place to go. 

Since opening its first independent site in Larchmont in 2013, Go Get Em Tiger cafes have sprouted up all around the greater Los Angeles region.

Within seven years, they have established cafes in Highland Park, Los Feliz, Culver City, West Hollywood, DTLA Arts District, the Grand Central Market, and two temporarily closed locations at the Music Center and the Cinerama Dome.

2) Syndicate

Syndicate has excellent coffee, a welcoming ambience and delectable pastries cooked in-house. We adore this hidden treasure of a coffee shop; they gave a wonderful assortment of seasonal beverages in addition to espresso drinks, drip coffee and cold brew.

The Bolt (salted caramel latte) on the regular menu and Captain Jack (salted brown sugar) on the seasonal menu are two of the best drinks on their menu.

Because the syrups are created in-house, there is no artificial sweetener taste in any of their beverages, as you could experience in other coffee shops that use other store-purchased flavored syrups.

The pastries are also excellent, and a warm almond croissant is strongly recommended. Syndicate has it all, from the delectable best coffee in Los Angeles, specialty drinks and pastries to excellent service and a terrific environment.

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Image by Dennis Tang, Flickr/ Copyright 2022

3) Muddy Paw

Muddy Paw is a refreshing respite in a neighborhood teeming with high-end cafes serving $8 lattes. It’s a dog-friendly restaurant on Sunset near Silver Lake with excellent outdoor seating.

You can purchase a cup of coffee here for $2.50, and a part of their proceeds are donated to local animal shelters.

They have a huge patio behind the café where dogs are welcome and encouraged; they also sell dog treats. Their objective of donating a part of all proceeds to local dog charities is commendable.

They provide your standard espresso drinks, as well as some specialty drinks with cute puppy-inspired names. It’s not the most aesthetically pleasing venue in the area, but any place that allows you to relax on a spacious patio with your three bulldogs and use free WIFI all day should be at the top of your list.

4) Verve Coffee Roasters

The Arts District branch of Santa Cruz’s Verve, a 7,000 square ft, two-story café and coffee roastery that is now the LA flagship, has seen significant growth.

The all-day menu here contains a versatile type of world cuisine and a few genuinely excellent coffee-based mocktails. They offer seasonal drinks, so make sure you ask!

Their breakfast burritos are fantastic. Breakfast sandwiches and chia pudding are recommended. If you wish to enjoy your coffee indoors, the décor is light and cheerful.

You’ll see the distinctive verve menu of classic espresso drinks and flavored nitro coffees by the cup varieties, as well as own beans for sale and other home coffee essentials like filters and pour-over coffee systems, not to mention a whole system focused on farmer support and sustainability.

5) Maru Coffee

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Copyright 29Photo by Anastasiia Balandina on Unsplash/Copyright 2022

Maru is a charmingly basic environment ideal for drinking espresso and clearing one’s mind in the midst of the Arts District’s hustle. Their coffee and tea are well-executed without being watered down or coated with sugar.

Bags of Maru’s own brand of coffee and other beans are available at the cherrywood-topped counter. Their pastries, which are prepared fresh every morning, include a variety of croissants. The simple ones cost $4, while the chocolate or ham and cheese versions cost $0.50 more.

The chocolate croissant is flaky, and the chocolate, while plenty, isn’t excessively sweet. It goes nicely with a mocha since Maru doesn’t overwhelm its espresso drinks with sweet chocolate, preferring a bolder, deeper taste. While a cup of joe is already pretty pricey in Los Angeles, Maru is on the higher end of the scale.

Maru Coffee shop’s Arts District location is open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends.

6) Intelligentsia Coffee and Tea

This Sunset Blvd café is located on the brink of Silver Lake in LA and is well worth a visit.

Sit and take in the peaceful atmosphere outside the coffee shop.

Locals come here, and while it may be a hip spot to visit, to get a taste of the local feel. If you’re ever in the area, consider starting your day here.

7) Kumquat Coffee Co.

The store itself is peaceful; entering it is like entering a serene zone. The interior design is really clean and contemporary. The drinks are delicious, especially the tea drinks. The vegan Hong Kong Milk Tea and the Hojicha Oat Latte are both recommended.

The sweetness of the Hojicha Latte is just right. Hong Kong Milk Tea is aromatic and delicious. The service is pleasant. The shop also sells merchandise like handmade dark chocolate, coffee beans, and their own matcha powder. 

Kumquat provides a wide range of quality teas and coffees. Even several types of Matcha! The store is quite appealing. It would be a terrific spot to study.

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Image by McKay Savage, Flickr/ Copyright 2022

8) Dinosaur Coffee

Their sun-bleached café is adorable. Little dinosaurs adorn the shelves, allowing you to sip in the presence of a stegosaurus or T-Rex, two of the few animals more intimidating than a Sasquatch. The amusing theme isn’t too flashy, and there’s a table with small dinosaur toys. 

A fire-red La Marzocco espresso machine powders their espresso drinks. Consider specialties like Coconut Cacao Cold Brew, Cardamom Cinnamon Cappuccino, or a seasonal shrub if you’re seeking something unusual.

