Andante — Restaurant in Los Angeles

4.5 Stars

I walked by here and noticed it had changed from "Buzz Cafe" to something else entirely. Its vaulted ceilings, mahogany and pine accents, and clean lines reflect their professional, even purist approach to coffee. I've had the pour over Sumatra and the Cappuccinos. They are so smooth and clean. You won't find the bitterness that comes with petroleum-product roasted beans, bad water, calcified carafes and other inevitable demons that haunt the modern kitchen (commercial or residential).

There is free wifi, and most of the tables have outlets. The music that plays is eclectic and kept at volume levels subtle enough to not distract but still contribute to the comfortable and polished ambiance. Water is available at the self-serve bar. All milk and milk-substitute products are kept in the fridge where they belong. (It unnerves me that the convention these days at most cafes is to leave milk out. Even when they keep them in thermoses, the clients who use them leave the lids unsealed inviting all kinds of badness.) I've had their breakfast burrito, which is very nicely done.

Their drink offerings are few, and the food items even fewer (hence the 1/2 star demotion), but they are new, so I expect they are pacing themselves. Expect prices like Steerbucks if not higher; but then you can also expect much higher quality.

For me, anyway, I've found my neighborhood cafe. Please don't come and...

Rude service. Told woman it was my first time there, she really didn’t care at all. Which meant ZERO explanation about anything. I ordered a large ice tea with light ice. She was upset that I asked for a large because “WE ONLY HAVE ONE SIZE!”

I must only assume that she either hates her job, hates life, didn’t understand what “my first time here” meant, must not have had her own coffee before she clocked into her shift, or all of the above.

The large iced tea came to over $7 with tip….received a clear Dixie sized cup full of ice, after being talked down to about only having ONE size.

Took over 20 minutes for them to pour already brewed tea, not freshly brewed mind you, ALREADY brewed. Poured from a container they had in a refrigerator into a dixie cup, overfilled with ice.

Didn’t even taste good, literally took 3 gulps and the tea was gone! This is a horrible representation of what a coffee shop should be. The attitude alone is unprofessional to say the least. Although you’re about a two block walk, I would rather take the longer hike to either “The Coffee Bean” on 3rd than spend another moment or dollar on the bitter attitude that comes with nothing fresh. Insane how you treat your neighbors. Also worst...

Disclaimer: I heavily prefer drip coffee over espresso based beverages. I've had the Ethiopian pour over and the cold brew.

Pour over - Ethiopian: Pretty much took all the right steps to execute a proper pour over. Only step I noticed missing was wetting the filter before putting in the freshly grinded beans. Maybe this is a philosophical difference. In the end, this impacts the flavor minimally. The coffee was freshly roasted. Acidity was low and hit on the right floral notes, signaling to me that they weren't under-roasted either (ahem, Blue Bottle). If you want a well roasted and well made single origin brew, give this a try.

Cold Brew: Great example of a well made cold brew coffee. Again, floral notes without acidity. The ratio of ice to coffee was perfect (i.e., ice wasn't over 50% of the cup). Extremely refreshing, if I had to have an iced coffee on a hot day, this would be one of my...