The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf

Theres no wifi here. Whats a café with no wifi? The people are nice and the coffee is ok. Overall nothing to make me return

Convenient, easy acess, friendly staff and they even have a pool and foosball table! This might be the best coffee bean in LA. They are very accomadating

Great, friendly location close to campus. Best Hazelnut lattes! And always quiet and never crowded which means less time waiting for your morning coffee!

This would be a completely different review If I was not affiliated with UCLA in some way, but since I’m on campus all day every day, I’m rating this Coffee Bean a nicely biased four stars.
Simply put, this Coffee Bean is super convenient. The building I work in is the half-​way mark between Coffee Bean and the dismal coffee shop in Kerckhoff (a building in the heart of UCLA’s campus, if you’re not familiar). Point being, it takes me the same amount of time to walk to Kerckhoff as it does to Coffee Bean. Here’s why I prefer CB over UCLA’s coffee shop (not trying to bash UCLA, but, these are my true reasons):
— The employees seem to know what they’re doing at CB, more so than the often-​idiotic and/​or indifferent (possibly hung over) staff at campus coffee house. Drinks are roughly the same price at both places, and it turns out that CB employees are capable of utilizing the proper methods of blending and stirring, such that you won’t get a mouthful of cocoa powder when you take your first sip of your iced mocha latte.
— UCLA’s coffee shop is ruthlessly bombarded with students every time classes let out. Especially at lunch. On the other hand, Coffee Bean is pretty dead whenever I happen to stroll over for my cup of iced joe, which is awesome, because I don’t have to wait very long for my correctly prepared drink.
— Because of its location (a giant all purpose-​esque room inside Hillel) you’re pretty much guaranteed a seat at a table if you so choose. I always see people studying, reading, hanging out, and everyone seems pleased with the mostly serene atmosphere. There’s a pool table, but I’ve never once seen anyone use it, so, it seems fair to say that CB is less annoying and more work/​study appropriate as well.
— Mostly my own personal preference: the walk to CB at Hillel is more enjoyable than that to Kerckhoff. Something about «leaving» campus is just satisfying.
— During finals week, all coffee drinks are half off. ALL of them. Pretty sweet.
As for down sides, there’s a small but manageable list, which includes limited business hours, one major intersection to cross on Hilgard (not a big deal to me at all, but possibly for others), and the food selection is pretty sparse– usually bagels and a muffin or two. That’s all I can really think of for the time being.
So to reiterate, I’m giving this Coffee Bean four stars, mostly because of its convenience and for its ability to kick UCLA’s coffee shop in the butt. If I didn’t work at UCLA I’d probably NEVER go here, but clearly, this CB is intended for UCLA affiliates and really only UCLA affiliates. Besides, there’s a much «better» Coffee Bean in Westwood Village… there are a few actually. But none are as convenient as this Hilgard/​Hillel location as far as I and others working in buildings close to mine, are concerned.

This is hella up in the cuts.
I came here for coffee once and never returned. Its like empty inside but its not a good place to study since there is a random pool table there. I wouldnt want to be in the middle of analyzing some marx theory and hear pool balls skitting about.
Unless your on sorority row, I wouldnt bother.

This Coffee Bean is conveniently located inside the Hillel at UCLA. I know, you’d never think a Coffee Bean exists in there, but it’s right there when you enter through the doors of Hillel.
If you live on the other side of the campus (aka, sorority row) and you don’t have the luxury of having the Coffee Bean conveniently located right downstairs of your dorm or down the street on Gayley, don’t fret, you can come to this location for your quick caffeine boost.
It’s a great place to study whether it be indoors or out. There are coffee tables set up near the barista counter and there are also tables set up at the outdoor patio for you to sun bathe while reading a good book. There is even a pool table set up inside if you want to just hang out with friends.
Sometimes they have wonderful promotions for Bruins, one time they had buy 1 get 1 free deal if you flash your UCLA ID. So Bruins, look out for special BOGO deals :)