Alfred Coffee & Kitchen

Short review: Good coffee, treats. Poor service. Busy.
Long review: Alfred’s has good, gourmet coffee and teas. I really like their almond milk lattes and cappuccinos and especially the matcha tea with almond milk.
BUT their service is not accurate nor very chummy. They don’t take names or label drinks. Other customers constantly take our drinks when we order and the baristas get confused with who ordered what and which drinks they just made.
I always tip upfront when I pay and they still mess up my order or forget me entirely. I know that’s the nature of their vibe, the busy/​bustling/​metropolitan/​hip bar, but it frustrates me.

Good tea, coffee and treats… Typical LA place to stop by if you are into that kind of stuff. Good luck finding parking ;)
— but first coffee!

I love going to Melrose and this has definitely become a place I will stop by every time I’m there. I’ve been to just the coffee location in silver lake but last time I went to the Melrose location and I absolutely loved it. I loved that it was way bigger and the restaurant part in the back is very cute and convenient too.

Okay so Alfred Coffee on Melrose Place literally has the nastiest looking bathroom that I have ever been to since I have lived in West Hollywood. This is just ridiculous. I went here a few weeks ago and it was was also dirty but I forgot to take a pic. I could not help but to remember this time as it was so dirty I did not even use it, I left and just went right back home. I already do not usually drink the coffee here unless I am desperate due to it being overpriced and not that good. This has 100% assured that I will never even be stepping one more foot in this location EVER AGAIN.
It is not even like it is dirty from one person using it. It looks like it hasn’t been cleaned in months this is just flat out DISGUSTING and all of the Alfred employees should be ASHAMED of themselves for letting it sit like this. GROSS GROSS GROSS.
Update: Found yet another reason I hate this place. Instead of just acknowledging the DIRTY FLOOR, Ashlee the «customer service» girl (probably just a barista) decides to insult & demean me by calling me negative. You won’t go far in life with this attitude at all. THE PROOF IS IN THE PICTURES!

Best. Coffee. Ever.
I found this gem by looking up a coffee place while I was in the area.
It’s quite picturesque!!! It’s a quaint spot that is definitely Instagram worthy. I usually get a soy vanilla latte & it never disappoints. Last week I stopped by and got an iced caramel coffee. SO SO GOOD. I should’ve gotten a bigger size lol. It’s definitely my go-​to coffee stop!
The only thing that kind of sucks is parking, since it’s on the street. The good thing is that it’s not a busy street, so you can ways find a spot once in a while :-)

I mean… You really can’t get more LA than this. It’s filled with beautiful people drinking and eating beautiful things in an incredibly cool building, with great tables outside for probably some of the best people watching in the city. The street was closed for the Sunday farmer’s market, but a model and her much older boyfriend drove right past the cones to park their vintage thunderbird right out front. Anyway.
They have Stumptown coffee, Sqirl jams, Pressed Juicery juices, and a variety of baked goods but it’s not a full service restaurant or anything. There is a cool split-​level setup going on, but can get a bit stuffy downstairs. They were playing Backstreet Boys and The Spice Girls the other day, I suppose ironically, but it was great. If parking wasn’t so annoying I’d pop in more often. Their coffee sleeves and neon signs– «but first-​coffee.» have made them an Instagram fave.

This little place is packed with so much character. The designs, illustrations, and quotes on the wall are beautifully done. Furniture and colors match the hipster, chill atmosphere. You walk in and walk down to where the baristas are making different delicious drinks. Stumptown coffee! I found out about this place because their waffle cup espresso shot was listed under a ’50 Things to Try in LA’ list and of course, it was super photo-​worthy! We ordered one of those espresso shots and then took advantage of the Unilocal check-​in to get another regular coffee. Much needed caffeine for our day trip hunting down good eats through LA!
Waffle cup was super cute with the inside completely covered in chocolate so you got just a little bit of sweetness. Espresso shot was super strong and rich. Even though I am quite clueless about coffee, I still found both the espresso shot and the regular coffee very enjoyable. Super cool place to hang out and grab some coffee!

This is not your average run of the mill coffee shop. They seem to do everything right, from their coffee to the atmosphere, Alfred made a great impact for me and my coffee-​lover friend. This cute little café on Melrose has a monochromatic aesthetic with touches of a rustic vibe, very «hipster» nonetheless. This place is definitely insta worthy, and notably so. They use Stumptown Coffee which is one of my favorite roasted coffee. They serve items from sandwiches to baked goods, and even have ‘Pressed Juicery’ and ‘Juice Served Here’ drink options if you care for something healthy and non-​caffeinated. The place starts you off on the ground floor, where the main seating is arranged, and you walk in to go down the stairs to their lower level where drinks and other items are sold. (the also have a side store ‘Compartes’ that sell chocolate bars if that is to your liking.
I ordered a regular iced latte. It was not as strong as I originally wanted, but for the time being it was refreshing and enough to keep me upbeat. My friend ordered a macchiato, which she agreed that they did it well. Keep in mind that this is not Starbucks and a macchiato is not served in a regular cup with whip cream on top, it is in a smaller shot-​like cup.
The service and the workers are really quick and really friendly. They offer to help you out, and while the menu is simple, they can offer/​recommend items for first timers. The order was quick, and the service was quicker (& yes I know an iced latte and a macchiato are not difficult drinks to make).
The only slight downfall to this place is the parking. Like most places they do not have their own parking lot, so your only two choices are valet (which there is probably 3 different ones on that street, and it is around $ 5 – 6), or a meter parking on the street. You cannot really park on the residential part of the block, so metere parking is your safest bet.
Also, I recommend to check into Unilocal as they have a promotion!!! I’ll definitely come back here another time. and maybe try out their chocolate dipped waffle cone cups.

