Go Get Em Tiger ★ 4.5
Go Get Em Tiger on Larchmont, Los Angeles is one of the original LA third-wave cafes, popularised the almond-macadamia latte and a clean Probat roast.
Signature drink: Iced almond macadamia latte
Coffee shops, bakeries with seats and the places Los Angeles lingers in over a cortado.
Where to sit and slow down
Cognoscenti Coffee ★ 4.6
Yeekai Lim's Cognoscenti Coffee in Culver City, Los Angeles pours single-origin espresso since 2010 from a 50-square-foot bar. A reference cafe in LA.
Signature drink: Single-origin espresso
Maru Coffee ★ 4.6
Joonmo Kim and Jacob Park's Maru Coffee in Los Feliz, Los Angeles pulls a five-shot cortado from Korean-Californian roasts in a 12-seat minimalist room.
Signature drink: Cortado
Stereoscope Coffee Company ★ 4.5
Stereoscope Coffee in Echo Park, Los Angeles is a Fullerton roaster's Sunset Boulevard outpost in a tall-ceiling warehouse, with the city's best workspace.
Signature drink: Single-origin filter
Menotti's Coffee Stop ★ 4.5
Menotti's Coffee Stop on Windward Avenue, Venice, Los Angeles is the Westside's tightest pour, a five-stool counter half a block from Venice Beach.
Signature drink: Espresso
Alfred Coffee ★ 4.0
Alfred Coffee on Melrose Place, Los Angeles popularised the LA iced latte aesthetic in 2013 and still pulls the city's longest morning Instagram queue.
Signature drink: Vanilla iced latte
Blue Bottle Coffee ★ 4.3
Blue Bottle Coffee in West Hollywood, Los Angeles is the largest cafe in the Oakland roaster's LA cluster, with a roastery-spec La Marzocco bar setup.
Signature drink: New Orleans iced
Coffee for Sasquatch ★ 4.3
Coffee for Sasquatch on Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles roasts in-house, runs a strong lavender latte, and the patio is the Hancock Park meeting spot.
Signature drink: Lavender latte
Kreation Organic Kafe ★ 4.2
Kreation Organic Kafe on Montana Avenue, Santa Monica, Los Angeles pours Persian rosewater lattes and saffron cold brews from an organic Iranian-American.
Signature drink: Persian rosewater latte
Civil Coffee ★ 4.4
Civil Coffee in Highland Park, Los Angeles pours a daily filter and serves baked goods from Friends and Family next door. A Northeast LA neighbourhood cafe.
Signature drink: Filter coffee
LAMILL Coffee ★ 4.3
LAMILL Coffee on Silver Lake Boulevard, Los Angeles set the third-wave template in 2008 with siphon brews and a full breakfast menu. At 1636 Silver Lake Blvd.
Signature drink: Siphon brew
Document Coffee Bar ★ 4.4
Document Coffee Bar on Wilshire, Koreatown, Los Angeles roasts in-house and pulls a clean espresso flight. A weekday workspace for the Mid-Wilshire offices.
Signature drink: Single-origin pour-over
Intelligentsia Venice ★ 4.3
Intelligentsia Coffee on Abbot Kinney, Venice, Los Angeles set the LA aesthetic for high-design third-wave cafes when it opened in 2009. Booking recommended.
Signature drink: Black cat espresso
Destroyer ★ 4.5
Jordan Kahn's Destroyer in Culver City, Los Angeles plates Nordic-influenced breakfast and lunch. A morning cafe by the chef behind Vespertine.
Signature drink: Specialty filter