The Brass Lamp

I love this space. Good space to be to chill, study, and relax. Bar friendly and lovely. Love the salad and that they can make mint tea with real mint :)! Clean and friendly atmosphere.

Hard to Find at night going for the first time. Taking a stroll through downtown Long Beach the environment was very lively. There were many people walking around and at the local bars and restaurants. While walking, there is a Jewelry Store sign on a building and that leads to the entrance of the coffee shop. Make sure to look closely for it.
Walking into the coffee shop, it was quite roomy and was very cute. It delivered a sense of modern and classic into one to blend two timelines into one. There are plenty of games to play that is available and even books to read. It’s a great place to get together with a group of friends. Now into the menu.
Red Velvet Marionberry: ⁹⁄₁₀. This dessert is very tasty and new to the tastebuds. I’m not a fan of berries but, this dessert convinced me otherwise. The only thing is I wish it was a little bigger for the price charged for it. There variety in the menu is quite extensive and can accommodate anyone.

I came here for the first time last night as the first stop for my sister’s bachelorette party. I first contacted them via email with some questions. Sarah replied and was so nice. She recommended reservations for one of the rooms so I decided to do that. I had to make a few changes to the reservation and Sarah was so great and accommodating! I couldn’t have asked for nicer service!
When we arrived the vibe was so relaxed, which was perfect for what we wanted. We were greeted by the owner herself (I am so embarrassed that I have forgotten her name!) who got us menus and made sure we were helped. Our waiter (whose name also escapes me but he was a young, thin boy with a cute curly mustache) was incredibly attentive and sweet to us the whole time.
The food topped it off. Everything tastes so good and the coffee was superb!
I plan to come back her in late March/​early April with a book club I am part of because this place is more than perfect for it!
So many positive adjectives here! I cannot wait to come back!

Finally someone gets it right. Wine bar + coffeshop + co-​work space = magic! Wish there was one of these down in south county.

Like other Unilocalers, I love the ambiance of the place. It has a great feeling to it, but on busy nights, the service is lacking. By lacking, I mean that there isn’t enough servers, and they give minimum info on their menu items. However, the Book Bar makes up with charm, grit, and versatility. It might be the odd mix of coffee house, library, and wine bar vibes, or the eclectic mix of patrons, but it feels good to be here.

5 stars for atmosphere and 4 stars for foodiez. The food was decent, cute, small café food. They have coffee, alcohol, tea, and desserts here. You order food on the erasable marker menu. Service was nice. Lots of games and books. They have bathrooms. Tables. Water. Chairs. Chess. Wooo. If I lived closer, I would come here to chillax.

Ever since visiting the loungey coffee/​wine bar of the Ace Hotel in Manhattan, I’ve been hoping to find something similar in Southern California. The day has arrived. This spot is truly at the intersection of a bar and coffee shop. With its segmented space, thick wooden framed leather couches, and high ceilings, it caters to a variety of purposes. The music could be better and the flatbread a little flatter, but that’s okay. I’m coming back.
Thank you for existing.

My best friend and I came here on Saturday evening searching for late night coffee in Long Beach. We stumbled upon this hidden gem, The Brass Lamp. Great vibe, ambiance, and friendly staff. You can read, study, work on your computer, play piano or guitar, listen to music, play boardgames, drink, and eat. What more can you ask for at a chill/​hangout spot with friends? Can we say new favorite place? ++++++++++++

If my dream job of being a college counselor don’t work out, I would open a café just like the Brass Lamp! What a great place for studying/​chilling/​light drinking. I love the ambiance here — you have folks in the «conference» glass wall rooms having their meetings, people studying in smaller tables with their earphones on, and others sitting at the bar to enjoy some adult beverages — a little something for everyone. If I was there, I would rotate from study group to individual studying and end my night with a beer at the bar without having to leave the place!
Other cute little things:
— There’s a small library corner for you bookworms
— Chocolate sections for the sweet tooth
In terms of food/​drinks, I’ve tried their Breakfast Flatbread and it was decent. It had a cool presentation (check out my picture/​video). It was also my first time trying a Wells Banana Bread Ale from United Kingdom and it tasted great. The barista also gave me a free Sam’s Spicy Mocha that day!
FYI:
— If you want to use the conference room, just reserve it with them. They do require a minimum of two orders per person though.
— There’s a free 2 hours parking lot across the street.

