Walked over to the new Coffee Coffee on Melrose, a block east of Larchmont.
This is their second outpost (original location on Fairfax in WeHo) and it replaces Coffee+Food, which shuttered last September. Food program is headed by Adrian Castro, formerly of Kali.
I had pretty low expectations tbh as I wasn’t expecting much more than the standard coffeehouse fare of muffins and such, but I was very pleasantly surprised by the caliber of food on offer. The execution and presentation are a cut above the norm.
Entrance
Menu 1
Menu 2
Pastry Case
Whipped ricotta on sourdough with pickled cherries and preserved Meyer lemon. The tartness of the pickled cherries balances perfectly with the sweet and creamy ricotta. Very nice. No pic of the topping transposed onto the toast because my plating was uh, less than pretty.
Papas y frijoles. A poached egg and crispy potatoes done two ways atop a mix of whole and puréed beans. Great flavors and textures, not to mention the meticulous presentation. Real good stuff.
Egg sandwich with cheddar, greens, and a garlic herb aioli. Admittedly not a looker, and on paper the components seemed a little lackluster. Doesn’t this need like, some bacon or something? I’m happy to report that no, no it does not. This is a deceptive little umami bomb showcasing complementary flavors pulled together by the aioli. Crispy fresh bread doesn’t hurt either. Definite highlight.
Roasted tomato tart with burrata and pesto. Lovely flaky pastry crust on this. Tomatoes were sweet and savory and matched the burrata nicely. The pesto was more like a pistou — wouldn’t mind a bit more body added so that the pesto flavor stands up to the burrata / tomatoes more prominently.
Olive oil cake. This was the only miss. Consistency was dry and dense, and the green coloring was off-putting IMO. In fairness, it’s vegan and gluten-free, so I suppose expectations should be somewhat calibrated.
Pasteis de nata. They have two versions; one with cheese, and one that is straight egg. Go with the plain ones — didn’t think that the cheese added anything. Also, these are fucking amazing and I could eat a half dozen with a shot of espresso. Perfect flaky crust, creamy cinnamon-spiked custard…just delightful.
I can’t really judge the coffee because I ordered an iced oat milk matcha contraption instead (which was very good, natch) but my companion said that her latte was very yummy.
Overall, this place has a great local vibe going and the food is clearly aiming to be a cut above the standard café offerings. Menu items are thoughtfully curated and composed and the execution is great. Had to wait a bit for the items to come out of the kitchen, which I’d simply attribute to opening week kinks. There was a steady stream of people coming in and lining up, which was great to see! Looking forward to eating through the rest of the menu and seeing how this place evolves — great addition to the neighborhood.
