mandarin coffee stand — Restaurant in Pasadena

A quality coffee focused shop I pop into whenever I'm in town.

Sherry, the owner, pours her soul into every cup, building community with her team, and you can taste it.

The line isn’t a hassle; but a testament to the treasure waiting at the end.

Both the Cappuccino and cortado here are spot on and I've appreciated the unique seasonal drink options that pop up on the menu (but hurry because they may not be on the menu that long).

I've seen a lot of reviews about the Vienna here—don’t expect a sugar rush and fake flavorings, expect nuance. Balanced, natural flavors rise to the surface. It doesn’t just wake you up; it makes you glad you’re awake.

The materials/aesthetic? Glass on the outside is painted with the seasons. Sherry’s way of saying, “You’re welcome,” to the eyes before the coffee thanks your taste buds.

The interior although small is very pleasing and purposeful. You can tell extra attention was put into every detail and they made the most of the space.

Parking’s easy, 90 minutes free.

There's a restroom in the building, you just have to ask for a key (pretty standard).

A few quality tables outside, the standing bar for two inside,

Even while it's nonstop busy all day, I've had a great experience from the team.

Solid pastries

Mandarin Coffee Stand is a tiny kingdom of quality. Worth every minute, every sip - so good they bring loads of traffic, massively helping every business around them - so much so I wouldn't be surprised if the place pays them to keep the...

Mandarin Coffee Stand is a small Chinese owned coffee stand located within Burlington Arcade in Pasadena. This shop is woman-owned AAPI business serving freshly brewed tea and high-quality specialty coffee. The social media hype of this tiny coffee stand has become troublesome for customers who had to wait in a long line, whereby the avg wait time is 60 min on weekdays and longer on weekends. Hence, customers can easily be discouraged to support this cute lil coffee stand. Moreover, it can only accommodate 4 people at a time due to its extremely small space.

Indoor atmosphere was relaxing and they have no chairs nor tables inside but plenty outside. It's basically a to-go-coffee service. Menu items are limited as well as their pastries. They sell tote bags and coffee bags starting at $25 bucks. Coffee prices were competitive and pricey which match the quality. However, I abhor their hobbit like coffee cup (6oz) size. Fortunately their cold drink cup was average (12oz) in size. I had a Flat White and it was strong and smooth; just the way I like it. Barista staff were amiable and competent. Service was on point. Free wifi available. Free parking for the first 1.5 hrs on the rear lot.

Overall, it's a decent coffee stand with a...

a cute little coffee shop, that cannot fit anymore than a max of 4 reside in the heart of Pasadena downtown. we found this place purely by accident when we were walking around and browsing the area.

there was an already established line for coffee there to one store down (stores are relatively small btw), and there is a sign stating max of 4 people, which would make sense because its like a small room space that really isn't meant for dine in.

once getting into the shop (which took about 45 min), it was a cute tiny coffee shop, outside at the window you can see the barista making the drinks and inside you can also see from a different angle.

everything is transparent, so if you like to see them make your drink and wonder how its made, its a pretty good shop to check out.

we got their vienna latte like everyone's recommendation, and the sweet cream on top that they whipped and added was prob the crop to the drink, was it worth the line, prob not, but we were bored and didn't have places to go anyways so join the line to check out the experience.

would i go again? prob wait till the line dies down

also no accessible restroom really sucks if you are in line for long and...