I wish I lived closer! Second trip, and now this is one of my fav OC coffee/tea spots…read more Brought my friend for her B-day on a Sat mid-morning in Sept. The line goes to the door much of the time, but they keep it moving, keep it kind, and the one barista keeps the drinks coming out so quickly that you barely have time to find a seat! It was pretty full again with half studier/workers and half friend pairs/ groups. We happened to come on the day they had a collab for jeans recycling with Madewell: donate a pair of jeans and get a free 12-oz drink from the "taplist" (regular menu list) plus a coupon for 15% off a pair of jeans! What a great and generous promo for a cause. Inside vinyl shops look fun. I am sad that the stationery shop is gone, but still looking forward to bringing my fam to check our the vinyl and fun drinks. The drinks: We came here just for the Fall Banoffee Latte because we crave/miss this British flavor. It was pretty good and a good sweetness, but I think toffee topping or a little more toffee flavor would've elevated it. I actually liked the free pour of Strawberry Swing even better! Green tea with strawberry flavor and a floral touch without bitterness. Had a taste of my friend's Princess Daisy green tea with mango/passion fruit, and it had a bit of bitter/tea flavor, but it grew on my friend's palate with every sip. The food: Only tried the cinamon sugar donut, which was tasty, solid regualr yeast donut topped with ?buttercream frosting and 8 or so cinnamon toast crunch pieces. The add-it-yourself maple drizzle dropper was a fun touch, though might've liked it a tad more viscous if possible (turned out looking like it rained maple syrup on the donut, heh). Plenty of parking on Orange St public parking lot or along that street. Now they charge at the lot, about $1.45 per hour (oh well, better than LA parking). Looking forward to returning! Maybe for the bananas foster matcha (heard good things from friend of a foodie friend :)).

If I ever open a café, the atmosphere of Contra is what I would try to encapsulate. Music + great…read moredrinks + stationery corner = They occasionally have someone play vinyls and it adds to the cool vibe of the café. They have drinks on tap. I also love the nod to Filipino culture with their Kuya and Ate lattes.

Writing this review AFTER coming in for the 2nd time…read more Nice ambiance. Very classy, balanced, and not too loud. Feels like a great place to start a morning. The cafe is standard and the roast is a little dark (if that's how you like it). Also, what I thought was intriguing (and I ended up liking) was the "build your own toast" portion of the menu. There are "Built" options of things like the T.O.M. (Tomato, olive oil, and mozzarella - which is great with avocado ) and then you can literally have a build your own toast (you choose the bread, toppings, construct, etc.) Really cool establishment and I recommend you visit for a good coffee and toast!

Dropped off my partner at UC Irvine early this morning, so early that we didn't have time to make…read morecoffee at home, so I ventured in unknown territory to try some local brews. A mere 1.3 miles away, I find this eight year old coffee shop that has its name origins from the German word for bread. Evidently, they have a plethora of baked foods mainly consisting of flour, water and often yeast displayed in full display next to the counter. I asked one of the staff if the shop makes their own bread and she said a local artisan bakery supplies them. They look amazing and they even have gluten-free options! This is a family-owned business that provides a more than suitable area for working on your laptop with WiFi access, or simply enjoying your favorite hot or cold caffeinated beverage, oh, and I must mention that they have premium blends as well for the coffee aficionado! Spacious indoor area that doesn't feel cramped and the exposed ceiling vents, the jazzy beats that is playing at a perfect volume and plenty of potted plants give it a balanced chill industrial vibe. There are tables outside too that's perfect for early morning or late afternoon when it's not too hot. I ordered the Vanilla Latte hot and asked that they fill up my insulated mug instead of the cardboard cup. Even with the steady stream of patrons, I received my expertly prepared brew by their hirsute barista, who gave me "beard envy" (I can only sport a goatee) :D The crew are friendly, conversing with the regulars. I can tell they enjoy working here! I don't come to Orange very often but would definitely grab coffee here again if I'm in the area and would highly recommend this place. This place is doing something right and by mere observation, I can tell they will continue to do so for years to come! Kudos!

