Bright, buzzy brunch

Incredible pastry program by day and my favorite dinner and drinks at the bar by night.

Hip, outdoor Mexican

Originally from SF, the Sightglass LA location is more than just a coffee shop. With a food program, the spot is also a market that offers pantry staples, natural wine, and baked goods.

Originally based in Orange County, Stereoscope opened an Echo Park location in 2021. With a minimalist, black and white interior, this coffee shop epitomizes east-side cool. The cafe serves its own proprietary roasts, and guests can choose their beans for their coffee preparation method, from cold brew to espresso. The Echo Park location has also become a popular spot for laptops, with plenty of space and fast wifi. Onsite parking behind the cafe is an added bonus.

This Australian-style, all-day cafe is a hidden oasis nestled off a side street in West Hollywood. A great stop whether I'm looking to get some work done or just wanting to catch up with a friend, this spot has spacious indoor and outdoor seating—though street parking can be a bit limited. Delicious coffee and a full, all-day menu are the draws, but you might want also want to stick around for a low-key celebrity sighting or two.

Cool kid coffee stop

Sycamore Avenue, between Romaine and Willoughby, includes a handful of LA's best for and shopping outposts, including Sightglass Coffee, Tartine, Just one Eye, Pop Up Home, and Supervinyl

Chic, turn-of-the-century vibes with a decadent bar and restaurant

A place for coffee nerds, Tilt Coffee Bar exclusively serves beans from Heart Coffee Roasters in Portland. The entire Tilt menu is dialed into a tee, with batch-brewed filter coffee available only in the morning when it is consumed as quickly as it's made (pour-overs fill in the remainder of the day). Another draw is the cafe's jewel-box-like appearance: it sits inside a glass box hidden in a downtown courtyard, with only a few stools and a short counter for on-site imbibing.

See-and-be-seen coffee meeting

A small strip of Virgil just north of Melrose is home to a roster of lauded outposts, including Courage Bagels and Squirl, which both produce blocks-long lines, and Melody and Voodoo Vin, a couple of cool new wine bars.