LAReview
photo credit: Jessie Clapp
Community Goods
Included In
Community Goods is a victim of its own success—or maybe just a victim of the internet. Like wild gazelles descending on a watering hole, the influencers of West Hollywood come to this small coffee shop to drink matcha lattes and be seen. Show up on weekends, and the line wraps around the block. It’s a sight to see and also a little dumb. But 23-year-olds in head-to-toe Chrome Hearts don’t care. (If Hailey Bieber loves it, so do they, lines be damned.) All that aside, we shouldn’t point fingers at celebrities because the coffee, matcha, and food options at Community Goods are quite good.
photo credit: Jessie Clapp
photo credit: Jessie Clapp
photo credit: Jessie Clapp
photo credit: Jessie Clapp
photo credit: Jessie Clapp
For being a perpetually busy shop, the baristas keep up. The standard espresso drinks like americanos and lattes are on par with other trendy shops in the neighborhood, and their in-demand matcha concoctions taste like real tea rather than expensive cups of green oat milk. If you’re the type whose personality is ordering “fun” caffeinated beverages, there are plenty of those, too: cream-topped einspanners with bitter cacao powder, zippy espresso tonics, and a simple but just-sweet-enough vanilla bean latte. You should order food, though, because it’s the best excuse to wait in line here.
If you want something to nibble on as you people-watch, Community Goods has solid breakfast sliders made with sweet hawaiian rolls, bacon, and a wedge of soft-scrambled eggs. The lunchtime sandwiches are massive, though, so you’ll have to put your phone down and use both hands. The options are turkey and the tuna, and our vote goes to the tuna. It’s served on a chewy, forearm-sized ciabatta roll, and the creamy tuna salad is topped with snappy pickled jalapeños, heaps of lettuce, and, most crucially, a big handful of crushed salt and vinegar chips.
Don’t like crowds? Head to Community Goods on weekday mornings or early afternoons. The teenagers will be in school, so they can’t borrow their mom’s car to camp out in line. During those quiet hours you can appreciate what Community Goods really is: a cool place to hang out with good coffee and even better sandwiches.
Food Rundown
photo credit: Jessie Clapp
Breakfast Sliders
photo credit: Jessie Clapp
Turkey Sandwich
photo credit: Jessie Clapp
Tuna Sandwich
photo credit: Jessie Clapp
Pistachio Toast
photo credit: Jessie Clapp
Banana Bread