Civil Coffee

Another solid two stars. The staff was slightly nicer but the cashier didn’t even know what beans they used. This makes Civil pretty hard to take seriously. I didn’t care for my latte. Definitely not a rich, satisfying latte but a thin, unsatisfying one. Another «mild» watery espresso drink. I don’t like the trend. They need to learn how to steam the milk creamier, too. Maybe they use cheap milk. It was a big let down because I was hoping this place would improve. Too bad because it’s a great looking shop. Double damn!

If I could give ½ a star I would. The coffee itself was okay.
The afternoon I went it was slow. One would assume as there was only a few customers and it would be no rush.
Wrong! the guy working the register first went to great lengths to talk down to a customer ahead of us about her knowledge of coffee.
Finally our turn he was short and acted as if he had better things to do. Would never put an employee of his caliber at the register ever.
First impression are lasting ones. You will not catch me here or support this business again.
For around $ 5 a cup for water, milk and coffee grounds. It’s hard to reinvent the coffee brand but you went to a new low.

Great coffee place featuring Coava and Heart Coffee (both from Portland, I think) when I was there. The service, wait time, location, and the coffee were all very good. I got a almond Milk Latte, which was delicious. Slightly watery. Not sweet which is good.
There was plenty of street (meter) parking around lunch time. I enjoyed spending an hour there doing some work.
There was no internet WiFi access in the store, but it’s still a great place to hang out and drink coffee.

First time here and I fell in love with the atmosphere. A complete hole in the wall in a not so nice area, Civil Coffee lives up to expectations.
I tried their avocado toast with cold brew. The shitake mushroom bacon has an overwhelmingly smokey flavor that overpowers the subtle avocado flavor. (That was my only negative comment about this amazing place.) The cold brew was very smooth and high quality.
Overall, really enjoyed this place and would come back.

Not the worst place in the world, but I found it subpar. The coffee is decent but not special. The crowd is very white, affluent and gentrification-​friendly. Strangely, there is no wifi. I assume they’re going for a different vibe than other coffee shops, which usually are full of customers staring at their computers. However, it doesn’t actually play out any differently here as everyone just connects uses the internet by connecting their computer to their smart phone. So basically we get the same computer-​staring vibe as every other coffee shop but with less convenience.
It’s not the worst experience in the world and I can imagine a lot of people would like (particularly people who have beards/​haircuts that make them look like they’ve come straight off the set of Boardwalk Empire and somehow still live under the illusion that they have a unique look) — but definitely not my thing.

So I’ve been here a couple times in the last couple weeks. On Fig in Highland Park. Cool area to walk around and check out stores.
Parking is mostly street parking with some tucked away parking lots surrounding.
Small spot in the middle of the block. Once you walk in it feels very spacious with high ceilings.
Coffees are made to order and taste great. Small menu which I think is great. No need to get crazy with the Starbucks style menu.
They also have small bites for food that taste great.
Customer service was nice but just an order taker nothing too special.

I was so excited to check out Civil Coffee! I had heard so many amazing things! My first time there I had taken my laptop to do some work. I get there and ask for the wifi password and they actually don’t have wifi. It would have been nice to know that before I went. And I had looked them up before going there and didn’t see anywhere that they did not have wifi. I guess it’s silly for me to assume that a coffee shop in 2016 would have wifi.
The coffee was fine. Tasted good but nothing special and very much like any other «trendy» coffee spot in LA. They do have cool floors and I’ve seen numerous bloggers take a picture of the floors at Civil Coffee.
I went there a second time and was very disappointed. I got there at 8:30am and THEY WERE ALREADY OUT OF ALMOND MILK. What kind of a coffee shop runs out of almond milk by 8:30am? The lady just goes «yeah sorry we just ran out. We have soy milk» to which I reply «yeah I just hate soy and I am lactose intolerant so I can’t have the milk» (I also try not to use soy products just in general). «Well then just get a cold brew» she says. But I just want led a freakin almond milk latte!
I told my friend they were out of almond milk to which she replied «oh yeah, that actually happens a lot here.»
So anyway, if you are lactose intolerant and don’t like soy milk, I would recommend going somewhere else. I ended up getting a soy latte and it was honestly gross and cost me $ 5.75. I will choose Dinosaur, Stumptown, Black Top, or Intelligencia any time over Civil Coffee.
If you like a place where you can take a cool photo for social media and only order cold brew, this is your spot. Otherwise, I would go somewhere else.

