Caffé bene

love the ambiance and the place, but extremely cold and bad wifi. by the way, this place must be closed. i went there to kill some time for a meeting yesterday after checking their hours online. it was friday 11:30am and closed completely. was not able to find any information about that anywhere online or offline…

Never coming back. The place is huge but they have 4 tables with access to outlets. And after staring at the menu for 5 minutes trying to find something to eat that isn’t cake, waffles, or ice cream, I decide to order a sandwich it turns out their kitchen is under renovation and they don’t have any food available. Maybe a sign would have been nice?
They also don’t have paper menus so everyone is forced to cluster around the big menu behind the register while deciding what to order which creates that awkward «are you in line?» dance.
Clearly a place not designed or managed with the customer in mind.

worst wifi I ever had in a café.
They did not give parking validation at all. You have to find a street parking or spend money in other place.
They also did not serve the food and drink for your table. You have to pick up by yourself after seated.
Big place but only a few outlets. Don’t think this place is good for laptop users.

Really love this café. The parking can really be a mess, since it’s located in MaDang plaza, but it’s worth it to me. The café always has space, and it always has great food and drinks. Music is great too. It’s an awesome place to come with friends, or even just to grab a cup of coffee and study.

Came here on a Thursday afternoon looking for a little pick me up. The café wasn’t too busy but I could see it filling up during the weekends because it’s a nice hang out spot to grab dessert, study, or play board games with friends. There’s lot of tables — indoor and outdoor.
Because it was my first time here, I wanted to try something different from any other coffee shop and decided to get a maple macchiatto. I don’t know if it was the barista or this is how the drink was supposed to taste but it came out disgustingly sweet. I had to dilute it with water before it was drinkable. Waiting for the ice to melt wasn’t enough. After diluting half of my coffee, the maple taste was quite nice. It’s kind of sad that I had to do that though.
Tip: Flavored coffees are overly sweet here so ask for it to be less sweet!

Was looking for some afternoon bite so I tried this place. I really didn’t look hard enough on the menu since I was really hungry so I went for a waffle with gelato. The waffle itself is good, nothing special about it and the gelato was creamy and I can taste the matcha well. Would love to come back some time and try some more on their menu!

As with Tom n Tom, drinks are generally below quality (coffee, americano, lattes). I think you are paying to hangout in an asian environment for a cheap price compare to the more expensive korean cafes with wait service (which are usually 7 – 8 bucks a drink after tax and tip).
Don’t think they validate parking. Wifi is generally terrible.

Large and small tables… some with outlets along the walls are perfect for an alternative workstation. They don’t seem to stick to the closing time and choose to close whenever they feel like it. Usually around 1hr to set time. Just be sure if you are coming there to work a few hours before close you may only have 30 mins to 1 hr to work. Lattes are on the pricer side, but I ordered 1 scoop of ice cream. $ 4 and change. $ 4?! It was so tiny I inhaled it with one bite. I feel like this place has a chance to be great again (sounds like Donald Trump) but it’s slightly going downhill. I hope they pay attention to customer concerns/​complaints. Otherwise it has a lot of potential.

Mmh, Café Benne, what can I say about you and not betray my Korean Drama loving heart?
I have to admit, walked in here after seeing a Korean drama advertising this place. The characters practically lived in this café so I, naturally thought it must be ‘heaven on earth’ oh how wrong I was. Sure, we don’t live in Korea, so maybe the coffee brewed there is different. Or maybe they’re the sponsors so the actors have to act like they love it. Whatever, let’s move on to the review shall we, before I ramble more about my lonely kdrama obsession. party of one please?
The first time I visited this location, was after a stop at Sul and Beans. It was dark, around 10:30pm on a weekend. Wasn’t too crowded surprisingly, had a very hipster, artsy vibe to it. Plenty of space, tables and chairs spread out so you weren’t knocking into your neighbor every time you stood up, etc.
Walked up to the main counter and ordered your typical boring iced coffee. What can I say, I live life so far from the edge. Yolo is for losers. Anyway, took a while for my order. There was maybe, two customers in front of me, but it shouldn’t have taken 15 mins to get my coffee. Whatever. They also serve brick toast and patbing here as well I believe. Didn’t get a full look at the menu, but desserts also included.
Alas! I finally received my drink and it was ok. Nothing too special, nothing that blew me away. One thing that bothers me about Korean coffee shops, is that they don’t carry half and half. Like, is that a thing over there? Do they prefer to drink it completely black?
Honestly, I took two maybe three full sips, then threw it away. I’d probably come back just to see what other items they offer, but from the vast array of coffee shops available in this area, I’d rather give a new place a try
This is Anna, signing off

