Cognoscenti Coffee

I drove here solely to try Proof Bakery’s croissants, because I am a croissant fanatic. Coming from a purist, the chocolate croissant was the best I’ve had in Los Angeles — better than Bouchon in Beverly Hills. I’m so glad Cognoscenti carries them!
It’s a small, modern craft coffee shop on Washington Boulevard. Street parking in this area has surprisingly never been too hard to find.

Thanks for saving me the drive to Proof! Amazing flaky airy croissant :)
Hot latte was smooth, bold flavor with creamy foam. I think it was $ 4.50. Only one size which was a bit small for me — but I perhaps drink (excessively) more coffee than the average person.
Very hip but small space. There are seating outside on the patio and also on the front sidewalk.

Good coffee it’s served in a carafe so I’m not sure of the freshness but I know they do pour over as well. The coffee selection was good and there are plenty of other options for the sweeter tooth person. The area to sit is nice but don’t expect to stay long if you are using a computer as they do not have outlets to charge your device. The people are really nice so it’s a great spot!

Coffees, pastries and some tea, this place is not bad for coffee. The lattes tend to be a little strong for me, but most people like it that way.

Stopped by this afternoon but couldn’t stay because the place is very small and there was no table available for our party of 3.
Based on other reviews, it sounds like they have great coffee. But, unfortunately, we didn’t get to try it.
I guess it’s the type of place where you get drinks to go, not exactly the best place for working.

Been here twice. I keep hoping the service will be more friendly, but it’s still same., indifferent with a touch of annoyance. Frankly, they are more friendly at starbucks, a chain I avoid. Maybe it’s too hipster? Ok drinks. High priced.

Met up with my sis here, on a weekday afternoon.
Found free street parking, a block away (there were only a few spots in front, but plenty on the residential side streets).
When we stepped inside, all the seats were already taken; however, there was one table outside.
Barista was friendly and we ordered a couple of cappuccinos. The cappuccinos were on point.
We sat outside at the table in front on a beautiful day. Great little break midday before heading back to work.

This place has *great* coffee. It has great tea. They have sheep milk chocolate, which if you haven’t tried it before, is a fascinating textural and flavor experience. It is a good place to meet up with someone and chat. There are awesome art galleries nearby.
It’s not super friendly, though. This might be the southern chick coming out in me, but there’s something about a warm, friendly, welcoming atmosphere that keeps me coming back for more. This place felt kind of like a library. Perfect if you want to study, I reckon.
Also, more gluten-​free snack options would be very, very rad (as long as there’s a market for it).

Super cute hipster coffee spot in Culver, yay! I stopped by the store and ordered a delicious hipster coffee from one of their friendly hipster baristas and sat in one of their hipster mid century modern chairs.
Seriously though… great service and great coffee, all a good coffee shop really needs.

Reaaaally quiet. Probably cuz it’s located in a random place — but also, solid coffee! I’ve also had their affogado which was probably one of the best in LA…(not SD hehe) but I think this location is good especially if your office /​workplace is in Culver. the service is super friendly.
They also have their own beans, and others that they use are all good quality. Really interesting chocolate bars here too by the way…
Plenty of seats here, inside and out. good place to get work done. Street parking available outside. Just don’t expect this place to have a big sign or anything, I guess a lot of the reviews here says people couldn’t find it — the building is gray:)

Good quality coffee shop located in the arts district of Culver. The shop itself is pretty tiny — I was meeting someone here and was surprised to find it packed on a Thursday afternoon. Love the coffee and the cute ambiance. They also have a bunch of snacks and other fancy hipster things, but this is definitely a quick meeting place rather than a bring-​your-​laptop kind of place. Either way, cute discovery in Culver!

Reason for visiting: I had this place bookmarked for months and haven’t explored any new coffee shops outside of the San Gabriel Valley recently.
Coffee beans: Most of their coffee beans are outsourced from Kuma (Seatle), Ritual (San Francisco), and Heart (Portland). Cognoscenti also brews their own beans also.
Location/​Parking: It’s hard to find this place because there is no signage. I guess look for a brown looking building along Washington Blvd. Parking might be a issue, but you can always find parking in the residential area.
Ambiance/​Décor: A very small crampy intimate coffee shop with minimal furnishings. Basically bar seats towards the front of the coffee shop and a long communal table. They also have a outdoor patio, but doesn’t have many seats.
Service: The baristas were great! They were very friendly and knowledgeable about their craft. They weren’t pretentious and actually steered me to another coffee shop (Bar 9) not to far from there.
Drink: My cold brew was great! They brew their coffee beans for 24 hours and had this floral, bright, and refreshing taste to it.
Will be one of my stops for coffee when I’m in Culver City!

