Nice Coffee DTLA Review
Nice Coffee is a beautiful coffee bar in the heart of Downtown LA in the middle of the City National Plaza.
Location
Nice Coffee is located at 515 Flower St, Los Angeles, CA 90071 in DTLA.
Impressions
Nice Coffee started as a personal project by Tyler Wells who has made a name for himself as cofounder of Handsome Coffee Roasters and a consultant for companies like Superba, and La Colombe Roasters.
Lucky for me Nice Coffee is only a short walk away from where I work, making it one of a small list of coffee spots that I frequent multiple times a week.
The setting is very modern as Nice is nestled inside an urban park surrounded by large buildings, tables and chairs, and a relaxing fountain.
The combination of industrial construction combined with warm woods make this coffee bar very charming in its own way.
My favorite time to go to Nice is between 7-8am as it’s usually pretty chill and I can grab a table and enjoy an espresso before work in the cool morning air.
I also frequent Nice for post lunch espresso when there is much more hustle and bustle, with the surrounding courtyard filled with people in suits from the surrounding office buildings.
All the baristas at Nice have a demeanor appropriate to the name of the place, with the skills to match.
Due to the fact that Nice is a walk up bar in an outdoor plaza, there is ample seating beside the bar and around the plaza.
Although there is a lot of seating, it is all outdoors, so there are no visible outlets. There may be wifi offered by the plaza, but not by Nice specifically.
If your computer doesn’t need charging, it is a great place to hunker down on a week day.
Getting work done at Nice is also totally dependent on the weather.
When I order a cappuccino there, it typically arrives with the milk steamed to perfection, be it almond milk, oat milk, or good old fashioned cows milk.
I often order their espresso straight up as well which comes with a glass of Topo Chico, my favorite sparkling mineral water.
It helps that Nice uses 49th Parallel Old School Espresso beans for their espresso drinks, as it has been a favorite of mine in recent years.
The Espresso
The 49th Parallel Old School Espresso beans are typically a well balanced blend when extracted correctly.
The baristas at Nice tend to have this espresso dialed in pretty well.
When you order an espresso at Nice, expect to also receive a glass of Topo Chico, which happens to be my favorite sparkling mineral water.
The Cappucino
Based on my numerous visits (working nearby), the cappuccino typically arrives with the milk steamed to perfection, be it almond milk, oat milk, or good old fashioned cows milk.
When the shot is extracted to their regular standards, and the milk is steamed as per usual, it’s hard to find a better cappuccino than at Nice.
Signature Drinks
Nice doesn’t have much in the way of signature drinks, just good solid fundamentals, fine technique and fresh beans.
Aside from espresso, cold brew, and drip coffee, Nice offers fresh brewed tea, sparkling tea on tap and bottles of Topo Chico.
Food
Another bonus of Nice Coffee is their pastries.
They offer their own selection of sweet and savory cinnamon roll inspired pastries called Nice Buns, as well as some solid breakfast sandwiches.
Conclusion
When I leave the office on a coffee break, I walk by many of the usual big coffee chains and at least one other specialty coffee spot with no temptation whatsoever on my way to Nice Coffee.
I highly recommended stopping by Nice Coffee if your are in Downtown LA.
Dune will always be near to my heart because it became my daily go to coffee spot in Santa Barbara on an anniversary trip during which I got engaged. Given that we visited Dune each day we were in Santa Barbara, I think it’s pretty safe to say that they did not disappoint.