Delicious coffee! And GREAT service. It's a small place but will definitely visit again.

This coffee shop is tiny but I enjoy supporting a local coffee shop over the Starbucks across the street. The latte was good, but I would have liked a bit stronger tasting coffee finish. The burrito bite is actually very filling for it being so small. The staff here is super friendly. While getting my coffee ordered took nearly 20 min with about only 4 people in front of me, it was definitely not because of the staff working here. It was because of the indecisive guests in line that could not get their order together and seemed completely oblivious that there was a line out the door. If you want to enjoy your coffee at the store, there's only outdoor seating. There's two tiny tables you can stand at but it's very tight inside the store when there's a line. read more

Groundwork Coffee - Look for this tiny sign. It's easy to miss - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Santa Monica, California

See all

Sweetest staff, genuine customer service .. coffee was delicious and very strong. Special shoutout to Julian today. read more

Groundwork Coffee - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Santa Monica, California

Got two large drip coffees for delivery through Uber Eats. They came quickly and hot. I got had and half with raw sugar. Coffee helped me get through my Zoom work meeting! Will definitely want to go in person sometime. read more

Groundwork Coffee - My large drip coffees. - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Santa Monica, California

This location is small and a little grungy, but the food and service were great. Glad they are here!

Honestly wouldn't recommend based off customer service So shitty I swear I walk in and the guy with big curly hair didn't say hi nothing with his crappy ass attitude. Even when greeted so rude and ugly attitude What a way to greet a customer I just walked out Made me not even want to spend my money there. read more

It's a tiny corridor where you can grab coffee to go. Not for sitting or socializing. I paid a premium for The Beehive, which honestly tasted mostly like almond milk. The matcha didn't really come through. I love that they use their meager wall space to sell affordable local artists. I'll just go for a more basic coffee if I stumble upon them again. read more

They make a damn good cup of coffee. It's one of the few places left where you can get a snack (burrito bite) that's the perfect size and affordable. I appreciate that it's organic too. Music and vibe is good. My favorite in the area. read more

Groundwork Coffee - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Santa Monica, California

Groundwork Coffee has some of the best brew in the game and this location is no different than my usual spot in Larchmont Village. This is a very tiny shop but even without seating space, they still have a wall full of products you can buy and a good number of java options. I always get the Cold Brew + add in the ShroomWorks extract. Give me that natural mushroom high, baybee! It's a delicious coffee without the gross artificial flavoring taste you'll sometimes get in shroom drinks. A shining piece of this particular location, the staff! So friendly, so outgoing and they loved my bestie's Tiger Belly shirt. You like Bobby Lee, then you're good people in my book, lol! I have summer plans of biweekly beach trips and I will surely stop in for my morning pick me up here every time. read more

See all

Tucked away, outdoor seating, amazing coffee and breakfast, needs to have a sign out front...we walked past twice looking for it.

This is a take-out only spot located in a lovely neighborhood. Got an iced matcha tea - matcha was dull and didn't seem like super high quality, and the drink itself was pretty watery. Service felt a bit distracted. read more

Groundwork Coffee - Matcha tea - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Santa Monica, California

Gritty, to the point, and I love it. This is for the for real coffee drinkers. B*tches Brew remains my favorite coffee, not just because of the Miles Davis reference, but also because it's a solid dark roast. Groundwork is the only coffee shop to my knowledge that has hemp milk as a dairy alternative, which is an added bonus. You won't get to sit down here, but you can grab a coffee to go and take a stroll along Main Street. *Metered parking in the back. read more

Groundwork Coffee - a bag of groundwork coffee - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Santa Monica, California

Greta place! It's a hole in the wall for sure. Small but friendly service. Their horchata coffee is amazing and comparable to other names. Impressed. read more

The vanilla latte I ordered was good, but the staff was unwelcoming and cold. Just not a vibe I love before I've had my morning coffee.

What a cute little shop! I popped in to pick up some pastries. I asked for a cup of ice because my father-in-law had a swollen ankle. The person working was so kind. First, they tried to find a plastic bag for the ice. When she didn't find something that made sense, she handed me a clean towel with a cup of ice. I didn't even realize it until we walked away that the towel was for his ankle. How thoughtful! I don't live nearby, but if I did, they would have me as a loyal customer! read more

I just started working nearby and thought I'd come in for a coffee. Unfortunately I was very disappointed by the staff and their lack of acknowledgement of me. I was waiting to order and the rude staff lady decided to help someone who came after me and she never asked me if I have been helped. It felt very racially motivated and I ended up leaving. Horrible staff. read more

Excellent coffee and baked good :) In a sea of coffee shop chains Groundwork stands out. read more

Matcha w homemade cashew milk was outstanding. Wish they made some homemade food items.

