.LV154 KLAX 1/1 DT KLAX 0000 0000Z FM [email protected] - FREE TEXT - HOME POSTS ================================================================ rating every coffee shop in LA, eventually 2026-06-05 ongoing post, last edited 2026-06-05 having grown up in LA with really nothing beyond my laptop and the metro many days, i've always looked for good coffee shops as some form of refuge. that said, at some point i had to outgrow the starbucks under 7th st/metro center. i feel like you hear a lot about coffee culture out here but at least in my experience it's a bit deceptively hard to find good shops. so this is my completely subjective list and rating of all of them as i visit them. list starting ~june 2026, but i'll do my best to recap the old ones. note that there is no scoring matrix, just arbitrarily and capriciously vibes based. 2026-06-05 // cafe mak - koreatown - 8.5 612 Shatto Pl, Los Angeles, CA 90005 immediately behind Wilshire/Vermont B/D coming across this place was a very literal "how have i never heard of this spot," a very open-airy parisian-style cafe with an insane amount of space to spread out. and they're open until midnight!! i got an iced peach black tea while i was here. on that note: it is a little pricey, however they allow for refills on some (not all) drinks. so a black coffee will run you $6, or an iced tea $7.50, but you at least get two. a neat form of table service where each table has a button and a menu. 2026-06-03 // established today - melrose district - 7.6 7707 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90046 by the 10/48 bus a pretty cozy shop with good couches and seats to sit in. they had some record players laying around, but i didn't really have the time to listen to them sadly. coffee was pretty good, if a little expensive. thematically, it felt a little too modern-y and very in line with general LA westside hipster culture. open until 5. |-------------------------------------| | retrospective / pre-logging reviews | |-------------------------------------| // horror vibes coffee - north hollywood - 9.1 reccomended: literally anything holy shit it's good 5251 Lankershim Blvd, North Hollywood, CA 91601 short-ish walk from north hollywood B/G perhaps the only complaint i have about this spot is i'm not nearly enough of a goth girl for it. extremely vibey, really really good drinks, good music, got stuck here in the rain once and it was honestly a hell of a vibe. i just wish i was in north hollywood more often to have a reason to come here. if you want a fun themed shop this is it :) // smoky hollow coffee roasters - el segundo - 8.7 reccomended: Randy Special 118 Sierra St, El Segundo, CA 90245 ...long walk distance from Mariposa K line for the ~2-3 years i lived and worked in el segundo, smoky was probably the closest thing to a town square. i think i've been here a few hundred times, between mid-work breaks when i was at ABL Space Systems, to meeting friends, to getting a bunch of work done. it's a really really cozy space. the coffee is Good, and you will run into about every character El Segundo has. the downside is that lately, some of those "gundo" characters can be more annoying than not. the hard tech LARP is here, and that means coffee cups that say "LOCK IN", sponsored umbrellas, and at least one guy who is obligated to ask you if you're a "deep tech founder" or something. you will hear VC deals here. you will sometimes see a man with "MAKE NUCLEAR GREAT AGAIN" hats. you will find they are all quite stupid and the locals disregard it all. if you can look that aside, and sometimes put up with the heat during the summer (the coffee roasting gets quite hot!), it's a very cozy space open til 5-6pm. p.s. - join the space gang for chess every saturday, 10:45am // copa vida - pasadena - 7.4 70 S Raymond Ave, Pasadena CA 91105 between Memorial Park and Del Mar A line a nice and open shop pretty close to pasadena's central park. pretty good coffee, really good food, and a nice area to wander around after, very chill vibe. open until 6! // espresso cielo - santa monica - 7.2 1431 2nd St, Santa Monica, CA 90401 short walk from downtown santa monica E this is a cute shop in the middle of downtown santa monica! it's got enough seating to work and some nice outdoor spots too. the coffee is pretty decent. this is a place i'd often go to if i wanted a change of pace and to get some work done by the beach for once and go for a walk after. closes at 4, though. // various philz coffee locations - ~around LA - 7.2 reccomended: iced mint mojito latte philz just works. it's probably the main chain coffee shop i visit at home. i feel better about it than starbucks at the very least, and they tend to be cozy enough to get real work done. locations i've tried: - downtown culver city, by the culver city E - 8th and hope, by metro center A/B/D/E // blue butterfly - el segundo - 5.2 351 Main St, El Segundo, CA 90245 smoky hollow's smaller sibling that hasn't quite figured it while they are literally run by the same chain, i've never really been satisfied. any more complicated drink (and the smoky menu has some *good* ones) is usually a waste of time. despite the fact it's run by the el segundo HS class-of-the-year, it's also always full, and rarely has anywhere to plug in, if you ignore the extension that's a literal empty room w/ chairs. if you're not in a pinch, just make the walk to smoky. ================================================================ <EOM> twitter flickr [email protected] last build — 1785428330(2026-07-30T16:18:50Z) ACK