9) Cognoscenti Coffee

Owner/architect Yeekai Lim made his name with pop-up coffee shops across the city. Cognoscenti is a beautiful little spot that is easy to overlook, knowing that Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts are just a block away, but it is well worth the visit. The latte is absolutely excellent and well worth the extra money paid over the other chains.

He created stunning indoor and outdoor seating between art galleries at his first brick-and-mortar shop in Culver city, replete with colourful chairs and a wise owl logo, and his two downtown LA locations are similarly sleek and modern.

But let’s talk about their food menu. The breakfast sandwich, the egg/bacon bagel, is one of the greatest. It feels luxurious without being heavy, and the quality of the bagel and toaster sets they have got going on must be next level! Support your local shops, particularly if it’s Cognoscenti.

10) GoodBoyBob Coffee Shop

Erich Joiner, the founder of a tool production company (and a coffee enthusiast), placed GoodBoyBob in the heart of a Santa Monica production house hub, opposite his virtual reality theatre.

Ryan Fisher, a coffee expert from Denver, was chosen to carry out his caffeinated vision. Fisher finds and roasts coffee beans elsewhere from the restaurant, and baristas brew them in-house on a bespoke La Marzocco espresso machine, by hand, and in nitro-charged cold brew, which results in the best coffee in Los Angeles.

They produce a great mocha with espresso, single-origin Askinosie cocoa powder, house-made vanilla syrup, and Clover milk. On Fridays, they pour over rare micro-lots. The cappuccino and pour-overs are great.

A modest coffee shop that is certainly worth a visit! There is a fantastic range of coffee and other items, including pastries, wraps, and wine.

Inside, there’s a comfortable sitting space with sofas, and outdoors, there’s a great shady high table. The servers are dedicated to their work and quite helpful. 

11) Palm coffee bar

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Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash/Copyright 2022

Stepping inside The Palm Coffee Bar is like walking into the lobby coffee shop of a Palm Beach, Florida resort. 

The white walls with pink accents are stunning in their simplicity. The light-colored wood as the menu board and shelves look clean and bright. The entire atmosphere has a very vacation feel.

Gift items, similar to those found at a resort’s gift shop, are available for purchase. There are pastries, cookies, grab-and-go sandwiches, and salads available. Stay a bit and get your sandwich toasted with a side of chips if you’re in need of some R&R.

They use equator espresso beans to make their coffee exceptional. Alternatively, enjoy a bag of delicious Fiesta Pop kettle corn and an Iced Cappuccino. Children and dogs are also welcome since there are menu items for children, including delicious cookies and a doggie treat for the canine companion.

The coffee is excellent, the La Marzocco coffee machine is one of the best, and if you’re lucky in these early days, you might even get to meet the proprietor, a vibrant and enthusiastic coffee purveyor.

12) Cafe Demitasse

Demitasse, which self-proclaimed “coffee nerds” run, sells small-batch roasted own beans from a range of locales. Bobby Roshan, the owner, encourages all baristas to innovate, and some have created distinctive beverages in the past, such as a strawberry ginger latte and the Black Mamba latte, which is prepared with Okinawan black sugar and ginger.

Their approach begins with the equipment, which includes anything from an espresso machine and pour-over cones to Kyoto-style cold brew towers and LED vacuum pots. Instead of ice cream, they made an inventive affogato with espresso and a chocolate-covered honey lavender popsicle for the summer.

Their menu is focused on Sugarbloom Bakery pastries and small breakfast burritos, including a vegetable standout made with brown rice, summer squash, and Matsutake mushrooms. 

13) Stumptown Coffee Roasters

Stumptown Coffee Roasters is a northwest craft coffee pioneer noted for sourcing and delivering some of the world’s greatest coffee, espresso, and cold brew. Obsessed with quality and the development of long-term partnerships through transparent and ethical sourcing processes, Stumptown takes its role as the final link in a lengthy chain very seriously.

Stumptown Coffee Roasters, founded in 1999, is based in Portland, Oregon, and maintains ten retail cafés in Portland, Seattle, New York, Los Angeles, and New Orleans.

The baristas are pleasant and helpful; be sure to question them about the various pastries and drinks. They offer seasonal lattes; an iced salted maple latte is highly suggested; it is quite fantastic, which is why this place serves one of the best coffee in Los Angeles.

Footnote:

Los Angeles is fascinated with coffee, and the city’s flourishing coffee culture has attracted a plethora of excellent baristas slinging brew at a variety of stand-out cafes and coffee bars. Specialty coffee continues to make headlines in LA, with new entrants arriving on a monthly basis and fighting for the spot of “best coffee in Los Angeles.”

It’s a scene we have missed while quarantined and working from home for most of the last couple of years, and we couldn’t be happier that our favourite, the best coffee shops, are back open for the best Coffee in Los Angeles and ready to spice up our remote working days.

We hope this helps your search for the best coffee in Los Angeles, and while you’re here, check out our article on how to dress for a gym workout! 

Last Updated on March 3, 2023 by ibtisam72