Regent Coffee Roasters and Brew Bar — Restaurant in Glendale

I've visited many, many coffee shops in LA and Regent Coffee is one of my favorites, probably the most underrated one in LA's coffee scene.

Regent's specialty is their barrel aged coffee. Their beans were chosen with profiles that coordinate with whiskey, and aged in Bourbon barrels before small batch roasting. The result is delicious single origin coffee with a unique whiskey profile. In particular, Regent makes cold brew and bottles it to be consumed at home. I am never a big fan of cold brew, but I keep stocking up Regent's cold brew for its nuanced and rich flavor and of course, the convenience.

Whiskey also perfectly summarizes Regent's characters: classic, low key, understated, its complexity requires some patience and maturity to appreciate. Regent doesn't have fancy signature drinks and the store looks old school compared to many airy, chic new shops. It focuses on the most essential coffee experience and does it excellently. All one needs to do is to look beyond the looks.

Behind the coffee bar, more than half of the shop space is dedicated to coffee making. There is a roaster, a couple of American oak barrels, a bottling station, a huge fridge, a cold brew drip tower, and maybe a siphon coffee maker somewhere too? Regent's owner Leon told me that's one of his favorite ways to make coffee.

Leon and his wife Di are two of the purest coffee people I've met. Leon left the banking world to open his own coffee shop. He studies and experiments coffee like a lab science, rather than a business. Every time I chat with him, I am inspired by his earnest pursue for quality, consistency and originality. It's always a pleasure to have coffee served by such...

The cold brew was lousy. I usually don't add sugar to my cold brews, but this drink absolutely needed something to make it taste better. I asked for simple syrup (sugar dissolved in water mixture). As I poured the simple syrup into my coffee I noticed there were black specks that lined the inside of the cruet near the top. It looked like mold. A woman that worked there took notice of me examining the bottle, so I asked if she knew what the black specks were. She said it was vanilla bean leftover from the vanilla syrup they sometimes use that bottle for, and she quickly took the bottle from me. I don't know why, but I expected her to say something like this. My question is, if that were in fact the case, why wouldn't they clean the bottle thoroughly before adding a different syrup/liquid? I know vanilla bean, I often use it myself, and I also know that it can be cleaned from a bottle with a bottle brush. I am also certain sugar and water causes mold, I know this to be true because we have to clean our hummingbird feeder frequently so this exact thing does not happen (also one of the first things learned in high school chemistry). The black specks were more indicative of mold and did not look like vanilla bean to me. Not happy, needles to say I did not drink my nearly $6 coffee. Waste of time and money. Please check the simple syrup bottle...

The most delicious coffee drinks I've had in 46 years of coffee savoring and searching. There is virtually no bitterness here. Coffee flavors here are mild, rich and deep at the same time. I used to think coffee this great was impossible. Head and shoulders above any other coffee company I've found. The owner and roaster, Leon, is truly gifted and everyone at Regent is passionate about coffee. They do pour-over, siphon and espresso and they're consistently excellent brewers in all methods.

Regent uses carefully chosen, world-class milk, chocolate, oat milk and almond milk. These fine ingredients are costly so the prices are a little higher than average. Worth every penny. The made to order food, savory or sweet, is good, too.

There are at least two unique and fantastic inventions here - the Rose and the Whiskey Barrel drinks. All made in house from the real things - rose pedals and whiskey in barrels. But even with flavors like those and the mocha or vanilla, it's the coffee that's always out-front and the star of the flavor profile. These drinks are never too sweet. Just right for grown-ups.

The atmosphere is very relaxed & funky but the coffee is super classy and has changed my understanding of what...