If you’re moving to Los Angeles, you’re in luck. You won’t just find great restaurants in LA, but an exciting coffee scene, too. This means you’ll never run out of options for your daily cup of joe. Whether it’s a cappuccino or latte that you’re craving, the city literally has a coffee joint at every corner. Ready to try different chains for your daily caffeine fix? Here are some of the best coffee shops in LA.
1. Go Get Em Tiger
Go Get Em Tiger’s a third-wave coffee chain that has earned household name status, with seven locations across Los Angeles. That’s your cue to add GGET to your list of the best coffee shops in LA. GGET features an assortment of brunch pastries and espresso drinks made from coffee beans from Ethiopia, Mexico, and Colombia. Grab a drink if you’re on the run, or enjoy a meal while taking in their shop’s funky interiors. Their Santa Monica branch also counts as an outdoor coffee shop since it has patio seating. Must-try: their turmeric almond macadamia latte.
2. Alfred Coffee & Kitchen
Alfred Coffee & Kitchen makes the list of cute restaurants in LA for its Instagrammable interiors. Some branches feature porcelain tile and red brick walls, while others sport hardwood floors and a warm color palette. Make sure to sample their pink drink, a blend made of strawberry, pomegranate beetroot, vanilla, cinnamon, and milk. Other than the staples of cold brew, lattes, and cappuccinos, they also have milk tea with boba and chagaccino. It’s made with mushrooms, vanilla, cacao, cinnamon, and monk fruit, with espresso and milk.
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3. Cognoscenti Coffee Bar
Cognoscenti Coffee Bar, founded by Yeekai Lim, started as a pop-up in 2009. Its first store opened in 2012 in Culver City, and since then, it’s expanded with two more locations. You can find them at DTLA South Park and in the Fashion District, too. Loyal customers consider them one of the best coffee shops in LA because of every cup’s clarity and sustainability. Not everyone’s into experimental drinks, so Cognoscenti’s perfect for you if you want your regular, no-nonsense latte, brew, iced tea, or americano. Order for pick-up from any of their branches on their website.
4. Hilltop Coffee & Kitchen
Are you a freelancer or writer constantly looking for cute cafes in LA or restos you can work at? Hilltop Coffee & Kitchen is made just for all sorts of creators—that’s why they decided on a mountaintop-themed logo. It prides itself as a place where anyone in the community can connect and let their creative juices flow. You can see and taste that creativity in their dishes, too—from their “soul bowl,” almond butter toasts, to beignets. Wash these down with your staple americano, cappuccino, espresso, or caramel apple cider. Order for pickup from their Slauson, Inglewood, or Eagle Rock locations.
5. Madlab Coffee
Madlab Hollywood is the brainchild of married couple Andrew and Sarah Sinclair. From the doodle-themed branding alone, you get a sense of Madlab’s quirky but youthful vibe. Their shop on Sunset Boulevard sports an iconic mint green exterior, like a neon sign inviting passersby to order. Try their vegan brunch bowl, their “watermelon-like” Dolly Blend, or their dreamsicle cappuccino. With their Instagrammable store façade, we’re adding Madlab to our list of cute cafes in LA. If you’re looking for an outdoor coffee shop to work or to chill at, they have an al fresco area, too. People on Yelp consider them among the best coffee shops in LA, giving ratings of mostly four and five stars.
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6. Dayglow Coffee
Dayglow Coffee first opened on Sunset Boulevard in 2017. Today, Dayglow has branches in West Hollywood and Chicago. It’s definitely among the cute cafes in LA, with its clean palate punctuated by neon signs and pink tables. Dayglow Coffee roasts multiple types of coffee, more than 30, in fact, from all over the US. What’s different about Dayglow is that it offers subscriptions for customers’ favorite single-origin coffees. These subscriptions come with brewing blogs, in-house training videos, and access to Dayglow’s coffee crafting community. Choose from cold coffee, espresso, filter, funk, hand-brew, milk, signature, sweetened, tea, or tonic. Try their Hotel Chevalier, a mix of distilled coffee, coconut cream, fresh lime, topped with nutmeg and mint. You can order drinks for pick-up on their website.
7. Endorffeine
Out of all the best coffee shops in LA, Endorffeine is the only one being operated by a biochemist. In case you don’t know, biochemists can come up with specific chemical reactions to make food and drinks taste more awesome. Endorffeine takes minimalism to a whole new level. Instead of the usual café setup, their N. Broadway store looks like a cross between a lab and a kitchen.
They churn out amazing kinds of espresso, made with Mexican, Ecuadorian, and Peruvian beans. Try their canned drinks, too. They have butterfly pea flower tea, matcha coconut tea, Thai iced coffee, and vanilla pandan coffee. And with outdoor seating, it’s an outdoor coffee shop you need to add to your must-try list. It’s incredible thinking owner Jack Benchakul started with a coffee cart and is now enjoying the positive reviews of food critics. In 2019, Endorffeine was named one of Food And Wine’s best coffee shops in America. It’s also been featured in LA Times’ book 101 Restaurants, Dishes, People, & Ideas.
8. Silverback Coffee of Rwanda
If you’re looking for a cause to support, check out Silverback Coffee of Rwanda, founded by Rwandan native Jack Karuletwa. Silverback uses African beans for their roasts and donates to conservation efforts for Rwanda’s endangered Silverback gorilla. You have to try their cold brew and nitro offerings, and their turmeric ginger latte and lavender fog latte. They have lots of yummy brunch items too, like the chipotle chicken panini and soy chorizo breakfast wrap. It’s one of those restaurants in LA you’ll find yourself coming back to. Find them in Echo Park along Sunset Boulevard.
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9. Civil Coffee
Civil Coffee is one of those cafes in Los Angeles where you can take IG photos all day. They’ve got an interesting mix of textures: mosaic tile flooring, marble walls, wooden tables, and an industrial-looking facade. The brightly lit interiors and pastries on display make the space totally inviting. Customers keep coming back for their Figueroa, made with cinnamon, espresso, milk, and sweetened condensed milk, topped with a Maria Cookie. Sink your teeth into their chilaquiles, burrito Angelinos, and barbacoa burrito for some hearty grub. If you want to dine al fresco, there’s a roomy patio in the back.
10. Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea
There’s a reason why people line up outside Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea, one of the best coffee shops in LA. That’s because it’s one of the pioneers of craft coffee in LA. Which means they know how to make a mean cup of joe. Intelligentsia takes pride in its single-origin coffee from Guatemala, Mexico, and Ethiopia, among others. Try their signature Angeleno drink and black cat espresso. They also have loose leaf teas and milkshakes, making it a perfect pit stop for families. No wonder they’ve got a massive following of more than 186,000 on IG. They’ve got five locations in LA alone and six more in Chicago.