They added a few gf snacks which makes it easier for us to remain a patron longer than we would have because… Well, people get hungry while they work and we must eat! Good job BL.

A great little place. Perfect for when you don’t want to work in the middle of the night alone. I came here a few times to work late night and during the day. They have a menu that’s changing and adjusting as they get deeper into their residency.
I do like the fact that they serve beer and wine as well. I wish they had outlets in the meeting rooms, but I also know how expensive that stuff is to wire. Also, the music is a bit loud sometimes for people who are trying to work or have a conference call. I think this place is still ough around the edges, but the staff is nice and I get the kind of ambience they are trying to inspire here.
I may be a bit gentler because I know how hard it is to start something up and I think they are doing a pretty good job.

My third trip.
The good (truly good) news first. This venue is set up perfectly. Absolutely the most perfect meeting place when you want to be able to carry on a meaningful conversation, have an important meeting, etc. Comfortable. Ambient. Amazing.
The bad news. The service is odd. Servers are untrained, unknowledgeable about the offerings. The menu is a laminate you write on with a dry erase pen. It keeps changing but never improves. There’s nowhere on it to indicate decaf options and the first time I asked, I was told by the server they didn’t offer decaf anything. Turns out, of course, that wasn’t true.
Second trip, I ordered a cappuccino. Got a lukewarm latte with almost no foam.
Today, I tried again. Ordered it extra hot this time. Got a lukewarm cappuccino. No set up. No spoon. No sugar cubes. Just an almost cold capp in a mug about half full. When we arrived (at 10am), we were there for probably 7 – 8 minutes before my husband went and got the server. We were then told they had to go buy coffee and espresso and we’d have to wait ten minutes for coffee drinks. It was at least 20 minutes and my husband’s fresh brewed coffee wasn’t hot.
Asked if they had any pastries (something I’d had on my first visit but was no longer on the menu). She had to go look to find out they didn’t «have any today». Don’t you just assume your coffee shop will have pastries?
Please please please get your —- together. This is an amazing new addition to downtown. But not as it stands.

This business has an interesting concept. It’s not really a place to take your laptop and hammer out some work (Unless you choose one of the rooms, and there’s a minimum on how much you have to buy. Which I absolutely understand).
The food portion to price ratio is small. Someone mentioned to me that they have to cover their costs, because the rent is high… which I understand, but it kind of turns me off from trying your cheese plate if I can’t share it with another person. The happy hour is a good deal. So far I’ve tried the iced latte, affogato, and glass of wine. I wouldn’t recommend the wine – you can get a whole bottle of comparable quality at Trader Joe’s for the same price. The iced latte was okay, not bad but nothing to write home about. I was disappointed by the affogato, since the ice-​cream wasn’t creamy at all and had weird ice crystals in it.
The setup is kind of weird. They have a hostess stand at the front but then the sign says seat yourself… well, which one is it. Personally I don’t think they need a hostess during the day, late afternoon, unless they’re having a show in the evening.
Service is good. It’s an interesting concept and if I was a vampire I would definitely recommend it to my coven.

My friend had her friends featured: one as a dj and the other as a chef. I trust my friend so I trusted that this would be a good experience.
Ambiance
Parking: I went here on a Wednesday evening and parking wasn’t competitive at all. There’s street parking and structured parking.
Seating:
* Seating is quite diverse. There’s a clear room for about 6 – 10 people. Seatings range from bar seating to group seating. It can house about 40 – 50 people.
Feels:
* A very steezy vibe. I got lost at first as the outside of the space is very calm. The building is shared with other businesses so be aware of that. In regards to the feels, it’s like a modern coffee shop except replace that with liquor. I went during a live DJ (DJ Olibata). I vibed well with his instrumental hip-​hop beats. It’s a great place to get work done, catch up with a friend or go out on a date night.
Food:
The food was served be Chef AC Boral. Here is what I ordered
Sloppy Joe Adobo (Recommend):
As advertised, not your lunch lady’s sloppy joes. For those interested in sloppy joes with a Filipino twist I recommend this. Bread is fresh and the spices of adobo mixed in well.
Pork and Salsa Sloppy Joe (Recommend):
This reminded me of a bean and cheese burrito, basically if you’re into Mexican food, I would recommend this entre.
Mo Joe Potatoes (A-​OK):
Actual potatoes somewhat thinly cut and deep fried. The touch of garlic and salt really brings out the flavor of the potato. For those potato lovers, give this a try!
Ginger Beer (Recommend):
Like root beer but ginger and non-​alcoholic!
Customer Service:
Service was reasonable, my food was delivered in 5 – 10 minutes and the servers were polite.
Overall:
4.5 stars. I had a wonderful experience here. The food was delicious, music was on point, and the location was pretty neat. I can definitely see myself coming back here for numerous occasions: date night, sowing tourists around, journalling.
TL;DR Tips:
* Check their website for certain events or menu changes!