This tiny cup was 5 dollars! Boba is a dollar charge and my friend and I split a piece chocolate cake that was small for 6.50 $ We settled because it looked really good and might as well because we’re in the area but it was so plain! It isnt anything special and it is so overpriced as long as every other item in this shop. 2 starts because they have wifi and the place is adorable but besides that, pass.

You gotta be kidding me.
My friend and I went in and I ordered a drink and the cashier said (after she swipes my card): «Are you going to stay? Because if you are gonna take a table, then each person needs to order a drink.»
I said: «She already got a drink from elsewhere so I don’t think she wants to have two drinks. We will just sit outside.»
Cashier said: «No, you have to each order a drink to stay.»
I mean, there were many many empty seats because it was not a busy time. This place is a representation of horrible customer service.
Plus, although it is a coffee place, the coffee is watered down and not good at all. Waste of money.

This place is a good place to study and to excellence service! There’s a lot of places to sit down, they have free wifi (the code is it’s usually printed in the receipt). There’s many options to pick from.
The bad part is that their parking could be a troublesome

BEST customer service, reaallllly nice! The café has no choice but to be more pricey than other café because look how biiggggg the café is. shouldn’t be really complaining about that.
Green Tea Latte and Misugaru Latte are one of my favorite drinks!
Check it out!

The ambiance of this place is really nice. It’s not too loud and I would say it’s pretty clean. But these prices are outrages. And you have to order something even if you’re here with a friend. My friend ordered something and I didn’t feel like buying anything but because of the new policy I had to. I got a small chai tea latte with soymilk and it was $ 5.17. And to top it off they gave it to me hot when I asked for it cold so instead of making a new one the lady got the same latte but she just got some ice and put it in a different cup. Because of this I won’t be coming again.

Four stars for two reasons: (1) excellent customer service every time; and (2) perfect environment for working on week nights.

Huge location with excellent service!
Tons of seating and easy parking in the lot next door.
Selection is endless, so many things worth coming back to try.
I had some of the gelato (strawberry cheesecake I believe) and it was not so great, pass on that next time.
Also a blended mocha to go which was fantastic, great quality and made perfectly.
Prices are pretty high, but as good as it was, I would say worth it.
One of my favorite Asian café chains, worth checking out!

This location was a typical caffe bene setting. Nothing exceptional or nothing horrible. The the lighting was a bit awkward: bright in the center and very dim at the side tables.
Misugaru cranberry almond frappé:
Not bad. More Misugaru and almond flavor than cranberry.
Strawberry feast smoothie:
Just okay. A bit tarty, but somewhat refreshing.
Note: This location doesn’t validate for Madang plaza
Nonetheless, not bad for a simple hang out sess

Out of the Korean chain cafes, Caffè bene is my least favorite. Having said that, I ordered the strawberry feast smoothie and it was okay. It’s tart and pretty sweet. My friend got the misugaru cranberry almond frappé and that was pretty good.
Parking near here can be troublesome and they don’t validate… I might go back here if I need a spacious place to study but otherwise I prefer other cafes.

I got the shaved ice here! It was so yummy n loved the interior. It is sorta hipster place. I think I heard that some Korean celeb owns the place.

I love the décor on this café. It makes you feel like you are in a private library. I haven’t tasted most of their drinks but loved the ones that I have like their bubble milk teas. I would have given it 5 stars if only they have more outlets to plug your laptop as I usually go to cafes to study. I also like that they have valet parking at night for a minimal fee. :)

I love the décor on this café. It makes you feel like you are in a private library. I haven’t tasted most of their drinks but loved the ones that I have like their bubble milk teas. I would have given it 5 stars if only they have more outlets to plug your laptop as I usually go to cafes to study. I also like that they have valet parking at night for a minimal fee. :)
¹⁄₁₀₀ of Unilocal 100 Challenge

