Original Barista — Restaurant in Costa Mesa

Leaving this review after giving this place multiple chances. We’re frequent customers—if we’re not here seven days a week, it’s at least five or six. Our order is always simple, and we place it online ahead of time to avoid the line, like most people grabbing coffee in the morning who are on their way somewhere. Coffee service, especially during peak hours, should reflect that urgency.

Unfortunately, this shop consistently treats online orders as an afterthought. More often than not, when I arrive, I see them pull my order ticket only after I check in. The whole point of ordering ahead is to skip the wait—not to have them start making it once I arrive. It defeats the purpose entirely.

Today was the final straw. I ordered at 8:30. By 8:55, they hadn’t even started my drink. They told my husband it would still be a while before they could get to it. Over 30 minutes for an iced coffee is unacceptable. I want to support small businesses, but this is a perfect example of where the gap lies: asking for community support while not staffing adequately to serve that same community.

I’m not comparing this place to Starbucks in terms of vibe, but even small shops should know their traffic patterns—like being slammed right after opening on a Saturday—and staff accordingly. Why are there only two people working? And if they know they can’t keep up, why keep online ordering turned on? Many local cafés pause online orders when they’re overwhelmed to maintain quality service.

Sadly, this isn’t a one-off experience. It’s happened too many times and has made me late more than once. The coffee here is solid—no complaints there—but coffee is more than just taste. It’s also about the experience: convenience, speed, and reliability.

So, with that, I’m done. I’ll be heading to hola adios or Microdose with a drive-thru. This place just isn’t worth the time or...

If i could give this place a 10 star, I would!!! I am so happy someone recommended this place to me. Starting with the interior... Absolutely loved the decor and theme of the store, very minimalist and clean, bringing all of the attention to the massive espresso station. The counter tops/breakfast bar are made of solid wood. A delightful combination of light colored wood and deep rich colored wood. The owner actually designed and build the place himself. He had a vision and it came through wonderfully. The barista/owner is incredibly knowledgeable and took the time to explain to me what makes their espresso different. How they beans are perfectly curated and hand picked. They make their own syrups, nothing fake or artificial. It's actually the first place I've ever tried lavender syrup that doesn't taste like soap. I have no words to describe it but perfectly balanced and delicious. I really appreciate it when someone takes pride and ownership of their work. My latte was perfect!!! Incredibly smooth yet strong... Just perfect! I'm also super glad I picked up one of the vegan pineapple and coconut scones... absolutely delicious, moist! I've been back every weekend after the gym since I 1st discovered this place. The owners are the nicest, incredibly...

I wish I had a better review for this place, but I'm only talking about their matcha latte. It looks like this store is mainly focused on coffee which I don't have anything against, but I opted to see how their matcha was since I was in the area. The Baristas didn't know too much about what type of matcha they offered. So I just ordered whatever was on the menu and paid attention while they were making the drink. It was made with a powder mixed in with milk but you could barely taste the matcha and the powder wasn't mixed that well. Considering that I paid a little bit more for the drink to make it larger, kind of felt like a waste since it was very watery. I'm sure this place has good coffee since all of the equipment they're using and beans that they choose seem pretty good. It's just funny that they do have on display a matcha whisk and Bowl on top of the expresso Brewer and they don't use those two things for the matcha. Maybe if it's not there specialty they can just remove it from the menu or at least remove it from their Decor lol. Other than that it seems like a nice face, the parking probably would be hard to find if there's a lot of people since it's...