Love it!!!
We came here on a Sunday morning. The environment is nice and cozy, feel like home.
We had strawberry waffles and the duck confit.
Both dish was really good. Thanks to the chef and the owner for putting such a hard work on every detail.
We will definitely be back.

I love the concept of this restaurant. A book bar? That is so cool. However, the real truth about it is, it really is more of a bar than a place to read when I have been there. The servers are kinda awesome and nice, and the food is amazing. But if you are there in the evening its a bit too loud to really be reading in there. I went there during the day once and it was pretty good.
The just had their grand opening on the 23^rd, so I want to go back and check out what book selection they are selling. Since acres of books left left beach, there really hasn’t been any place to buy books in the area. I know a lot of people consider print media to be dead. Also I am not sure if the area has the demographics for a books store, and in order to have books we are going to have to have some sort of hybrid book store, bar type thing like this. Also, I wonder if there is going to be issues with people getting drunk and spilling things on books, or getting dirty fingers on books.
I digress, I am a pretty big fan of this place. I waited for a long time for them to open, was super hyped when I was invited to the first soft opening, and went afterwards! I have a few questions, but I might revisit this review and upgrade it in the future.
Either way, you should go and support this establishment! They are awesome!

The Brass Lamp has a great feel, intimate seating (or bar seating if you want it), books, and good food. However, the menu is somewhat limited, just a few wines and a few beers. I’m hoping the selection improve over time.
The library s novel, if a little limited, and there are really cool closed of spaces that you an take if you order enough items for your group.
I’m fairly excited to go back in a few months to see how they’ve improved.

I cannot stress how much Long Beach needed a place like this. The Brass Lamp is exactly what Long Beach needed in an area that has been getting taken over (not a bad thing) with gastro pubs and places that feel like they are all the ‘same.’ The Brass Lamp is cool, homey, and exactly where you want to go if you need to finish that paper or presentation but also need a good environment a nice glass of wine to set your creative juices free.
Me and the bf came by here on a Friday afternoon and were helped by an awesome guy named Taylor who suggested a good wine and beer that would accompany the red velvet marionberry pudding we ordered. Of course with anything marionberry on the menu I had to order it and grab a cool book to check out while we waited for our mid-​day dessert. As we demolished the VERY yummy dish the owner came by to check in on us and also let us know about the live jazz/​house caustic music that goes down here every weekend. I wish I worked from home more often to take advantage of the laid back, quiet, cozy and inviting place because I can’t wait to be back to literally Chillax.
One thing I will say is that I hope people don’t think this is a «real bar» and turn this place to crap because this place is an amazing working space for people who can’t ideate at home and need to be inspired by those around us. If you need a place to work or hold a less than boring meeting this is the place to go! Cant wait to be back to check out more of there food and music.

Beer, wine, food, music, and a place to DO WORK! What more can a lil powerhouse ask for?
In all fairness, I didn’t have a chance to eat the food yet, but we definitely enjoyed the live music, had a glass of wine, and took in all the ambiance of The Brass Lamp. True to its Downtown LB roots, it feels like a home of community, laughter, and libations. It’s like a world of it’s own, all brought together by it’s open format, local influence, and the sweet hum of chatter.
Since I only took in the ambiance, that’s all I can review (for now.) Stay tuned for my next visit, when I plan on trying — pretty much EVERYTHING on the menu!
So far, the Brass Lamp ROCKS! Who wants to meet me and share — everything on the menu??? hehehe

New addition to Long Beach — part writer’s den; wine bar; beer tap; and let’s hang spot. It is lighten hearted & has great potential for fun or work. Opens 8am — 11pm