Philz Coffee is AWESOME! I am a huge fan of any place that sells coffee coffee - not just the…read moreflavored stuff that so many places in Orange do. The abolute NICEST folks work at this shop. there's great parking, and these guys truly care about their customers (me included!). Highly recommend you stop by first thing in the morning - they open at 5:30 am!

The honey haze is always my go to and refreshing especially for summer! The service here was nice…read moreand friendly. The atmosphere is bright and homey feeling, seems like a nice spot to do some work. Parking lot is super small maybe only 4-5 spots but there's street parking since it's downtown Orange.

My first time there was yesterday around 5:30ish and this girl took my order and recommended me a…read moredrink called iced lvtm because I've told her that whole milk doesn't sit right with me. Then she asked if my other friends wanted a sample and they agreed and within that moment the other girl that had served us the samples asked us if we can had dairy issues and the girl that took my ordered pointed at me and said me. Which was pretty funny because she threw me out the bus knowing I can't handle whole milk but overall I had a great experience there and wished I knew her name!

I went here around 2 times these past 2 weeks, and the drinks and the avocado toasts with bacon are…read moreso damn good! It's so good that I still crave it hours later. The bacon is cooked to perfection, the honey drizzle is so good, and the avocados taste fresh and nice.

July 26th, 2026 10:45am Sunday…read moreOrdered: - Banana Bread Iced Latte - Oat Milk Iced Latte (Shot of Hazelnut Syrup) Atmosphere: -Two Floor, Indoor Seating -No parking lot, just street spots (we were lucky and found parking right in front!) -Lively Atmosphere, Friendly Staff -Music loud enough to offer privacy between group conversations! Final Notes: Lots of people doing their work here. Seems headphones are necessary if you need focusing, but very excited to come back during the school year to study in a comfortable environment :D

Oh, The Lost Bean... I'm at a loss for words…read more I really wanted to love this location. I've been a customer at the Tustin location for years, so I walked in excited. Unfortunately, this visit was one disappointment after another. We arrived at 8:30 a.m. hoping for a peaceful coffee-and-breakfast morning. Instead, we accidentally wandered into what felt like a Janis Joplin tribute concert. The music was blasting at nightclub volume--not exactly the relaxing start to the day we had in mind. But surprisingly... that wasn't even the worst part. The food was incredibly disappointing. I ordered the breakfast burrito, and the potatoes were still raw--hard enough to remind me they were once part of the ground.. My husband ordered the French toast, which looked suspiciously like it took a quick detour from Trader Joe's frozen aisle before landing on our table. There's nothing wrong with frozen French toast... unless you're charging $14 and calling it brunch. Another friend ordered the granola with berries. After a few bites, he gave it a skeptical look, pushed the bowl away, and decided breakfast simply wasn't worth the gamble. The coffee was decent , but honestly wasn't worth fighting the neighbors for a parking spot!

Another great experience at Ape! My boyfriend and I both decided to try something new today, so he…read moregot the Snow Monkey (iced brown sugar latte topped with sweet cream, garnished with cinnamon brown sugar) and I got the Cloud Ape (iced brown sugar latte topped with sweet cream, garnished with cinnamon brown sugar). Since I like my drinks a bit on the sweeter side, the barista suggested adding chocolate to my cold brew drink and I enjoyed it! The Snow Monkey was good as well and not too sweet in my opinion. Almost all of the tables were taken when we arrived except for one but the place was quiet since most of them were studying or getting some work done. I have enjoyed all of their drinks so far so will definitely be back to try more!

This location is significantly bigger than the Placentia location, and I love how spacious and…read moreclean it is! We ordered the Incredible Ape Matcha and Monkey Business. Monkey Business is my FAVORITE!! I order it almost daily from the Placentia location and I was so happy that it tasted exactly the same here. Usually when a place has multiple locations, the drinks can taste a little different depending on the location, but consistency is definitely not an issue here! We also tried the turkey croissants and they were super tasty. Service was fast and the whole place was super clean.

As someone in OC I had to see what the hype was about - 35 min later in 100° weather, I finally…read morefound out! Honestly just as good as I expected. The coconut water matcha cream was sooo good. So refreshing with great quality matcha cream. The color was gorgeous and the flavors were perfect together. My partner got the coconut iced blended coffee and it was super tasty and coconutty! Good coffee flavor too. The girls working here are also super sweet and helpful. Would come again, just need to brace myself for the line lol!

