What a wonderful cafe next to SMC!…read more -1 star for the AI flyers all over the place, but I did love that they give a 10% off discount for SMC students and faculty. Inside is also a large space with plenty of seating and wifi, perfect for students. The people working there were very nice! I came during a mini rush but they worked very quickly. Cinnamon bun latte w/ almond milk was just okay, nothing special. This place is good for studying and if you need a caffeine fix.

The place is pretty and was empty when I went In . However I ordered a golden milk . It lacked…read morehaving any cayenne or tumeeic taste and taste heavily like milk .. I then continued to drink it and had chunks Of milk I automatically spit out .. it was spoiled milk . This picture was before when I realized it didn't taste like it had any tumeric/cayenne so I looked to check

Consistently good coffee with friendly service…read more I recently moved work offices and am happy to have Menotti's as my go-to coffee shop in the area. Like their other shops around LA, they have different options for most, but the bottom line for me is that they do proper espresso drinks. The standards/classics are the backbone of a proper shop and there are other options closer to me but the consistency and quality are not up to par as what the staff offers at Menotti's. There's one hour free parking with validation in the underground lot.

If you're going to Menotti's, do yourself a favor and ask for Alex! Not only does he make an…read moreincredible Spanish latte, perfectly balanced, rich, and consistently delicious, but he also creates such a welcoming atmosphere every time you walk through the door. Alex goes above and beyond to make every customer feel valued and remembered. His positive attitude, genuine kindness, and attention to detail are what keep people coming back. Great coffee is easy to find, but exceptional service like Alex's is rare. Thank you, Alex, for always brightening my day and serving up the best Spanish latte! Highly recommend stopping by and experiencing his hospitality for yourself.

Came upon this place during a morning walk and so glad we did. Little Bean has a cozy interior with…read morea photo wall and board games. Perfect place to have a seat and enjoy a morning coffee. The French toast latte with oat milk was the highlight for me. You can really taste the maple syrup and it's sweet without being overwhelming. My girlfriend got the Midnight Mocha with almond milk and they swapped the dark roast for their medium blend no problem. She loved it. The warmed butter croissant was a simple but solid addition. Staff was genuinely friendly too. Apparently the owners had a coffee shop in New York before the pandemic and brought that energy out here to Santa Monica. It shows. Worth a stop if you're in the area.

Little Bean Coffee is hands down my newest (to me), favorite coffee shop! I've really been liking…read moremy weekend stops on the way to the beach lately. They have just a couple parking spots in the back/side so for me it's more of grab & go spot. However for locals, it's a really cute place to chill for awhile. They have a counter looking out the window and a few tables to drink at. Little Bean has a pachinko machine which brought back cute childhood memories playing at my Grandparent's house, awww nostalgia. The staff is always very friendly and works quickly to get their multi-ingredient drinks out. Now the drinks are something of splendor here! I am a cold brew-aholic and they have 3 base styles here - Red, Blue and Black - all delicious. Plus you can get a growler of these, currently at $28. They have tons of drinks mixed with these cold brews, tons of other drinks, always have some specials by the register and then their award winning Sapphire Cold Brew which comes in a 2 oz pour for $3 (you can add additional ounces if you fancy) in an adorable fancy tasting style glass. You'll feel fancy drinking this one - I sure did! But more importantly it's so darn good. I've tried some of their specialities as well - the rich, creaminess of the Midnight Mocha Latte is to die for! Little Bean is a friendly coffee shop that is not just aesthetically pleasing but an amazing way to start your day. Their drinks are the best in the city!

EVER SEE A "SANDWICH BOARD" SENDING YOU TO HEAVEN??? When…read morethey said Goodboybob they should'a said GREAT! This placed is tucked away for the cognoscenti only betrayed by a sidewalk announcement "telling you where to go!" But not THAT PLACE! This place has got some amazing coffee, great burritos, resymade sandwiches and overnight oats and VINO, Kombucha and any beverage you can want. Their baristas are "sur catégorie" and the food is so good you might dream about it. THIS IS THE ONLY RESTAURANT I ALWAYS TIP 20% or MORE! THIS PLACE IS MADE BY MINDFUL TEAM AND THEY ARE AWESOME!

Unfortunately, TikTok let me down once again. Came on a Thursday around lunchtime and there was…read morealready a line. The coffee shop is tucked inside a complex but no parking for coffee shop, only street parking, I had to drive around multiple times. I got the BBL, the summer special guava yuzu matcha, and a Gold Coast burrito. The BBL was good, but honestly not "wow, life-changing" like I was expecting. When I first got the matcha, the color didn't look quite right to me, and unfortunately it tasted pretty watered down. I mostly tasted guava and could barely taste the yuzu. The burrito was also pretty small for $16 and was a little too salty for my taste. I did like that they cook it right in front of you, though! Overall, this place would be a pass for me. Maybe I just caught them on an off day, but I wouldn't recommend it.

