The Merchant — Restaurant in Long Beach

What can't I praise when it comes to The Merchant? It is one of my fav coffee spots.

Taste: The coffee selection is thoughtful and creative, but the classics are of course present and consistently good. The pastries have a solid selection of savory and sweet to satisfy a light lunch or treat craving, and taste never disappoints, with reasonable prices for everything.

Staff: The staff are kind, unique, and helpful in the best way :].

Aesthetically its cozy, spacious for a local spot, with a familiar charm. Parking is decent with quiet neighborhoods nearby, so its not a hassle.

Best of all they have happenings and connections that I've enjoyed seeing thus far, including an evening chili bread bowl trolley (Tues-Thurs last I checked on Instagram) and usually an artist will perform music), trivia nights, and a few other things I'm curious to attend :].

The menu includes beer and wine, so honestly I could find myself coming here for any time of the day, be it a friend meetup, getting journaling done, or enjoying a local evening with other members of the community. I beleive this is one of the spots I've always hoped my local city would have, and I hope it gets the recognition and community it helps foster. I'm really grateful this spot came to my...

Nice decor and ambiance. Enjoyed my first visit here on Saturday. The barista was polite and pleasant. Very limited indoor seating but it was comfortable and cozy. This place is not meant to be a work-type of cafe, which is wonderful because sometimes you just want to enjoy the cafe and not use it as a remote office.

I ordered a cafe latte w/ almond milk. It wasn't rich-tasting at all (as I've had at other cafes) so was a little disappointed with the flavor. My companion had a cappuccino that was about $4 for a relatively small cup, but he said it was good.

Baguette is amazing in flavor. Strangely, no butter. Although the bread was delicious on its own, I do love butter with crusty European-style breads. The barista apologized and explained that the cafe is only still new so they don't have butter yet. Ditto with their provisions store not having butter: it's just a hop away from the cafe. Hmm, a little bizarre to not have butter.

Only 3 other patrons were inside the small cafe. The other barista was constantly laughing and giggling to the point of being a little annoying. Glad she's having fun at work, but she disrupted the peaceful ambiance inside.

Despite the low points, I would return to The Merchant. Just in case, I'll bring...

I love this bakery! I went right when they opened on a Sunday morning and was greeted with the most beautiful display of pastries. I picked a cinnamon roll and everything croissant, which I paired with a London Fog. The tea was on the less sweet side, I would ask for it a little sweeter next time. The pastries were both fantastic but the cinnamon roll was the clear winner. There were a few tables inside and plenty of bench seating outside. The street parking was right out front and plentiful. I went back to buy a baguette to serve with dinner, it was the perfect amount of crunchy outside and soft inside. I'm so excited to go back to The Merchant! The only thing that could have made this trip better is their seasonal strawberry pastry, it wasn't available the morning I went. But despite that I can't recommend this...