Ep.69- Best $5 LA Coffee Shops to Do Work In
Read Time: 5 Minutes.
📸 IG handle: DollarSenseLA
Coffee shops are a great space for people to get work done, as it typically comes with reliable wifi, good coffee, comfy chairs, and sometimes even the feel of a collaborative working space.
As a personal finance writer, I spent most of my weekends in a coffee shop, but not just any. I’ve visited dozens in L.A in the past 4 yeas. If you are looking for a coffee shop to do work in, you should check out these places, with all of them costing less than $5 for a cup of coffee.
Here are my favorite L.A. coffee shops to get work done.
Best Food: Hilltop Coffee & Kitchen (View Park/Windsor Hills)
Most Power Outlets: Tanner’s Coffee Co (Culver City)
Most Seating: Coffee Connection (Mar Vista)
The Coolest: Hot and Cool Cafe (Leimert park)
The Smoothest Coffee: The Boy & the Bear (Culver West)
Hilltop Coffee & Kitchen: Best Beignet in Town
Location: 4427 W Slauson Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90043.
Coffee: Amazing and affordable. A small latte costs $3.75 and a large one costs $4.75.
WiFi: Consistent and fast.
Outlet: Decent amount of plugs, but only along one particular wall by the door. No plugs at the center table, or any other walls.
Seating: Medium sized, it seats around 40 people. You should be able to find a spot easily.
Parking: Free and plenty. There’s a hug free parking lot behind the coffee shop.
What Makes it Special: It serves the best food out of all the coffee shops I’ve been to. They have a real kitchen in the back. They even serve beignet for $4.
Tanner’s Coffee Co: You Computer Will Never Run Out of Juice
Location: 4342 Sepulveda Blvd Culver City, CA 90230
Coffee: Coffee is average, but affordable. A small vanilla latte costs $3.9, and a large one costs $4.6.
WiFi: Consistent and fast. They actually have multiple Wi-Fi to select from. The 5G one is lightning fast, good for photo/large file transfers.
Outlet: They are everywhere! This is my favorite place to do work for extended hours.
Seating: It seats around 30 inside, and 10 more outside. It’s on the smaller end, and it does get packed on the weekend.
Parking: Plenty of free street parking on Lindblade. No street permit needed.
What Makes it Special: Tanner’s is an OG in Culver City. Seating is comfortable, and plugs are everywhere. These two things alone make up for the average coffee.
Coffee Connection: It Comes with a Spanish Courtyard
Location: 3838 S Centinela Ave Los Angeles, CA 90066
Coffee: Wide selection of great coffee at an affordable price. It ranges from $3.5 to $5, as it’s a non-profit cafe run by the church next door.
WiFi: Consistent and fast. No complaints.
Outlet: Plenty of them, except when you chooose to sit in the Spanish courtyard.
Seating: It’s huge! There are probably between 75 and 100 seats. You will always be able to find a seat here. There are 3 sections, 1 front room, and 1 Spanish courtyard, and 1 backroom with couches.
Parking: Parking is difficult. That’s the one huge downside. You can try to park in the church parking lot right next door.
What Makes it Special: I love sitting n the Spanish courtyard to get some sun in the summer. If you can deal with the parking situation, you will always find a seat here.
Hot & Cool Cafe: This is What Coffee Shops In Wakanda Must Feel Like
Location: 4331 Degnan Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90008
Coffee: Really good coffee, better than Tanner’s, but not as amazing as the Hilltop, or as wide of a selection as Coffee Connection.
WiFi: Consistent and fast.
Outlet: You need to have your computers/phones charged BEFORE you come in. There are some outlets, but very limited.
Seating: It’s open, well lit with large windows and spacious. It can seat between 30-40 people with no problem.
Parking: Metered parking only. However, I don’t know if you need to feed the meter though… Just my observation. Do it at your own risk.
What Makes it Special: It’s a very unique coffee shop that blends in well with Leimert Park. It’s got a throne, a giraffe statue , and a zebra statue. What else do you want?
The Boy and the Bear: One Smooth Cup of Coffee
Location: 12712 Washington Blvd Ste 101 Los Angeles, CA 90066
Coffee: Exceptional coffee and it’s reasonably priced. $3 for expresso and $4.5 for a latte
WiFi: Consistent and fast.
Outlet: Outlets are very limited. Either bring your extension cord, or pick your seat carefully.
Seating: It’s small. It can fit between 20 and 25 people.
Parking: Parking is very difficult. There are metered parking right out front. Alternatively you can sometimes find free street parking on Wade st.
What Makes it Special: The coffee is exceptional here. It feels very hipster here. If you don’t care it’s hipster, and want a cup of good coffee while working, this is it.
TL;DR
Coffee shops are a great place to force yourself to get projects done.
If you want to enjoy your food while working, you should check out Hilltop Coffee and Kitchen.
If you want to enjoy the atmosphere, check out the beautiful Spanish courtyard at Coffee Connection, or sit in the throne at Hot and Cool Cafe.
If all you want to do is work, stop by Tanners because they have all the outlets in the world to keep your computer charged.
Lastly, if all you want to do is get some exceptional coffee and pretend to do a little bit of work, go pay the Boy and the Bear a visit.