Nice Coffee — Restaurant in Los Angeles

Nice Coffee is nice indeed. The downtown coffee shop has a magic that I don't see in many downtown coffee shops: it slows people down. I don't mean that you have to wait for a long time to get your coffee, I mean this is a place where people, even office workers who are usually on a tight schedule, seem to enjoy spending some time at.

The coffee shop is housed in a stand-alone structure in the center of City National Plaza. The shop has a neat, modern look with straight lines, steel beams and wooden counters. The shop leverages its central and easily accessible location by opening up all sides of the shop and providing plenty of seats, including a bar top on one side. When I first visited the shop one early morning, I saw someone in a suit eating his breakfast by the bar, chatting with the baristas while sipping an espresso. Another time I stopped by near lunch time, there was a little crowd around the shop and conversations were everywhere. The open air must give people who work in an office the real break they need.

I have had good cappuccinos at Nice Coffee, and a refreshing hibiscus tea when I need something decaf. Service feels noticeably above the usual coffee shop experience, there is a friendly day-time bar...

Stopped in with my wife and another couple. I ordered an Americano, my wife got the Chai Latte, we split a Turkey and Pesto Sandwich. I was rung up for a cold brew, and two additional drinks I did not order, as well as my wife's latte and sandwich. I was in conversation with the group so I did not look to closely at the bill, my mistake. When my name was called there was an extra drink, just one, and I asked about it, I was told it was a mistake on their part so it was free for me. When I got back to the table I found out they charged me for the extra two drinks- only one of which we received but paid for both. It was water under the bridge by then but they pulled one over on me and wanted me to feel happy they did so. The Chai Latte was very underwhelming, like water she said, and my Americano was terrible. The sandwich was very overpriced for a sloppy and not very appealing sandwich. Take your business elsewhere, with so many coffee shops this one should step up its game in a big way or will not last...

Set in the middle of an open-air plaza you can't miss it. When the weather is nice it's a great place to sit outside and enjoy your coffee.

Prices are on the steeper side but nothing outrageous, especially in the specialty coffee world where I find the average to be about $5.

Usually a black coffee drinker I went outside my comfort zone for the vanilla latte ($4.50) at the insistence of my co-workers. Not surprisingly I found it to be sweet but not intensely so which is an endorsement coming from a no sugar, no cream person.

I will definitely return to try my usual (black coffee) and see how it fares but if you're a vanilla latte fan I'd say go for it.

The baristas are also super helpful and knowledgeable should you have any questions or special milk requests.

I strongly suggest walking here. There is a parking lot underneath (no street parking) but I'm assuming the...