Not impressed. Came here on a Saturday night with some friends. I’ve never been, but I’ve always heard about the café chain from other friends. One of my friends I was with had only been to one in China so we decided to check it out here.
Wanted to try out their bingsu, but they were ‘sold out’ of the option with everything on it (which honestly how can you be sold out of it when the ingredients for it can be found in the 3 other available options –_​-​). Opted for the red bean bingsu instead. The ice wasn’t as fine as I was expecting, and for $ 11 I felt ripped off. I’ve paid more for worse and paid less for better. Honestly when it came out it looked nothing like the advertised photo, I originally thought I got the wrong order. It wasn’t anything special. They skimped on the mochi and the only redeeming quality was the ice cream. Would I buy it again, no. Would I come back here again, probably not for the food or drinks. 2 stars for the café atmosphere and the décor.

I would not go to this location ever again. I went and the staff took around 5 minutes to address me even though I had been standing at the register waiting. I finally ordered a soy chai latte and this took almost 10 minutes to come out. I could hear the staff joking around and lounging about and it created an unpleasant atmosphere. When the latte finally came out, it was ¾ foam and ¼ drink. It was quite unpleasant and the foam itself was dense. The location also did not have spoons and simply told me that spoons were reserved for food when I asked for one at the counter. Overall, the staff was quite rude and the food not good. I would not go to this location again.

Nasty wifi, not a place to work on your laptop. Staff were putting on a face and have no idea what’s chai. Do not serve pasta or any mains after 8? Menu was misleading. The Kpop music were slightly disturbing. Never returning again.

Waited for valet for more than 5 minutes. I drove around the block like 10 times because the valet didn’t show. I would have just left if I could have.
Then: ordering something took forever because there was a person ordering like 10 drinks and the staff didn’t bother to open up a second register. I literally stood there without anyone paying attention to me for about 10 minutes.
Afterwards: my caramel macchiato and waffle were not good: coffee was too bitter and waffle too hard, it was more like a cookie. Caffe Bene Western has definitely lost my business.

Be careful to see what time you go in. They stop desserts at 9pm… Even though I’m not sure why they would as people still eat desserts late lol. The iced coffee is definitely for Korean palettes as it is pretty weak (for Americans, it tastes great to me!). The iced coffee is also pretty pricey for just a plain iced coffee… It being $ 2.09 for the small, seems like a bit much for watered down coffee. But I’m also from Dallas, Texas so our prices are different from Los Angeles. The Cream Cheese Waffle is pretty good, I really wanted to try the Caramel Banana but they were out. They were actually out of a lot of items but still had them out on display which make it kind of misleading. The area is clean and visually appealing. I could definitely see this as a place to bring your laptop and study. The staff members are pretty friendly, and surprisingly all male (maybe it’s just a coincident?). Overall, pretty good experience.

I’ve often stopped by the other location along Wilshire Blvd to study and caffeine up. Now I found myself in another part of K-​Town, and after downing a bowl of phở about a block away, I was in dire need of some caffeine.
A while back I came walking around this area, and spotted this Caffe Bene location, but did not stop by to check it out. This time around, I bought a mocha latte here. The mocha was as good as the other location make it, and the staff is very friendly. They processed my order efficiently.
Patrons here were mostly K-​Town locals enjoying a night out with friends, chatting, studying, etc. It a nice coffee shop where you can get your work done, and they have free wi-​fi. Parking was not too hard to find for me, but might be challenging to find during rush hour.
They have an extensive array of sweets here and at their other location, but I do not have a sweet tooth as I’m more of a carnivore. So for the inside scoop on their sugary stuff, consult my fellow Unilocalers.
From my experience, five stars all the way.

Great study area on the top floor. Nicely decorated. Usually crowded. Outlets somewhat limited. Decently affordable compared to other korean owned coffee shops.

If I only have to rate Caffebene based on how it looks, I would definitely give this place a ⁵⁄₅ stars First of all, Caffebene is super spacious, very clean, and the atmosphere is very comfortable. Their staff is super friendly and are very attentive.
However, when I ordered a mocha frappé, it was a bit pricier than I expected, but I didn’t care. I wouldn’t mind paying to study at a place like this. Once I finally I received the drink, it was overwhelmingly sweet. It was so sweet, I couldn’t even finish half of my drink. Also, since it’s a café, I expect the background music to be calm or something similar to Tom n Toms. However, their song choices today was not an ideal tune to study with.
Anyways, maybe I’ll be back to give this place one more chance.