Love their vegan pastries. Coffee is fantastic. And they open super early. Super friendly staff.

BEST THING IS THE HORCHADA COLD BREWWWWWW .... Im addicted to it. And the gluten free pumpkin chocolate chip bread is amazing. I made my friend try it and she doesn't even like pumpkin flavored anything and she loved it. I've never had anything that was gluten-free that was so moist and rich and amazing I have a big sweet tooth so the things that I like are probably generally on the sweeter side that should be taken into factor MY ONLY COMPLIANT : they always run out of the pastries. This is a smaller location and they never have a good selection or if any pastries left after 12:30 closer to 1 o'clock especially if it's a weekend or a Saturday if you don't get there really early you will not be able to get a pastry, which is my favorite part. They sell out because they are sooooo amazing. So it's like a weakness that is also a strength. However that being said; I wish whoever was doing the ordering for the making of the pastries would take into account that there's nothing like it on the whole street and they are leaving money on the table by not having enough. read more

The coffee donated by Groundwork Coffee was a huge hit at the Staff Appreciation Week planned by the PTA at McKinley Elementary in Santa Monica. Thank you so much for your support. We usually only have Keurig coffee to offer, haha. read more

Ordered a Oat milk vanilla latte. Coffee tasted good. Both staff were very friendly. Great ambiance inside of the store with all different types of coffee. Only disappointing part was no coffee art when I received my latte. I was expecting that very much . read more

Groundwork Coffee - Oat milk Vanilla Latte - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Santa Monica, California

We love to come here, grab a coffee and meet some friends but lately is SO DIRTY OUTSIDE. We can not seat at the bench without to have our pants with some stains. Why they don't pay more attention in cleaning the place where costumers stay for enjoy the good coffee. read more

Groundwork Coffee - The dirty place in front of Groundwork. And the employee just told us they DON'T care about to clean. - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Santa Monica, California

Walk in lovely hole in the wall, wanting my coffee fix. Order a Large hot Latte, immediately hit with sarcastic remark under his breath, we only have one size. That's fine. 5.75, ok, go to hand him cash , the cashier throws up his hands we don't take cash, like my money is filthy. Ok... Grab card enter no tip... Sorry my cash stays with me... I then get my "latte" which was the worst milk shake I have ever had. Don't even know if they used coffee as all I could taste was milk read more

Been going this place and going there for 6 years. Always enjoyed it. The new gentleman working mornings should probably learn some customer service. 1. When a customer comes in, asking for food, answering "what do you mean, food." 2. If you truly didn't serve food this morning for whatever reason, perhaps have him say so in a nice way, rather than saying "we don't have food." One person ruined my otherwise always lovey experience. read more

All I have to say is yes. Please go here. I spontaneously walked into groundwork to get a coffee. I ordered the horchata cold brew and was left genuinely surprised. It was so good. Super sweet and creamy. It was quite the treat. I definitely recommend. I will be coming back to try the rest of their drinks. read more

Place has majorly gone downhill. Has been my favorite drip coffee spot for years, but is a disaster now. They have one person in the shop at a time which has resulted in their coffee tasting awful. Just had my 3rd cup in a row taste awful so I'm done with them. I could take dirt, throw it in a French press, and it would taste better than what they are making these days. Stop cheating out and have two people in store at a time so you can actually make great coffee again. One employee can't do everything and it's ratty considering you always have a line...you can afford it. read more

Coffee was good. The staff was nice. Inside was small with no seating but coffee came out pretty quickly to take to go.

I love the Groundwork so much!! I frequent this location very often and have to say that both Alex and Nancy(?) are both so welcoming and my coffee is always made exactly how I like it. The decor and the way everything is set up is also very organized and welcoming. Me and my husband's favorite place to get coffee in Santa Monica! read more

Groundwork Coffee - shelves of coffee and coffee beans - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Santa Monica, California

The coffee here is pretty good. Not sure if it is consistent though. My taste in coffee is quite basic so I usually stay away from the expensive, fancy coffee establishments as I usually drown my drink in sugar and milk anyway. I usually get an iced hazelnut latte and it's pretty good. It was funky one of the last times I've had it though, which is why I'm not sure how consistent it is. It can also get really busy sometimes, which isn't comfortable as the joint is quite skinny. read more

Groundwork Coffee - Latte! - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Santa Monica, California

