Best Coffee in Los Angeles Top Independent Cafés & Specialty Coffee

Los Angeles is a city built for speed. With long commutes, drive-thrus, and coffee cups in car holders on the freeway, convenience has traditionally shaped the way Angelenos drink their coffee. For years, big chains dominated the landscape, and specialty coffee in Los Angeles was slower to take hold than in other major cities. But things have changed.

Today, the best coffee in Los Angeles is found far beyond the drive-thru window. A new wave of independent coffee shops across L.A. is raising the bar with thoughtfully sourced beans, expertly brewed pour-overs, and carefully dialed-in espresso drinks. From minimalist neighborhood cafés to serious specialty coffee roasters, the city’s coffee scene is stronger than ever.

This is our guide to the best coffee shops in Los Angeles – the small, independent cafés that take their time brewing a truly great cup.

Looking for more great spots for food and drinks in L.A.? Check out our city map of Los Angeles!

The Best Coffee Shops in Los Angeles

Endorffeine – Chinatown

For the most precise pour-over you’ll find in Los Angeles, head to Endorffeine. This hole-in-the-wall in Chinatown’s Far East Plaza looks more like a science lab than a coffee shop, and that might be because the owner and barista Jack Benchakul was formerly a biochemist. Naturally, he looks at coffee like it’s his new experiment, starting with the water (which is 98.5% of coffee, after all). Benchakul makes his own coffee water, using distilled water and adding in his precise blend of minerals. His water works best with specific coffees, and Benchakul’s preferred roasters are Prolog Coffee in Copenhagen, Heart Coffee in Portland, Sey Coffee in Brooklyn, and Cognoscenti in Los Angeles. A perfectionist at his core, Benchakul personally prepares every cup of coffee himself. If you’re looking for a perfect cup of coffee in L.A., look no further – this is the highest form of craft coffee.

ENDORFFEINE

Address & Contact Information
727 N Broadway #127, Los Angeles, California
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Neighborhood – La Brea

This adorable shop on La Brea has quickly become one of our favorite coffee shops in Los Angeles. We had a delicious Ethiopian pour-over from Canyon Coffee and a cinnamon sugar croissant swirl from Friends and Family. It’s a gorgeous space – natural light floods in from several windows, and the friendly staff always takes care to have fresh flowers on their wooden communal table. There are plenty of outlets (no WiFi, though), so this has become our go-to writing spot.

NEIGHBORHOOD

Address & Contact Information
133 South La Brea Ave, Los Angeles, California
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Dayglow – Silver Lake

This eye-catching shop on Sunset Boulevard looks like it was just made for the ‘gram, but don’t be put off by the cutesy neon signs – they actually serve great coffee here. There’s plenty of seating and outlets, so this is another great work spot. They sell lots of coffee bags from the best roasters around the world, including La Cabra in Denmark and Drop Coffee in Sweden. We tried a pour-over from Talormade in Norway, and took home a delicious, award-winning bag of washed beans from Sey Coffee in Bushwick. Dayglow recently opened a second location on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood.

DAYGLOW

Address & Contact Information
3206 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, California
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Maru Coffee – Los Feliz

Maru is a Los Angeles-based coffee roaster with two cafés, one in Los Feliz and one in the Arts District. Their shops are the perfect place to relax with a good cup of coffee – the calming, all-white and wood interior and the minimalistic design are as soothing as that first sip. Maru is a great place to opt for a quality pour-over (their preferred brewing method is Kalita), and they also have an espresso bar.

MARU COFFEE

Address & Contact Information
1019 S Santa Fe Ave, Los Angeles, California
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Go Get Em Tiger – Larchmont

This cute specialty coffee brand has four outposts in L.A. The coffee-loving founders have each won a US Barista championship; however, they are anything but snobby – instead, they are passionate about educating their customers and even have a coffee dictionary and videos about brewing on their website. We love our coffee light-roasted and fruity, so we typically go for an Ethiopian pour-over, but there’s a coffee for everyone here, and they’ll help you find the perfect match based on your palate.

GO GET EM TIGER

Address & Contact Information
230 N Larchmont Blvd, Los Angeles, California
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Obet & Del’s – Thai Town

This colorful café is a must-visit in Thai Town. You can’t help but smile when you walk in the door; there’s a feel-good vibe radiating from the coffee shop. Obet and Del’s interior design is sunny and bright, with a painted rainbow running along the walls, exposed brick, and bold yellow chairs. If you feel like trying something new, we loved the Filipino Iced Coffee with ube and oat milk, and the Thai Town Latte with star anise, vanilla bean, cardamom, sweet tamarind, coconut, and oat. If you prefer to stick to the classics, they also have drip coffee and espresso-based drinks. A counter full of pastries is also available for those looking for something to nibble.

OBET & DEL'S

Address & Contact Information
5233 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, California
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Verve Coffee Roasters – Downtown L.A.

Our favorite of the bigger coffee chains in town is Verve, which has five locations in Los Angeles (as well as five shops in Santa Cruz, two in the Bay Area, and a few in Japan). This Santa Cruz-based roaster proudly connects with farmers through their Farmlevel Initiative, ensuring high quality from seed to cup. Verve loves educating their customers about the rare, small-batch coffees they roast, and why they pay farmers a premium for quality beans. Their juicy, light-roasted coffees are perfect for pour-overs, consistently brewed with a smile by friendly baristas across all locations.

VERVE COFFEE ROASTERS

Address & Contact Information
833 S Spring St, Los Angeles, California
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LAMILL Coffee – Silver Lake

LAMILL has been one of L.A.’s iconic coffee houses since it opened in 2008 in Silver Lake. Over ten years later, they’re as busy as ever, and have added a shopfront inside LAX. LAMILL is an award-winning specialty coffee roaster – our favorite brew from them is the Ardi, a natural coffee from Ethiopia with citrus and floral notes. In addition to food and drinks, they also sell coffee subscriptions as well as home brewing equipment.

LAMILL COFFEE

Address & Contact Information
1636 Silver Lake Blvd, Los Angeles, California
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Coffee for Sasquatch – Melrose

At a first glance, Coffee for Sasquatch might appear to be your typical minimalistic café – until you notice the giant furry Sasquatch outlined on the wall. The all-white interior design here (a leafy plant wall and curvy communal benches) is begging to be Instagrammed – and so is the rainbow latte art. Predictably, the latter is less of our thing, but when we popped inside in desperate need of a caffeine fix we were surprised to find Sey Coffee, one of our favorite roasters, offered for pour-overs.

COFFEE FOR SASQUATCH

Address & Contact Information
7020 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, California
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Where do you like to get your caffeine fix in Los Angeles? Let us know which shops we should try next!