The banana matcha is to die for!!…read more Lines are super long yet staff is super friendly and efficient that it goes by quick. Just long- that's how busy it is. Just shows how really delicious it is!!!

Rekindled has my heart! From the wonderfully delicious salads and sandwiches made from the freshest…read moreingredients, to the drool worthy desserts, to the incredible customer service. I appreciate the convenience of being able to drop in and quickly grab gourmet pastries or bagels on my way to work, to surprise co-workers or take to family functions! Thank you rekindled for providing such great food!

UPDATE! I'm thrilled to share that after my post, the owner…read moreof Rekindle, Rebecca, reached out to me and has been absolutely wonderful. It's not often today for the owner of a business to reach out directly to a customer - she did and it was a very positive engagement. There are time that even the best business has a hiccup and something goes wrong. What makes a huge difference is how the business responds, and therefore, Rekindle gets five stars. I'm certain my next visit will be fantastic - I'll be posting an update in the near future. Wow - So Disappointed! Rekindle was at the Taste of Orange this year and I enjoyed one of the Italian sandwich samples they were handing out. It was fantastic! We met the owner - she was very charismatic and charming. Today we stopped by to grab an Italian sandwich, and I just cannot believe they served me bread that was so old and dry - it would have been perfect for croutons, but definitely nothing like what we had at the Taste of Orange. The bread was so dry I had to dress it up with some olive relish to eat it - I don't expect when I pay $31 for a sandwich and chai iced tea latte to get home and have to start working on my sandwich. I accept some responsibility for this, because honestly, who goes to a coffee shop for a sandwich.

I visited Chai Wale in Orange yesterday for the first time with my wife and unfortunately, our…read moreexperience was disappointing. We ordered one gobhi paratha and one aloo paratha. The aloo paratha was okay, but the gobhi paratha was poorly prepared--the gobhi filling was falling out of the paratha with every bite, making it very difficult and messy to eat. After our meal, we wanted to wash our hands. Since we had just eaten inside the restaurant, we were surprised when a Male employee at the front desk told us that we had to use the hand-washing facilities outside because the restaurant restroom are closed as there are outdoor restrooms for the international festivals. What made the situation more disappointing was that shortly afterward, a woman customer came in and was allowed to use the restroom inside without being directed outside. Seeing different instructions being given to different customers made us feel that the rules were not being applied consistently. Additionally, my wife ordered a cookie that was extremely dry and tough. Overall, this was not a good first experience. The food was average at best, and the inconsistent treatment at the front desk left a particularly bad impression. I believe every customer should be treated equally and given the same information and access, regardless of who they are.

I'd been wanting to try Chaiwale for quite some time and finally got around to it on a Saturday…read moreafternoon. The place was quite busy but we were able to get a nice table with benches for our party of 4. I grew up drinking authentic indian chai so my expectations were high- I was drawn to try this place for the fun of drinking the chai from the clay cups I'd seen on social media :) That said, I was not disappointed by the chai, the food, or the decor. We ordered the butter chicken wrap, the chili chicken wrap and an aloo parantha. We wanted to try the tandoori chicken wrap, but they were sold out that day. We really enjoyed everything except the chili chicken wrap- we didn't find it very flavorful and wouldn't order it again. The wraps come with a yogurt-based cilantro sauce but I found it to be too liquidy to properly dip the wrap and the plate it comes in makes it very awkward as well. The aloo paratha was really good- not overly seasoned but it had a very authentic flavor and came with traditional indian pickle condiment on the side. The decor is very authentic but not overwhelming and the place had a nice vibe to it. The staff were friendly and helpful when we were deciding what to order. We are looking forward to going back again and trying more of the items!

First time in today and loved it! Food was yummy and the drinks were even better! Thanks to Julie…read moreand Maddie for taking care of us!

My friend and I came here for lunch and the staff were so nice. They weren't too busy and stayed to…read moreengage in conversation with us (especially Julie), making us feel welcome and at home! Plus the food was AMAZING! With it being super cute and clean inside.