Alfred Coffee & Kitchen {Melrose Place} in West Hollywood (near La Cienega and Melrose Ave) is one of the true West Hollywood coffee shop gems. Also known as the first of the Alfred Coffee shops, Alfred Coffee Melrose Place should not to be confused with the second – also awesome – Alfred Coffee {In the Alley} that is on Melrose Avenue and less than 1/2 mile from the original location. We don’t know why so let’s just say it is “because L.A.”

Of the three Alfred Coffee places we’ve visited, we’ve never been disappointed, but we do have a soft spot is for the Melrose Place location.

These are some of the reasons:

1) They have an entire freezer dedicated to McConnell’s Ice Cream. If you do not know about McConnell’s – stop everything and look it up (let us help you: http://www.mcconnells.com/).

2) The space is weirdly beautiful. It is a strange combination of floral wallpaper and stark black walls with bold white lettering. It has sort of a rustic country cabin feel on the one hand, and a gentile English country home on the other. It throws your visual balance off a little, and we like it. It works.

3) And this is key… The people who work there are really nice. Even though most (all?) of them are pretty definitely hipsters, they never act as if you are some out-of-towner know-nothing who they cannot be bothered to serve (unlike some coffee shops in the uber chic Los Angeles basin). No, at Alfred, they are nice and patient and pretty calm. So, yes, we like that a lot.

4) The people in line (and there seems to be always a line) are always so interestingly dressed. Yes, Alfred Melrose Place is good people-watching.

5) They make their coffee – and this applies to all of the Alfred locations – so many ways. Since we appreciate variety, this might be the thing we love most about Alfred. You want drip coffee, espresso drinks, lattes with designs in the foam, cold brew coffee, nitro cold brew coffee, iced espresso, and any variation of these, you will be so happy. Then there is the famous $10 latte which is made from unicorn milk and love. Just kidding. It is made from cold-pressed almond milk, 3-4 shots of espresso and your choice of vanilla or chocolate. BTW, the beans are from Stumptown Coffee Roasters.

8428 Melrose Pl, Los Angeles, CA 90069
alfredcoffee.com
(323) 944-0811
Open 7 days a week: 7:00 AM – 7:00 PM

about the author:

My name is Anne Stericker, and I am a writer and lifestyle consultant living in Los Angeles. And while I absolutely love Los Angeles, I also love a lot of other cities I have visited and/or lived in… cities like New York, Sydney, Paris and Rome. This is because, as far back as I can remember, I have taken immense pleasuring in finding things – both tangible and experiential — that are beautiful, practical and luxurious.

I also have a philosophy that a thing or experience need not be expensive in order to be luxurious. In fact, I firmly assert that there is zero correlation between the cost of an object or experience and how much pleasure it can bring. For me, coffee is one of those things. It can be delicious, beautiful and luxurious, and you definitely don’t have to be a millionaire to afford it. Coffee represents, perfectly, my philosophy that you can have taste, quality and luxury all at once, no matter what your budget is.

visit annelovescoffeemore.com