The Best Specialty Coffee Shops in Hollywood

Coffee meets non-alcoholic mixology at Blackwood Coffee Bar, which opened in spring 2016 located on Sunset Boulevard near Runyon Canyon. Favorites at this casually chic, contemporary café include perfect post-hike refreshers: a sparkling espresso with espresso shrub, fresh orange zest, splash of maple, and sparkling water; Latin cold brew with cashew horchata; vanilla bean latte with espresso, house made vanilla bean syrup and milk; and a seasonal special - kabocha latte with roasted kabocha puree, maple syrup, and spices. The espresso menu offers hot, iced, or decaf drinks, from an Americano to a flat white and everything in between. Choices for non-coffee drinkers include lavender rosemary lemonade and hot chocolate (dark ganache) with sea salt.

Complementing the drinks is a breakfast, lunch and all-day menu with dishes such as matcha infused oats, avocado toast, breakfast bowl (eggs, bacon, avocado, pico de gallo), couscous chicken salad, and the Blackwood Bento Box with a choice of protein (tuna or chicken), choice of salad (couscous or mixed greens), and a beet hummus deviled egg.

After Grace and Elizabeth Rhee closed their popular Koreatown café in 2014 due to building development issues, they took some time to find a new location and reopened in June 2016. Fortunately for loyal customers, they aren’t too far away as BrewWell landed in a postage stamp-sized space on Sunset Boulevard. There’s only room for the baristas serving from a walk up window with a couple of tables outside. Their brews remain exceptional with Heart Roasters coffee beans. The menu is filled with creative blends, including a variety of iced and cold latte flavors (lavender, honey cinnamon, Nutella, and matcha). There’s also bottled cold pressed juices, kombucha, Sparkling Lavonade (made with freshly squeezed lemons and lavender syrup), and a coffee float with cold brew and mascarpone gelato. Pair your drink with a pastry, bagel, or homemade pop-tarts.

Integrated into Siren Studios on Sunset Boulevard, this industrial-style outpost is the smallest of Tyler King’s mini-chain of Coffee Commissary hotspots. Although there is limited seating indoors and outside, it’s also perfect for a quick coffee break to grab a drink and snack to-go from one of the two walk-up windows (perfect Instagram fodder with their black and white designed walls). With the motto “in pursuit of the perfect cup,” beans from several micro-roasters are featured including Coava, Madcap, Chromatic, and Temple. Iced lattes and the Cubano are especially excellent. Food picks at this location are limited, but there is usually a good choice of sweets and pastries baked in the main Coffee Commissary kitchen. Don’t miss the salted caramel rice crispy treat.

With the company’s roots in Venice Beach, Groundwork Coffee's beans are as homegrown as they come, starting with a single origin roast. What began as a coffee, tea, and bookshop 25 years ago, has now evolved into a coffee distribution business that crosses the nation, with certified organic roasters in both L.A. and Portland, Oregon. Located at the corner of Cahuenga and Sunset, Groundwork is one of the only local coffeehouses with an espresso milkshake on the menu (vegan ice cream is available too). The horchata cold brew is popular, and the nitro cold brew is one of the best in town. Organic teas are also offered, as well as a full food menu including breakfast burrito, short rib hash (made with Bitches Brew, their signature dark roast coffee), and bagel with lox. For lunch, don’t miss the umami rice bowl. Open late until 10 p.m.

Prolific restaurateur George Abou-Daoud (Delancey, Mission Cantina, Tamarind Avenue Deli, Twins Sliders, Farida, Bowery Bungalow) recently added a new concept to his growing Sunset Boulevard empire with this casual eatery serving breakfast sandwiches and Stumptown coffee all day. Located on the ground floor of Emerson College, Homeward Ground is open to the public. Food is freshly made, but timed so one can “grab-and-go” within ten minutes or so. Coffee and a sandwich stays with the "ten" theme, priced at about $10. The modern environment is designed as an open space with tufted couches, bookcases and plants, evoking a living room-esque vibe perfect for s coffee meeting.

Armond Bagdasarian and David Karmiryan opened their Sunset Boulevard coffee house in December 2012 and it continues to be a popular stop for the community as well as tourists. The coffee beans come courtesy of a partnership with Urth Caffé. Pair espresso drinks, tea lattes, and cold drinks with a menu that includes croissants, pastries, yogurt, and granola. Sandwiches and salads are made to order with a choice of bread. All milk served is organic, including almond and hemp. Indoor seating is limited, but there is a woodsy street-side patio that’s perfect for people watching on a sunny day.