I saw this place a lot on Instagram, and that’s what drove me here. I came on Sunday morning (they have farmers market). So parking was a bit harder to find. For a café it’s a decent size. Most are very small. But they have indoor seating and outdoor seating, upstairs and downstairs. I was in a bit of a rush so I didn’t enjoy is as much. Since I was in a rush the line was a bit annoying, about a 15 min wait. The beverages come out very quickly though. I don’t know if they offer food, I didn’t have the opportunity to explore as much as I wanted to. I must come back and enjoy, but my overall experience was great. I really really loved this place. You can take awesome pics here too. Hope you enjoy.

[+1] Oooooooooooo, such luxurious coffee, much wow. The smell of the roasted beans reaching your nostrils as you enter the cozy room is so welcoming. Mmm. Let me just close my eyes and imagine I’m there again…
[+1] So I came here… for the little coffee cone dipped in chocolate with extra hot machiatto poured into it. The dooder told us we had to drink it fast… but there is no such thing as drinking coffee fast! Coffee is for savoring! And savor I did! Even when the cone became a little soft. It never burned my hand though. And wow! The combo of delicious coffee and warm melted chocolate. Excuse me while I wipe the drool from my mouth!
[+1] Also, free wifi is a plus here. We probably spent way too much time here drinking coffee. Didn’t even try their kitchen stuffs. The coffee was just that good. So good I didn’t even eat anything… hahah. Wow Steph… Guess there’s a first for everything.
[+1] They also get a plus one for having Stumptown coffee! Didn’t even have to go to the Stumptown café to get it. One stop for the yums!
[-1] The only negative was that it was quite a sweltering day and there was no AC to be found. It was quite quite hot upstairs. Luckily we sat in the underground area where you order and it was next to the fridges. What a save! Otherwise just be aware.
[+1] I also really heart the cute décor and quotes. They understand our coffee love! *muah!*

Overrated and overhyped. I came here to do some work while I was visiting LA since I had heard it was a good coffeeshop and it also has free WiFi! I was super hungry so I got a cold brew + one of their packaged wraps.
The coffee was good! I do love Stumptown so this wasn’t a surprise: P Coming to the food: it was overpriced and the food was not good at all… it tasted super MEH and the chicken to green ratio was like 1:3. It also came on a bed of «salad» that was the same type of greens that were in the wrap so I got sick of it really quickly.
I ended up getting a banana nut muffin before I left because I was still hungry and that was decent, a little too sweet though and pretty small for the price. I wouldn’t come back because parking was a hassle, the food was meh, and there were flies EVERYWHERE! This review would probably be 3 or 4 stars if it was just for the coffee shop aspect but they do call themselves «& kitchen» so… sorry for being a bit harsh: X

I have nothing to say but great things about Alfred Coffee — particularly about their awesome staff for gracefully cleaning up the mess a clumsy oaf like me made when I knocked over my free hot coffee ( Unilocal check in).
They then proceeded to offer a large new one to me almost instantly — that’s awesome customer service, folks!
But despite that incident, I love the cozy (and literally almost «checkered» underground) environs of Alfred Coffee. I came here specifically for the Alfred Cone, which is shot glass sized waffle cup with hot caramel macchiato inside it. I think what I love most about this small powerhouse of a drink is the chocolate that lines up the sipping part of the waffle cup — it creates a nice aftertaste. You’re paying more than a pretty penny for this drink as the waffle cup and macchiato are priced separately, but I found it to be highly satisfying and well worth the cost as an occasional experience.
Although I don’t travel to Melrose often, I know if I were in the area again I would DEFINITELY make another visit to Alfred Coffee.

Very cute coffee shop on Melrose. The interior is decorated very nicely with the cute wallpapers, coffee sleeves and decorations.
Parking is a bit hard to find, try to find meter parking if possible.
There is a refrigerator with Pressed Juicery, Juice Served Here, some food items and some other snacks as well. They also have a freezer section with some pints of ice cream.
They sell some snacks, candies, and some other merchandise as well such a thermos and some other cups, ect.
I ordered an iced dirty chai. It was actually a really good chai! It had a good balance of milk, spice and coffee. It was on the stronger side of a chai, but very delicious!

I think this place is hyped, location is super cute and very artsy.
Based on the coffee and tea we ordered it was nothing out of the ordinary. Benefit is that the tea and cold brew were from draft/​tap which was different from being poured out of a bottle. I ordered a White Coconut tea, it was on the lighter side but you tasted coconut. Overall, it’s average nothing but the ambiance stood out to me.