EDIT TODAY:…read more Management reached out to me the same day to reassure me they're putting a table back there, it's just going to be resized to better fit the new layout. This is the kind of awesome customer-first efforts that makes me such a fan of Primo Passo. I moved my review back up to 5 stars. Thank you so much, guys!! -- I've loved coming to Primo Passo for a long time. I actually drive from Culver City there because of the vibe, staff, coffee, and ability to chill, work, whatever. Even with no WiFi I've never complained because I just hotspot if I need to. But today I stopped by and one of their seating areas- namely the long table and seats near the front- was just totally gone. Replaced with more shelves of things to sell. The seating they've already had has been nice but limited. But now they've made if even harder to get a spot there. I mean, they could have put in the shelves and replaced the long table with a fairly large square table with seats (trust me, I scoped out the space for it) but so far nothing. Just shelves with more products and a big stand around space. With fewer and fewer 'third places' making people feel welcome, I'm disappointed in the less seating at Primo Passo meaning either I get even luckier grabbing a place to sit or I'm just SOL. The people and coffee are still lovely, but I won't be stopping by as often anymore. I was willing to do the drive before, but now I'll need to be in the area and not needing to bank on a place to sit and work or chill. I suppose the Starbucks across the street will do, but there are tons of those everywhere.

We stopped by to get afternoon coffee around 12:30, and it was pretty busy with only a few seats…read moreopen. There's a lot of seating and space though, so it's a good spot to either hang out or even work (no loud blaring music!). We got the cinnamon cardamom flavor in both a flat white and latte. It was a delicious homemade syrup that I would recommend trying! Then my friend got a Guatemalan pourover that was good as well. Sidenote - the bathroom is well maintained and clean for those of you it matters to.

This was great! My first time here, ordered the morning bun (got the last one, score!) and a…read moreLavender Vanilla Iced Latte! My boyfriend got the bagel sandwich also! Line moved fast, got my food and drink shortly after I ordered! There are high tables and smaller tables all around, I believe you can also sit at the bar! Super cute, very chill! Will definitely be coming by again! :)

Tl;dr - only come here if you want espresso or if you don't care much about the taste of a latte…read more I'm only giving a 3 because the espresso was good. Meanwhile the house made cinnamon latte was a complete waste of $7.50. I got whole milk, no additions or changes. And it still just tasted like coffee-flavored milk (not even the better kind of milk) with a sprinkle of cinnamon. I wish I had tasted it in the store before I left because I would have been looking up their drink re-make policy.

Cute coffee place with great service. Josh and Michelle are super friendly and run a solid…read moreestablishment. I ordered online (Grubhub sucks, lesson learnt) - a pour over and a chai latte. When I arrived, it took a while to find the place. I asked about the pour over only to realize that the PO wasn't my favorite. Not a big deal, it had a good nose. Josh immediately offered to re-do with his favorite, a Costa Rican blend at no charge. It was a good decision to let him swap. The pour over was perfect with a great nose and rich, developed flavors, and a slightly sour aftertaste that I like from anaerobic coffee beans. They use v60 for their pour overs and don't rush the process. The coffee selection rotates and you can tell they curate well. They typically buy blends from Lightwave coffee, a specialty local LA roaster. Would love it if they could source some single origins. The chai latte on the other hand wasn't our favorite. It lacked a punch and was a little sweet (probably the non-dairy milk since the brew is technically supposed to be unsweetened). We also picked up a protein salad that looked fresh. Location: This shop can be hard to find, it's at the back of a commercial office building, and requires a short walk to locate the garden area. Parking on street is metered. Tip: Park in the garage, and get 3 hours free validation.

Its a nice cafe with friendly staff! I got an iced pumpkin spice latte with pistachio milk - their…read morecoffee has a milder flavor, and overall it wasnt too sweet! Remember to park at the colorado center parking garage- they validate you for 3 hours. I can see myself hanging out with friends and getting some work done, the surrounding park/patio area is quite nice too.

Dragon Alley Coffee Shop is a new coffee shop in Santa Monica…read more I love the fantasy theme of the shop. It is inspired by dragons and wizards, so cool! They only have two tables but I was able to find one available. I was indecisive because everything in the menu looks tempting. We asked the barista for recommendations. She was so friendly and sweet. She recommended the following drinks: - Iced Wizard Cinammon Oath Latte ( Horchata latte) 5/5 - Iced caramel Challice Latte (Caramel Iced Latte) 5/5 The drinks were rich and had well flavor balanced. They were excellent! The price was reasonable and fair enough to the good quality of the drinks. We also got cheese Danish. The danish itself was buttery, flaky and sweet with rich with creamy, rich cheesy center. It is a cute spot offering great drinks and fantasy theme.

The drink was delicious - I got the seasonal apple pie latte and the barista was kind enough to add…read morecold foam and even made it apple flavored. Really delightful service and coffee. I love a whimsical theme and ambience, fantasy stuff and a cozy feel, all of which the place should have had based on the whole conceit... Unfortunately, the whole experience is so drenched in AI slop, any actual human whimsy that inspired this place has been completely undermined. The AI logo is bad enough, but don't sell merchandise with it. The mission statement on the wall, even the website, is written so badly and so obviously with ChatGPT and no human editing, reading it makes me feel like the owner doesn't actually care at all about the business, the mission, or the whole "magical dragon" vibe beyond it being an easy gimmick to prompt. It's really sad because it seems like the kind of place that should be full of human creative, but the whole atmosphere (and website) comes off completely soulless. If the owner is reading this and really wants to foster a creative, unique coffee shop, please don't sell AI slop merch and consider hiring some human artists. Write your "about me" story on your website yourself. Get a friend to read it over for typos. Make it sound like you, and it might actually inspire people and have them believe in your coffee shop and want to visit it. I'd like to come back. Hopefully, the owner will take the feedback of customers to heart and make this a more welcoming and human place soon.