Cafe Muse

Neighborhood: Hollywood's Theatre Row, Los Angeles

CAFE RATING: 3.6

Groups: up to 4

People Watching: 3.8

Food&Drink: 3.75

Music&Ambience: 3.6

Comfort&Hospitality: 3.2

Summary: L shaped corner cafe, full menu, lite street traffic

JOURNAL EXCERPT :) 

"... the music was perfect.  A solo guitarist, standing near the piano playing folk songs.  Joey and I ordered a chicken sandwich (made of soy) and it was delicious.  Joey didn't even realize it wasn't real meat it was that good to him.  The cafe is cozy with lots of windows for natural light.  A great place -when you want a calm, soothing breakfast kitchen nook kinda place- to just keep to yourself.  Not a lot of chatter to break your concentration and again lots of window space for watching outside traffic roll by.  The other cool thing is that there are a couple other cafes in the area that you can move about to and a comedy theatre if you want to make a whole night of it."

6547 Santa Monica Blvd

Los Angeles, CA  90038

323.464.6873

www.cafemusela.com

LA CAFE

Neighborhood: Downtown Los Angeles

CAFE RATING: 3.0

Groups: 1-2

People Watching: 3.25

Food&Drink: 3.4

Music&Ambience: 2.8

Comfort&Hospitality: 2.6

Summary: Small sidewalk cafe, full menu, street traffic

JOURNAL EXCERPT :) "...from the street, this cafe looks small. And yes, it's still small when you cross the door threshold. But once you do, the aromas inside tell you 'this place serves good food' whether it's from the dessert case or the many delicious drinks described on their menu... you can only believe it's gonna be good here. I was very surprised that this closet size brew house had a full menu that covers your salads, sandwiches, smoothies, and even your dinner entrees like roasted chicken and salmon. All the seating is outside (bummer) set there for sidewalk street views (kinda cool) which makes an excellent platform for casual people watching. However, if you're a bit private with your art/study, it's going to attract some attention from people walking by. They have very small, quaint tables for parties no more than 3 persons. A plus for this cafe, for this neighborhood, is that it is open until late, around 9pm. And as for artist's lingering for awhile? It's perfect. The usual patrons seem to be neighbors from nearby resident lofts that come together regularly to socialize and converse for hours. One more surprise: for a small sidewalk cafe with a big glorious menu, they even play decent music - genres ranging from classic rock to general favorites."

639 S Spring St, Los Angeles, CA 90014

(213) 612-3000

www.thelacafe.com

COFFEE POT CAFE

Neighborhood: Silver Lake, Los Feliz

CAFE RATING: 3.7

Groups: 2-4

People Watching: 3.25

Food&Drink: 3.7

Music&Ambience: 4.2

Comfort&Hospitality: 3.8

Summary: Corner cafe with hip lounge interior, music, free wi-fi

JOURNAL EXCERPT :) "… driving along one day, we decided to search for a café to stop and draw for a bit. It was soon that I spotted a street corner decorated with small outdoor tables covered with red table cloths. The table cloths were slightly blowing in the wind as if waving me down to stop. And stop I did. Our search was over. We were instantly pulled in by the interior: deep brown furniture with red cushion accents, a window bar lined with cream leather bar stools and an international menu. The crepes here are the most authentic I've found thus far in LA, along side a delightful mediterranean mixed plate served with grape leaves, falafel, bean and herb salads. Their Specials board posted a Russian soup served with bread and fruit, and it changes regularly. The music was lounge, international eccentric, just perfect to go with the cafe's interior design chic lounge -- yet scaled down appropriately to just a coffeehouse with its pastry case near the register...plus they had free Wi-Fi! This quickly turned into a favorite spot for the next couple of weeks."

Address: 2201 W Sunset Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90026

(213) 483-3386

LEON CAFE

Neighborhood:  international review, London

CAFE RATING: 4.2

Groups: large groups 

People Watching: 4.5

Food&Drink: 3.75

Music&Ambience: 4.4

Comfort&Hospitality: 4.0

Summary:  great European cafe near Tate Modern museum, full menu, lots of seating

 

JOURNAL EXCERPT :) "…the décor struck me as very original and very cozy.  I felt like I was in a warm old fashioned home from the 40's with modern exposed industrial style celings.  Tin canisters, wooden toys and old books lined against red painted walls.  Some tabletops were decorated with old 50's Hawaii motifs while vintage illustrated cutouts accented throughout room.  The furniture was a mixture of comfortable deep red leather booths plus coffeehouse standards of wooden tables and chairs alongside some more modern styled cafeteria metal chairs and tables.   Artists and writers can tuck into this cafe and spend hours here.  There is lots of table space to spread out and cozy corners with an open floor plan that allows you to see the street as half the walls are full length windows.  The service was very warm and friendly, giving the feeling as though it was a family run business when I don't think it is.  Even the music was great - a feeling of international spanish, tropical yet jazzy sounds that were uplifting and not your typical pop radio hits..."

 

 

Address: London, UK on Strand near the Tate Museum

Website

  

http://www.leonrestaurants.co.uk

CAFE BON APPETIT

Neighborhood: Malibu

CAFE RATING: 3.7

Groups: large groups

People Watching: 5

Food&Drink: 3.75

Music&Ambience: 2.6

Comfort&Hospitality: 3.56

Summary:  Lots of outdoor seating, tranquil setting, full menu

JOURNAL EXCERPT :)

Address: Getty Villa, 17985 Pacific Coast Hwy, Malibu

Website: http://www.cafebonappetit.com/getty/cafe_feedback.asp