Civil Coffee is one of the most beautiful coffee shops I’ve ever seen (exterior and interior). Once you go in, you need to stop what you’re doing and take some photos of the interior. Very minimalistic, simple, and aesthetically pleasing to the eye. The tiled floor, giant marble wall, and navy wood tile wall were all so beautiful. Furthermore, the vibe is very chill and a place I would love to come hang out with friends.
They use coffee beans from Heart Roasters, Coava, and some place in Brooklyn but I sadly don’t remember the name. I ordered a cold brew and they were serving Heart that day. The cold brew tasted fantastic. No acidity and tasted super smooth. Had a great conversation with one of the baristas there about coffee and he helped me out so much and furthered my knowledge of coffee (forgot your name but thank you so much). I wanted to order their avocado toast especially with all the hype around it here but I was too full from lunch, so decided not to order it. But I will be back to try it out soon!
Sadly, this is not the greatest place to go study. They don’t have wifi and it closes pretty early (5pm). If you’re a student or someone who needs internet to study, this place might not be for you. Like I mentioned before, I would say this is the best place to come chill with friends. Can’t really complain about parking because its LA, but I’m a spoiled OC kid with free parking everywhere, so it sucked to pay for parking. The inside was a lot more spacious than I thought so the seating shouldn’t be too much of a problem. If I’m in the area again, I’ll definitely be back!

Civil Coffee, I am a fan. Solid cold brew and amazing avocado toast! (Add a poached egg for extra yumminess!)
The downside is that there isn’t a ton of seating, especially during peak hours, you might have to take your coffee to-​go. Street/​metered parking can be hard to find at times around here.
Also, I noticed the employee bringing out food items to customers the last time I went didn’t bring silverware to patrons. I had to ask for it and so did several other people, as they keep cutlery behind the counter, not readily available at the counter or where the water/​straws/​hot sauces are. (Major points for having sriracha on hand for us though!)
The interior space is beautiful — love the tiled floor and the giant marble wall. Lots of light. Overall great spot to pick up coffee and a light breakfast/​lunch!

Civil coffee is a welcomed addition to the quickly developing Figueroa corridor in Highland Park.
Parking– easy! Metered or free on side streets
Ambiance– modern, warm with european charm. Love the tiled floors.
Service– top notch. Friendly & professional. I keep returning despite having several other options for 3 reasons:
1. Delicious almond latte
2. Noise level is minimal. The high ceilings work.
3. Friendly staff
Coffee and pastries are delicious. Home run every time (been here about 8 times).

This place has everything you need in a typical hipster coffee shop
1. great coffee
2. great looking people
3. great interior
4. cool space
5. trendy customers
Came here on a busy Saturday morning for a quick coffee fix. Friendly staff and great drink options. I saw that they also had a small breakfast menu. Would love to try this place again next time I’m in town.

Came out here from DTLA to try this place out.
I was not disappointed.
I love the way it looks. Just gorgeous.
The crew was very kind.
Bike friendly as well
I only had a breve cortado sweetened but i love it. Pretty good quality.
Everything was great about it. The milk was nice and silky and the espresso pulled was great quality.
A little hard to find as i almost missed it. The entrance is recessed in.
I will come back to try the other drinks.

The first step into this place, I was already mesmerized by the floor. Many more coffee shops are really upping their floor game & I gotta tell you, it makes me love them even more.
Heading to the register only to be greeted by nicely designed & well-​packaged coffee beans from Honduras hoping for you to take them home.
FOOD: Ordered their avocado toast which is a thick brioche toast piled with a spread of fresh avocado, sprinkled with salt & pepper, a pinch of lemon, a perfectly cooked egg, and FAKE bacon which is actually toasted shiitake mushrooms. As much as I love these ingredients blended together for one dish. I was left a bit disappointed because of how salty this toast was & I honestly believe they could’ve done better! So I really hope they do next visit because there’s so much potential in that delicious toast! My friend got the Bruschetta toast: fresh tomatoes, balsamic pearls (very intriguing!), and garlic burrata. Toast got soggy pretty quickly and was left ¼th unfinished.
COFFEE: Friend got a black coffee while I got a latte. The black coffee highlighted their choice of coffee beans and it provided a great smoky texture. Smooth with every sip and not as bitter as expected which was great. Latte was good, they don’t come with flavors but they can sweeten it for you when asked.
Overall, I do plan to go back to Civil because the atmosphere of that coffee shop is productive, lively & comfy.

I don’t know much about this part of LA, but I do know that throughout my search for good coffee in LA, this area has rarely ever caught my attention. Civil Coffee has now changed that and in the process elevated the coffee scene in that immediate area.
The menu is short and concise but if you don’t find what you’re looking for they’re happy to try to make your drink of choice — something that isn’t taken too kindly at some shops. Additionally, the shop itself is simplistically mesmerizing. There is very minimal adornments on the walls, the space is very open despite the size of the shop, and the mirrored counter really does a lot for visual presentation. Oh and of course, you’ve got thee essential tiled flooring for your Instagram pleasures, as is customary these days.
I ordered a Gibraltar, which wasn’t on the menu, but the barista politely agreed to make one for me. So no hesitations on giving this place a two thumbs way up in the service department. The drink itself was perfectly made; comparable to Gibraltars I’ve had at other highly recognized coffee shops in LA. They use coffee from Coava and Heart, both great Portland based roasters, which offer well balanced roasts. The taste of the espresso highlighted a note that was noticeably different from others I’ve had in the past. Mixed in with milk, it went down smoothly and left a pleasant after taste on the palate.
So NELA rejoice!
You’ve got a good one.