Cute spot but they need some signage because it took me foreverrrr to locate this place. I finally noticed a couple walking into this random grey building and realized that’s where it was.
I love coffee, especially on the weekends, but I was on my way out for the night and didn’t want to crash later. I ended up with their loose leaf oolong tea, which was properly steeped (love it!) I got a good three cups out of it and even had to ask for a to-​go cup to take the rest with me.
I’ve seen this chain around so I’m glad I finally got to try it. I would return to one of their locations.

Chill, small coffee shop.
The workers are down to earth.
Coffee and teas are always consistently good.
Love coming here to meet up with a friend or just study/​get work done.

This is my favorite coffee house in Culver City. I had a perfect cappuccino here. Strong, but not bitter, slightly sweet. They use beans from quality roasters like Ritual and Heart, and the baristas are very skilled. Service is friendly too.
The café itself is very small with limited seating, but there are a couple of tables outside too. Good luck finding parking. We had to park two blocks away on a residential street, but during the day, the area is not too seedy. The espresso is worth it.

Excellent place for coffee in Culver City.
It’s my favorite whenever I find myself in the area and needing a pick me up or need to grab a bag of craft coffee beans to bring home.
If you like modern design or architecture, you will appreciate this place. They always carry top notch roaster from California and outside the state including a Canadian roaster. Last visit a picked up a bag from Commonwealth from Denver. Today, I picked up Ritual beans from San Francisco.
Highly recommended!

Been wanting to check out Cognoscenti for a while but never had a chance. It’s been highly rated as one of the better coffee shop in LA.
CORTADO:
— my go-​to drink at any coffee shop
— the espresso was pulled short, resulting in an acidic taste
— did not enjoy my drink as the acidity was a bite too strong for my taste
SERVICE:
— drinks were made to order
— fast service
ENVIRONMENT:
— inside and outside seating available
— inside seating is a communal table and some along the window
— outside patio seating for slightly larger groups (2 – 3 people)
Overall, was not impressed by Cog. Not likely to come back especially since it’s quite far from where I live and nothing notable for me to come back. The interior design is simple and modern. If there are many people in-​line to place an order, it may get crowded, as the set-​up does not allow a good flow.

Oh mannnnn I think I found my ultimate favorite iced coffee here! It is really too bad that Culver City is so far away from me, or else I would come here a lot. The iced latte is the right amount of creaminess and dare I say, NOT watery? I have been disappointed so many times by how watery the iced coffee is at other places. It had a hint of bitterness but not too much, which I appreciated. My friend ordered a mint flavored hot tea and although I didn’t taste it, it definitely smelled delicious.
The space and small was very well decorated (minimalist kind of style). Came here on a Sunday around closing time (5pm) and it was not crowded at all. I didn’t see much food options except for a few croissant type of pastries.
There was plenty of street parking, but be sure to read the signs.

Drink review only
Take to-​go, dog friendly, and study alone kind of joint.
Quiet neighborhood, small place but enough to study if you are coming here yourself. There is a long table, side bar table and out door seating available, but I wouldn’t recommend studying here with a group.
street park but watch out for the hours and residential signs
recommend affogato (espresso over scoop of vanilla bean ice cream)\
serves breakfast/​lunch and bakery
Will check out their food section when in the area again.

Specialty coffee can be found all over Culver City, ranging from the entry-​level Conservatory to the high-​end and top tier roaster Bar Nine. Cognoscenti’s repertoire is somewhere in between but closer to Bar Nine standards. Cognoscenti does not roast beans but they are experts in sourcing seasonal beans roasted by top-​tier places such as Phil & Sebastian, Kuma, Ritual, Parlor, Bows and Arrows, Ritual, Commonwealth, etc.
Attention to detail is Cognoscenti’s greatest strength. They used Bows and Arrows’ St. 66 espresso blend during my last two weekend visits which I enjoyed. It started out tasting like light caramel, then a little earthy, and finished with a subtle sweet-​nut note. The espresso sits really well with creamy and sweet Straus milk. Cognoscenti baristas know how to present their product, the foam quality was top notch and the latte art has been consistently precise.
One drawback to Cognoscenti is that the coffee shop is very compact with high turnover in the seating, so it didn’t feel like an ideal place to stay longer than an hour although the WIFI is fast. There were a couple 4 seat communal round tables and several chairs along the wall for customers looking for the espresso-​shot-​and-​dash experience or a quickie cortado while checking email, which is great for weekday mornings.
Cognoscenti is still one of my favorite places to pick up espresso when I’m in the area. It’s my to-​go place for an excellent cup without having to spend $ 5 at Bar Nine.