You won't find typical coffee drinks at Philz Coffee - that means no espresso, cappuccino, latte, or pre-brews. This family-owned Bay Area import, created by Phil Jaber and now helmed by his son Jacob, has a growing number of locations offering single origin beans, as well as more than 25 customized blends incorporating two to seven different types of beans from around the world. Located on the ground floor of the CNN Building on Sunset, this is among the most spacious and orderly of coffeehouses, with communal tables filled with people and their laptops. There’s also a street side patio with bright orange chairs. Each cup of coffee is made by hand, one cup at a time (which includes grinding the beans and adding cream and sugar if desired). Baristas are always friendly and available to answer questions. There are several specialty drinks, including the very popular Mint Mojito Iced Coffee and mocha Tesora. Non-coffee drinks include some unique tea blends, such as green tea with butter and herbs, Istanbul with dried fruit and licorice, and Philz iced tea with fresh mint. Pair a drink with a bagel, pastry, or special toast like hummus and tomato, labneh and zaatar, ricotta honey and pistachio, and almond butter and banana. Coffee, tea and other merchandise are available for purchase.

With its bold gold-plated exterior signage and modern glam interior with metal accents, glitzy chandeliers and Instagrammable walls, one might mistake Rubies+Diamonds for a jewelry store. On the contrary, the motto is #notajewelrystore. Situated between Sweetgreen and Sugarfish at Columbia Square, the shop was opened in January 2016 by Jean Shim, a coffee pro who co-owned the trendsetting LA Mill in Silver Lake with her husband. Here she’s pushing the envelope with an extensive, unique drink menu and coffee system unlike any other local shop. There’s CAF ratings for caffeine strength; BKON, a high tech brew system that makes a perfect cup; and signature coffee drinks that include caramel sea salt latte (and a vegan coconut version), cold smoked chili mocha latte, hot rose vanilla latte, and turmeric latte. There’s also a selection of hot and cold teas, plus nitro chilled teas (which can be ordered as a flight), lemonade, and matcha. And if you need a different kind of buzz, there’s Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale.

Sweet Lady Jane provides a selection of baked goods, including vegan choices. Jeans’s teen daughter, Elia, also bakes some excellent chocolate chip cookies. Light all-day fare includes sandwiches, chorizo burrito, and a few bowls, including tuna poke and soyrizo. Grab-and-go bottled drinks are also available. Validated 90 minute parking is available in the garage.

This is the kind of place you don’t want to tell people about - even though it’s been around for more than two decades. Located about a mile from the heart of Hollywood (just down the street from the Mozzaplex), Stir Crazy Coffee House is a cozy spot with mismatched furniture and quirky art that feels as if it should be in a college town circa the 1970s. It’s simply one of those places - as in Twin Peaks-speak - where you can get a “damn good cup of coffee,” including all the usual suspects prepared cold and hot, plus fun drinks such as the Nikki Special (vanilla ice cream with two shots of espresso and chocolate syrup), root beer float, Orange Julius, egg cream, and a cherry-lime rickey. Plus, you can order a breakfast sandwich all day for under $5, or salads and sandwiches for under $8. And of course, there’s an enticing case of sweets that you may not be able to resist.

This café and eatery is located at street level in an office building across the street from WeWork, and steps from the tourist mecca of Hollywood Boulevard. The spacious interior and front patio provides room to breathe when the crowds get a little larger around lunchtime. The coffee menu features drinks made from Coava, Verve, and Klatch coffee roasters with brew methods that include espresso, pour over, and Chemex. Foamed drinks like the cortado, macchiato, and cappuccino are artistically presented. The ganache mocha will appease any sweet tooth, while matcha aficionados will definitely enjoy the agave matcha latte. The food menu features organic and locally sourced ingredients with breakfast and lunch choices running the gamut from steel cut porridge with berries to lemon ricotta hotcakes, breakfast burrito, grilled cheese, paninis, salads, and soups. Fo-nuts (vegan) are available on Wednesday and Sunday. Validated parking in the rear structure for 90 minutes with a $5 minimum purchase.

You can’t miss the bright pink building anchored at the corner of Highland and Santa Monica, emblazoned with "TREJO'S COFFEE AND DONUTS" and a black & white portrait of actor/owner Danny Trejo sporting his famous Machete grimace (which is also branded on all packaging). Open since May 2016, Trejo's Coffee & Donuts is a small grab-and-go shop with counter-only standing space. This is Trejo's third concept, following Trejo’s Cantina on North Cahuenga and Trejo’s Tacos on South La Brea. All coffee drinks are made with Trejo’s locally roasted beans - the menu includes all the coffeehouse faves, including a "cochata" (cold brew with horchata) and Mexican cortado. Nitro coffee from Stumptown is also offered.

The donut menu, which includes a few vegan choices, changes weekly with rotations from the full menu of nearly three dozen flavors, including Maple Pig (maple syrup, vanilla, brown sugar, candied bacon), Cafe Con Leche (Trejo's espresso, vanilla, chocolate crumble), Margarita (lime and salt), and Nacho (a savory selection with jalapeno, chives, hot sauce, and cheddar cheese). And of course, there is the signature Machete shaped donut filled with mixed berry jam, iced with dark chocolate and berry ‘blood’ drippings.