King's Road Cafe

(This pic courtesy of King's Road Cafe.com)

8361 Beverly Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(323)655-9044
Mon-Sat 7:30AM-10PM
Sun 7:30AM-7:00PM

I come to King's Road Cafe for the location, the amazing simple food and the fabulous coffee. This is another one of those places that I have brought all my friends to for the experience and often for impromptu magic shows (more often than not these happen because I'm always prepared to entertain). At first look from the outside you go "ah another trendy breakfast/coffee spot" but not so. Their coffee (roasted daily and each cup made to order) has been quoted by many a person I have taken here as "one of the best cups of coffee I've ever had"...this is not an exaggeration. The coffee is flavorful and lush, never harsh and very well balanced. Just a great cup of coffee. The great kicker is this, a refill is only $1.00 for the drink you just had, be it coffee, mocha, latte, whatever. Not too shabby, especially when you're talking about such an exquisite cup of coffee.

The food there has always been top notch and comes out quickly even on the busiest days. Might I mention before I forget, this is another one of those places where you see celebs just coming in for a bite and to read the paper. Back to the food...their paninis are exceptional (of note are the Steak with Garlic Aioli (shown below) and the Black Forest Ham with Fontina Cheese and Garlic Aioli), the pasta is very flavorful (try the Lobster Ravioli in Shrimp and Chardonnay Sauce), the burgers I'll just take the word from everyone else that it's a darn good piece of meat as I have yet to experience it, and last but not least the breakfast plates. The breakfast plates are where they shine the most in my opinion. For starters, if you're a health junkie, try their Oatmeal or Homemade Granola with fresh fruit, both are very satisfying. They have impressive scrambles such as the one that is shown below, which is the Chicken Cilantro Sausage and Fontina Cheese Omelet(so absurdly good), or the Spinach, Goat Cheese, Avocado and Shiitake Mushroom Omelet which is a work of art to look at. And, to top it all off, their french toast with strawberries and real maple syrup is a safe bet if you can't decide between all the delicacies.



The great thing about King's Road Cafe is that you can sit down for a meal, or you can sit down for coffee and dessert, and the wait staff doesn't get annoyed with you for sticking around for a long time, or for ordering so little that a 40% tip would still only be two dollars (granted though tip them well... you'll see very quickly that their service merits it). Then, if you don't feel like sitting down, or know that you'll be sitting for such a short period of time that you'd like to pay up front, simply go to their second door from the corner and you'll find yourself in the cafe side. You can get all their coffee or food to go there, or even stick around at the counter or other tables inside and have a couple bites before you take off. Whenever we stop in like that my wife loves getting either a Mocha with their Chocolate Chip Pecan cookie, or a Chai Latte with their Oatmeal Raisin cookie.

A special note should also be made about their Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee as well as their Chocolate Ganche Torte, which are so yummy. Both of these sweet tooth pacifiers are delightful as a perfect way to end your meal or on it's own on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Come on down here and if you see a guy with a small crowd of people around him performing magic on a Sunday afternoon...you'll have spotted me.

Free Drink Refills: $1.00 for the coffee drinks, but soda's by the can
Entree Price Average: $7 to $10