Alfred Coffee & Kitchen is one of those shops you have to visit because for a while they were doing something no shop had been doing — I say for a while because I’ve seen a few pretenders trying to capitalize on the same idea. And that is, their espresso cone, which is simply a small chocolate lined cone filled with espresso. The hot espresso warms some of the chocolate lining, and yup you guessed it, you’ll get to taste a hint of chocolate. Then when you’re all done sipping, you’ve got a chocolatey espresso cone to munch on.
If there’s any reason you should visit, it should be to try that. That, and the cool Instagram pictures you can show off to your friends that document your visit to one of the trendiest coffee shops on the West Side.
This location is perfect, just slightly off of Melrose, so it’s a little calm. It is obviously roomier than the alley location, and seems to offer more. I just felt the staff was a lot more chill and down to earth at the alley location.
Out of all the coffee shops in LA there’s a select few that are worth a visit. This happens to be one of them.

There is such a long line for this place. I love the décor of this place and it is very modern but to me, I feel like coffee is just coffee. My friend loves this place so I decided to get some coffee with her. I ordered a vanilla iced latte which I feel tastes like any other vanilla latte. Maybe its because I don’t drink enough coffee to know a difference but I feel like I could get the same thing at starbucks. I probably won’t come back here though.
Note:
–Check in on Unilocal for a free cup of coffee

But first, coffee is their motto.
Another hipster coffee joint in Melrose, honestly, I think they’re just like any coffee shop. However, their waffle cone shot was a nice addition to the menu but pricey for what it is. The line is long, but moves quite fast!
Love the décor though! Seating both top and bottom floors and parking is a serious drag in Melrose (no surprise).

H I P S T E R
Came on a Thursday and there was a line. I got a vanilla iced coffee $ 5.50. It was good, but kind of too sweet. If I was in the area I might stop by, but definitely not wait in line for it.

We came here on a Saturday afternoon to grab some coffee.
Long story short this place straight up sucked. The Lattes we had were depressing, the brownie we had was a vomit inducing joke (it was literally a piece of dry, stale, chocolate bread), the parking situation is an absolute nightmare and the space at Alfred is what I would imagine solitary confinement to be like (ok I don’t know what that’s really like but just understand that this place is not spacious in the least bit and your best bet would be to grab coffee to go, but why do that if you can get better coffee elsewhere?)
We were able to secure a cramped space on the tiny outdoor patio. It was a nice sunny day but I couldn’t enjoy it because I was attempting to ingest the worst Caramel Latte I’ve ever had in my life. It was virtually flavorless, had way too much milk and the caramel didn’t taste like caramel.
I don’t understand why this place got decent reviews. Maybe they should start brewing their own Coffee instead of peddling Stumptown and watering it down with foolishness? Or maybe they should just shutter the place altogether. Hell I don’t care, I’m never coming back here and I don’t recommend that you do either.
*UPDATE IN RESPONSE TO MANAGER’S COMMENTS*
A few things were publicly brought to my attention regarding my original review of Alfred by their General Manager Ashley Lawson, so I figured I’d address them in the same manner.
First I’d like to say thank you to Ashley for taking the time to reply to my review, it shows that you care about customer satisfaction.
Ashley–
I am aware that Stumptown is one of the finest roasters of coffee beans in the United States. As a matter of fact, I have visited and written a review for their official location Downtown in the Arts District. Furthermore I had one of their latte’s with the same beans that Alfred brews, and the Coffee at Stumptown was flat out better than what I experienced at Alfred last week. So maybe an adjustment of brewing temperatures, checking your machines for mineral build up or something along those lines would help Alfred in achieving more desirable results. I’ve had Stumptown coffee at other coffee shops and they didn’t seem to have a hard time making a good cup of coffee. Said shop’s coffee tasted significantly better than what I was served at Alfred.
As for the Gluten Free brownie, I am very familiar with Gluten free foods, thank you! I am also aware that they generally don’t taste as awful as the brownie that I had at Alfred! I am familiar with the flavor of black beans in GF foods. So my dissatisfaction with the brownie had absolutely nothing to do with any unfamiliarity with any ingredients or lack thereof. I think a further examination of your recipe would be a more constructive exercise instead of questioning a customer’s familiarity with GF foods. I found your suggestion to be presumptive and mildly insulting.
I appreciate that you kindly extended the offer to give Alfred another try, and maybe at some point in the future I will take you up on that offer.
Thank you for your time.
Best,
Philip

So disappointed. I’ve been wanting to try the waffle cone espresso shot for about 6 months now. Finally went on Saturday morning…
Some things you should know:
1. It’s not on the posted menu so you’ll have to ask for it.
2. It’s actually called the «Alfred cone».
3. They don’t roast their own coffee & serve Stumptown what appears to be exclusively.
4. The waffle cone sucked! I was expecting a fresh tasting sugary waffle cup. Instead i got what tasted like a mass produced cup of air (also known as a cake cone).
So let’s recap… stale tasting cake cone filled with coffee that they don’t roast themselves.
It wasn’t terrible by any means but i was expecting more.
Ambience & décor is cute but this location is a bit stuffy.