Quality has severely declined over the last months. Probably going to stop coming here although it was my regular daily place. It has become more like Starbucks for a coffee drink: dump in the espresso and then dump in the milk. Not looking for any fancy drawings in my foam, but just to have the foam and have the drink ordered, and the new baristas don't do this. If you want just drip coffee, it's fine, but if you want a coffee drink, don't expect the good quality that you used to get, but rather a quickly made and quickly poured drink, so they move on. Really bummed that the quality tanked. it seems to be with people who are new employees within the last six months or so whereas the older employees do a great job. read more

Went 5 minutes before 4:00 (closing time) and they had closed up shop. Lights were off and no one was present which indicated they had already been closed and cleared out for at least a minute or more prior. Why close before the stated closing time? read more

They have excellent coffee here. I really enjoyed both the mocha as well as the Vietnamese coffee here, strong and good quality. Vibe and decor is cool, so is the staff. Drinks were made well and quickly, prices are average for the area, making this a great spot to grab a drink while shopping on Main or before heading to the beach. read more

Solid coffee, solid service, solid personalities from the peeps behind the counter. Will definitely come back in the near future!

Every time I go to Groundwork's on Main, I walk in with my fingers crossed, hopeful that I might come across a friendly barista, only to be met with a barista who's 10 times ruder than the one I met last. The negative attitudes of every employee I have ever encountered at Groundwork is shocking. They either hire the meanest people they can find (people who were not attractive enough to work at Brandy Melville on third but still snobby enough to make you feel like a POS) or they train them to treat their customers like trash. You're better off spending $8 on coffee elsewhere and not letting their soul-sucking employees ruin any sort of inner peace you have created for yourself. read more

Chai latte. With hemp milk. Ridiculous. So good. Very friendly barrista too. Bought some coffee beans a got a free drink with them. The beans were pricey and worth it, and actually a pretty good deal factoring in the large fancy and incredibly delicious chai latte. I'm usually a black coffee guy and loved coming here for pour overs when I lived down the st. But this latte... read more

This is one of the cutest hole-in-the-wall coffee shops I have been to in LA. I wanted some tea and was so pleasantly surprised by the wide selection they had to offer. You can also mix teas here, since they package it with legit tea leaves in the back (No pre-packaged tea bags!). This offers a unique way to experience tea that is not an option at many other places. Our barista was awesome and offered his favorite combinations of tea, and also let me take a whiff of some of the ones they had. In the herbal section - our barista recommended mixing Mint w/Chamomile, which my friend got and loved. I mixed Chamomile with Rooibos, although he had recommended mixing the latter with milk. All the teas have descriptions, so no doubt you'll find something you love. Beware if coming with more than 2 people - this place is super small and only has 6 seats total. There is an outdoor seating area as well, but on a nice day I would assume that that space fills up relatively quick. It is located so close to the beach, though, that another great option would be to take your drink to go and enjoy some rays and views down at Venice beach! Or simply walk down Main street and check out all the neat other things that the 'hood has to offer. Your options are vast. Support a local business, drink fine teas, and hang in a neat part of town. You won't be disappointed either way! read more

See all

Groundwork coffee is a quaint little place. Super friendly baristas. They were so lovely when just after getting my hot chocolate, I dropped the cup, and it splattered everywhere. I was so embarrassed, and they were so nice to me and also gave me another cup since I hadn't taken one sip and dropped it off the bat. Lovely place and they get 10 stars for customer service. love how small it is, but it's so lovely to sit in the outside area read more

Groundwork Coffee - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Santa Monica, California

Delicious chai latte with oat milk. The service was quick and the burrito bite is a tasty snack.

Groundwork coffee is a great little spot on Main Street to stop and enjoy the sun while you sip delicious coffee and people watch. I chose this spot to meet up with a client before a photo shoot in the vicinity. We ended up hanging onto the cup for a few pictures because it was too good to put down . I had a bottle of cold brew coffee and my wife ordered a hot Americano. To stave off hunger before our shoot, we also grabbed a container of the Thai Noodles from the fridge display. Ugh, those noodles were so good we almost went back in for another helping. The coffee was fantastic. The bottled cold brew had a rich, complex flavor and didn't need a drop of cream or a grain of sugar. It also didn't make me feel all twitchy and nervous like most coffees tend to make me feel. The seating and tables on the sidewalk were clean and provided a great location to kick back and enjoy the sun. It's worth noting the shop is really tiny and doesn't offer much indoor seating, but we live in California... who wants to sit inside anyway? I see myself returning in the near future to enjoy the sun and sip some more cold brew on a low key afternoon. read more

Groundwork Coffee - Coffee & Tea Near Me - Santa Monica, California