Written by Louis Nguyen | November 13, 2024
As fall weather becomes the norm (overcast mornings, every morning) and the days become frighteningly short, I’ve found myself unwilling to make the evening trek to Leavey Library in the dark. Maybe it’s counterintuitive that I’m more willing to drive 15-20 minutes North to Koreatown in the darkness of night, or maybe I just have bad spending habits. Either way, the cost-benefit analysis that I used to perform every night last year that would result in a trip to Leavey now seems to be pointing me toward the cafés off-campus. What this means is that I’ve gotten a lot of experience at late-night and late-afternoon cafés.
I love a Venn diagram when discussing this topic. The first circle is that it needs to have parking. The second circle is that it needs to have seating. The third circle is that the drinks need to be good. This means literally all of your trendy Silver Lake selections do NOT qualify. KTown – if it’s valet-only, you get points deducted. And since we’re discussing Fall, I’m adding a fourth circle – ambiance. With this in mind, I’ve compiled a list of my favorites for fall here:
1. Cafe Mak (K-Town)
The combination of ample parking, spacious seating arrangements, cozy ambiance, and flexible operating hours make Cafe Mak unbeatable in the “Let Me Sit And Do Work For Four Hours” category. There’s a sense of focus that will cut through any inclinations to dilly-dally that you might have. However, a sub-par menu and weak wifi are their Achilles heel. Every visit, I come armed with 5G and get the $5 black coffee (because they have one free refill). While that generally suffices, Cafe Mak’s lack of non-committal sweet treats is a knife to my heart. A whole slice of cake or a whole order of crepe is way too much for essay writing. I just need one bite of something sugary, but perhaps that’s too much to ask. It’s worth noting that the ambiance here is rather polarizing. If a lived-in dining room sparks your productivity, then this is the place for you.
2. MCO (K-Town)
This has slowly crept up towards the top of my list for cafes in LA. Imagine if MemoryLook was cozy and not a brutalist sunglasses store, that’s basically MCO’s whole business proposal. The giant parking lot warms my heart, and the drinks are nothing short of amazing. I’m not a snob, but you could tell the coffee and matcha here are both top-notch. The ambiance is literally like if you took a day trip to Seoul. There’s enough space inside and out for you to sit and chat with friends or to lock in and finish a project over the span of five hours. Although I will say indoor seating is a little cramped, outdoor seating is not the prettiest.
3. Coffee Connections (Marina Del Rey)
If I found myself in West LA with a laptop, a couple of hours to kill, and a headache symptomatic of caffeine withdrawal, Coffee Connection is my go-to. This definitely ranks the highest on my cozy scale. Inside, the cafe offers warm lighting and decor reminiscent of New England or the Pacific Northwest. The back patio – the natural attraction, feels like a quaint European fairytale garden. The quirky drink menu is made even better by the ample availability of street parking around. This place is definitely worth a visit this fall season. I am docking some points off for the operating hours, though. Cafes closing mid-afternoon is an epidemic and needs to be stopped!
I hope my top three recommendations spark inspiration for new study spots in your repertoire. As finals creep up and winter emerges, you’ll want to hold onto what productive coziness LA has to offer!