Walking into to Civil Coffee, I loved the look and feel of the interior space and the #ihavethisthingwithfloors Instagrammable tile flooring.
You can buy whole beans from Coava and Heart Roasters. I walked over and picked a bag of limited beans from Coava and a cortado. They also have a selection of pastries at the register and a small menu of items such as ubiquitous avocado toast.
I have my expectations set for a really good cortado tasting the cortado many times at G&B, my standard of excellence for coffee, and the scientific preciseness of the cortado at Endorffeine.
My Civil Coffee cortado didn’t have the prettiest «latte art» but the flavor met my expectations. The temperature wasn’t too hot and naturally lightly sweetened.
If you’re a coffee lover and find yourself in Highland Park, I suggest you stop by for a taste of their coffees.

The atmosphere is good. Really pretty interior. But their tea lattes are terrible. I had their matcha milk tea and found it incredibly bland and poorly blended.
I was so disappointed because I looked forward to visiting this joint. Will probably not be coming again soon.

This is a nice, new hipster coffee spot in Highland Park. There are tables and barstools for you to enjoy your coffee and chat with someone, read a book, or do some work.
Drinks:
–Espresso + Milk (Latte) — Both the iced and the hot lattes are good. The balance between the espresso flavor and the milk is done well. Tastes way better than Starbucks.
Parking:
–You can find meters on Avenue 57. And there are also public lots with meters that are pretty cheap.

Finally got a chance to try this place, and I’m in love. We needed a great coffee shop on this side of town, and Civil fills that gap quite nicely.
+Beautiful interior. You can definitely tell that every nook and cranny was carefully designed and well thought out. I love the mirrored underside of the counters, it definitely makes the coffee shop stand out and is immediately recognizable in photos :)
+Delicious coffee and food! Tried a 12oz latte and the Eggs + Toast and both were delicious. Kind of started cursing to myself because the toast was so amazing.
+Super friendly barista, loved the latte art too!
+Heart and Coava — perfect.
–No wifi yet (but soon to come I think?)
–Floors were kind of dirty, and the cup had Civil Coffee rubbed off already even though it just recently (officially) opened :(Not a big deal, but just a small thing I noticed.
–Got pretty crowded so expect a line on weekends and less seating space.
–Expensive! My friend paid $ 6 for an almond milk latte and my iced latte with regular milk was $ 4.90.
Definitely worth a visit to Highland Park for this spot, but it is on the pricier end for coffee. I would come early to secure a space if you plan to do some work.

If there is any place that’s gonna have an up and coming great coffee shop, it’s gotta happen at Highland Park. And so came Civil Coffee. Opened by the Morales brothers, who were once part of the Handsome Coffee folks, Civil certainly does pour some great coffee.
I first notice this place from a friend’s recommendation after had a cortado there. A cortado consists of double espresso with a small amount of warm milk. Moreoever, my buddy whom I knew from Tiago in Hollywood, recently joint force to help out his cousins, and so I had to give them a try.
Sitting in an old Figueroa St. building, Civil is more spacious than it appears from the outside. It has a high ceiling, and it reminds me of the space of Bottega Louie in DTLA. Though, Civils space is probably less than a third of the space of Bottega. With high ceiling, it can get somewhat rowdy in there on a busy weekend.
There I ordered a quiche, an almond milk latte, and then followed by a whole milk cortado. The almond milk latte is unlike that of many other coffee shops. The almond milk is from the company Mylk, which contains less sugar and is quite selective with its almond for its process of making the non-​dairy alternative. The latte was delicious and quite comparable to that of Bar Nine in Culver City, who makes its almond, hazelnut milk in house. The quiche, though probably not made in house, goes quite well with Civil’s coffee. It has a decent crust with the use of some creamy brie.
The cortado that followed my latte and snack was much smoother than the nuttier latte I have. Of course, both are delicious in its own way and I would recommend milk if you’re not lactose intolerant.
My eating partner in crime ordered an almond milk cortado, which is also delicious and a tomato burrata toast with balsamic pearls. That toast is very tasty as well.
Although it can get loud in there during peak hours, Civil is definitely worth a try for those that do not live within proximity. If you live there, beware of your addiction to its coffee, food, and the friendly service that caters with it all.

I’m grateful for this first third generation coffee shop in the hood. They rotate the beans they use, once they’ve used one (bag?), they start another. I’m getting a little ocd about not being there to coincide with an African bean, but the others that I’ve had have been really good. They don’t do pour overs, but the drip process is really good, pretty much like a pour over.
I was really pleasantly surprised about the excellent food menu. I finally broke down and had avocado toast, mostly because of the mushroom «bacon» — shitake mushrooms crisped up to be crunchy like bacon. Very nice, and the brioche was perfectly toasted. Plus the lemon blueberry biscuit was so good. Thank you for making it a biscuit and not muffin.
It was a little bit frustrating to try to have a quick breakfast before work. The food was prepared very quickly, but there was no one to bring it to the table. I just went and got it myself. How sweet for all those other people in there who don’t have to go in somewhere for work, or maybe they don’t work, but the minutes were ticking tocking for me.
But everyone that I’ve encountered there has been friendly.
Welcome to the hood, especially on Fig.