By far the largest «Caffebene» I have been to (although I hear there’s a much larger one nearby), this particular Caffebene features a comfortable and clean environment with solid wifi.
My main gripes with Caffebene really come down to the longer than usual wait time it would take to get a simple yet overpriced iced coffee w/​milk for a place that didn’t look half as busy as a regular Starbucks. The iced coffee was also pretty mediocre as it lacked any smoothness you would expect from decently brewed coffee — for the price, I really do expect more.
Despite my complaints, I actually would come back to this Caffebene but only as a place to hang out and work on my laptop as opposed to coming here for any specific food item.

TL;DR — Why you gotta dole out the stink eye?
If you want caffe bene, go to the one on wilshire. They are super sweet over there!
I know the drinks are super sweet, but sometimes you just gotta have all that sugarrr. But… yesterday was NOT the case. I asked for my green tea latte to have less sugar and the guy at the register looked at me like I asked for white rhino blood or something. He doesn’t say anything and just told me my total. Holy moly kid. Staff here need major customer service training.
Anyway, bottom line. I got attitude and my drink was still overly sweet… tbh even paris baguette is better.

I was mezmorized by all the pictures from Unilocal,and the fact that they had such an open space. This location is right near 6^th street in K-​Town.
With all the different pastries and dessert pictures on Unilocal,I was expecting to see a gallery of items near the register but all I saw was a «gelato» freezer. The menu is pretty overwhelming so I went with a gelato/​waffle combo which was about $ 6. I went over to my seat in the hogwarts looking section. I remember trying a few of the gelato flavors and most of them were mediocre but I went with chocolate anyways.
The waffle and gelato were forgetful, what wasn’t forgetful was the internet. HOLY CRAP i think AOL Dial-​Up connection in 2004 was faster than the internet here. Don’t plan on coming here to work on the computer for a long time, I think they purposely designed the experience for people to study here with books and not laptops.

In terms of studying vibes and environment, Caffebene is one of my favorites. It’s spaced out and chill with plenty of outlets available.
I have found that the food and drinks aren’t really worth it. The desserts are okay but really overpriced. In the numerous occasions I have ordered black coffee, my coffee has tasted burnt and sour.

Came here with my korean roommate after our dinner to try some of their bingsoo. Now I’m no bingsoo expert but even my roommate said that there are better bingsoos out there. The ice wasn’t shaved enough in my opinion. We got the Oreo flavored one which was a little too sweet for me. The ice cream is very thick and hard to scoop up with the rest of the toppings. The Oreo cookie itself was good though.
All in all, good place to just sit and hang out/​study but I wouldn’t go back for their bingsoo. The restaurant is pretty spacey and has a cute woodsy «study room» feel to it. But judging by the food, I’d study elsewhere.

As far as cafes go this place has a really good venue. I’ve visited twice so far and enjoyed my visit both times. The first time I was in the mood for something sweet so I ordered the Caramel Cinnamon Honey Bread. It was tasty and an enjoyable snack. Second visit I got my usual fresh brewed coffee.
The reason behind me finding this place was to meet up with a large group and this café accommodated us very well. Staff was quick, efficient and full of smiles. When ordering something that takes a moment to make, they give out a small device that vibrates upon the completion of the order so we know when to come back up to the counter to pick it up.
I can see myself returning to this café many times to meet up and converse with friends. Especially if it is with many friends because this café has lots of space.
They have valet parking for $ 2.

Their $ 1.90 drip coffee is average and the Caramel Cinnamon Honey Toast was pretty pathetic. For $ 7.95 I expect better than a thick piece of bread covered in cinnamon and a squirt of Reddi-​wip. The caramel was mostly decorative and consisted of a few squiggles on the plate. Don’t waste your money on this!
My $ 4.75 soy Misugaru Latte was pretty good but you should get it hot instead of iced; they didn’t bother to make sure all the powder chunks had dissolved so I had balls of grain powder in my drink.
The café space is dark, concrete, really loud (blasting Maroon 5 when I was there) and full of people. Not exactly cozy but not bad. I would come back to try the hot misugaru.