Literati Cafe — Restaurant in Los Angeles

They say that everything in California is expensive; gas at almost $5 per gallon, apartment rents for $2,500 per month and the highest taxes in the nation. Yesterday I, purchased one of the most expensive sandwiches from what I consider an internet coffee café. After having spent several hours in urgent care and on my way to church I stopped at Literati Café to grab a bite to eat. It was very convenient, on my way and looked like a nice establishment. Upon arriving, there were 25 or more people drinking coffee and working on computers. Recently I had eye surgery and my close up vision was still somewhat lacking (making it difficult to read a menu), therefore I asked the guy, who was very friendly and courteous, what he might recommend for a “lite sandwich”. He suggested the grilled cheese and that is what I ordered (just a grilled cheese, the chips that came with it and a glass of water), having always loved grilled cheese. I gave my credit card and was given my receipt, which indicated that the “Grilled Cheese Sandwich” I had ordered was $9.99 plus tax. At first I was shocked that an “upscale coffee shop” would charge that much for a grilled cheese sandwich, but I thought I would wait until it was served to form an opinion; maybe it was something really great and fantastic.

When it arrived and I tasted the sandwich it was good, nice flavorful cheese and on thick bread, but certainly not worth almost $10.00. Perhaps I am somewhat more discerning than the average person having graduated from a Cordon Bleu Certified Culinary School and having been a restaurant reviewer for over 50 years. I have been having social functions for many years where I prepare the food for my guest and many times I have prepared grilled cheese sandwiches and my guest tell me that they are incredible; this sandwich from Café Literati was not incredible, fantastic, or excellent…it was a “cut” above average. And the chips served with it seemed very hard and almost stale, resembling the texture and hardness of a “corn chip”, certainly not the “light and airy” texture that I would expect from a potato chip.

I talked with the manager, a very nice guy, and expressed my displeasure with the quality of the product and the price. He seemed to NOT be apologetic, rather defended the price as the cost of his labor being $14 per hour. That being the case I would never recommend this place for anything other than to someone who is looking for a nice clean place to have coffee or tea and work on their computer. I am also a senior staff writer for major publications, dealing in travel and entertainment and will be posting this review as well as being on a food program on a major radio network to review this and many other restaurants. So, if you are looking for a coffee shop where you can work on your computer and want something slightly better than a Starbuck’s then Café Literati might work for you. Otherwise, please explore other local establishments where pricing in more “thought out” and where food cost are...

TERRIBLE SERVICE. I've been here 5+ times because I used to enjoy the ambiance, food, and service for working and studying but I will not be back. I have never felt so unwelcome by an establishment in my life.

I got there and was immediately greeted with attitude and as I'm trying to order the woman at the cash register is interrupting me. She then, of course, got my order wrong because she was too busy trying to speak over me. I ordered my drink iced and when the worker brought it to me hot, I nicely told him I asked for it iced and he took it back and said the ticket did not say iced. The woman from the register comes out and aggressively tells me "you didn't say iced but ok" and gives me my drink in a to-go cup (I asked for my drink to be for dining in). She immediately starts walking away and I tell her "yes I did" and she replies, from ACROSS the cafe with her back turned "ok".

I didn't realize coming here would put me in a weird, aggressive, confrontational situation. If I didn't have to make a meeting I would have packed up my things and left as I was scared she would come over and try to pick yet another fight with me. I tried to inform an employee of the situation and all he did was say "okay" and continued about his job.

I'm usually a very understanding and friendly patron as I have also worked in customer service. I'm very understanding of mistakes but this was unacceptable behavior. Why not just say my bad, assume you didn't hear me, and keep it moving?

Don't come here unless you're okay with being attacked over a common mistake...

Disappointed with our recent visit after a great first visit a few months ago. We arrived for lunch at 2:40, ordered our meals, and went to the outside patio to find a table. As soon as we got outside, the woman cleaning the patio said they close at 3 PM. We said ok and that we were just looking for a place to eat because we already ordered (we were holding out number). She said again that they close at 3. We asked if the patio was closed…asking again if we could eat out here and she said “yes but we close at 3.” Super off-putting considering we already paid for our food. She clearly wanted to leave at 3 and not have us dirty up the patio (which was still being cleaned).

Our food arrived so quickly (great), but hash browns were cold. I brought them back to the counter and the guy asked if we wanted them crispier. I said we just wanted them warm.

By the time they came back, we were done with our eggs. The hash browns were warm but extra greasy and not good. The Canadian bacon on Eggs Benedict was gristly, too.

We asked for more ketchup but never got it, so we went back to the counter to get it ourselves plus salt, pepper, and sweetener for coffee. Listen I don’t mind helping myself that way but not sure what the 20% gratuity is for considering we felt unwelcome, too.

It was a fairly underwhelming experience and super disappointing.

I would have emailed the restaurant directly instead of posting a review, but there was no contact info on...