De Cafe Baristas

Nice little coffee shop by the movie theatre in Montery Park.
The space is decorated with unique coffee bags on the walls. Very chill over all.
The coffee was good and the staff very much seemed into their craft.
Parking is underground. This would make it a little difficult to make a quick coffee run before work or what not.
Friendliness of staff was ok but nothing special.
«B» rating from health department.

In a sea of teahouses and boba, a coffee place is actually refreshing and needed. However, I wasn’t really impressed by what they had to offer, and I’ve been to plenty of better coffee shops. It is located in the Atlantic Time Square Plaza next to AMC, and there is a free parking structure that had plenty of spaces in the morning.
The space is very hipster cool, with coffee bean bags decorating the walls and wooden surfaces. The seating is mostly long wooden tables with a few window/​bar seats. There weren’t any convenient places to plug in your devices as far as I could see, discouraging people from staying too long. The barista acted very indifferently to me but he was super friendly with other people who I assume are regulars or friends.
* GRASSHOPPER ($ 4.50): The description says, «chocolaty mint explosion of flavor spiked with a double shot of Black Cat espresso.» There was not very much mint flavor at all, so that was disappointing. It was very frothy and tasted okay otherwise. I was kind of disappointed in the half-​assed latte art after admiring the pictures on Unilocal,but we all have to start somewhere. I didn’t feel like it was worth the price. ~ ³⁄₅
I got what I came for — quiet place to study and coffee. But this place does not go the extra mile for the customer, at least not for me.
Drink: 3, Environment: 4, Service: 2, Price: 3

Gave this place another shot after the good reviews. Came here one morning to just relax and read before I started my day.
GRASSHOPPER (Hot):
Was expecting it to be minty for a wake-​up kick but nope. The coffee itself was okay; nothing special to me either.
The ambiance is nice and quiet for reading when it is early, before people start coming in to chat.
Someone please recommend me a good choice to try! I don’t want to give up on DCB yet but Zebra and Grasshopper have not satisfied):

Wow ok. This was really disappointing. I drove pretty far just to come here and dealt with the horrible parking. Ok that’s my decision but wow Unilocal has let me down.
The two guys working there didn’t really seem that interested in their customers, although I do appreciate them answering my questions. I ended up just getting a mocha. Yes it’s a SUPER small size, which I don’t mind but it should be cheaper.
and WTF the latte ‘art’ was pathetic. No effort put into it what so ever which sucked because I saw all the pretty pictures of the latte art on instagram and what I got was nothing like that.
The mocha tasted good but nothing better than your average mocha. I wouldn’t recommend anyone to come here.

Still my favorite place! Miss the cheesecakes, coffee cakes, and the scones!
It’s been a long time since I’m able to visit DCB. Ordered a Matcha Latte and it’s delicious!!! This is what I’ve been missing yum yum yum!!!
Now it’s getting hotter and hotter and it’s time for the affogatos — delicious ice creams in delicious expresso coffee

This place is located next to the movie theater. Its quite small and there isn’t that much tables if your planning to study here. Its very nice and not too noisy at all. They have a lot of outlets around the café, which is perfect if you plan to stay for awhile. The service was okay. They were nice and quite informative.
I got the mexican mocha, which was amazing. It taste like chocolate. I enjoyed it a lot and it was quite sweet. Its not as strong as I would want it to be but it was still enjoyable. Its quite expensive for the size they give but, to be honest, its worth it for the quality they make. My friend got the vienna, which had a light cinnamon flavor. It was quite enjoyable as well.
Overall, this place is a quite small but their coffee is amazing. Something that everyone should try.

Came here with a friend who desperately needed coffee. Originally, we were just roaming around the plaza because we’ve passed by this plaza so many times but never bothered to go in… until recently LOL.
It’s a pretty nice coffee shop. Very good place to hangout with friends or to study… I would come here to study if it weren’t so far from my house haha. At the time, there was only one guy at the cashier and making the coffee by himself so it seemed understaffed… but he was taking his time to brew the coffee and it turned out nicely haha.
Parking is underground in the structure and it’s free! That’s a plus.

Grabbed myself some ice coffee as an afternoon pick me up. Caffeine is life, is it not?
The coffee was awesome!!! It was $ 3.50 for the iced coffee, so it’s a little more expensive than Starbucks but the taste was definitely better.
Service was kinda slow. There was no one there and we had to wait for someone to come and take our order. Took a while to make the drinks too. The barista was nice though.
Cute interior with tables you can sit and do work at.
I’d give the coffee a 5 and service a 3 for an average of 4 stars :)

This is probably the most hipster spot in Alhambra. It’s located in Atlantic Times Square next to the AMC and is probably the best choice for coffee in the plaza.
I’ve gotten the Shakerato, the cold brew, and the Vienna. The Shakerato is a couple shots of espresso with some fruity purée add-​ons. Very interesting taste but very small volume-​wise, so don’t go for this if you want something to babysit. The cold brew tasted a bit sour so I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it. The Vienna was velvety and well made. My only complaint is that they only have one size cup for their drinks and it’s pretty small, but with large cup pricing. Otherwise, this is a nice local option for some good coffee.

Across from Phoenix inside the plaza.
Coffee is good but saw the bean bags on the floor.
It’s actually laid right in front of customers view where the seats are at.
We even touched the bags to see if there were beans in them… surely there was.
Their grade was a B… never saw a B grade at a straight up coffee shop… :/​
$ 4.5 for a soy latte was hefty… it was about a 12 oz at most and in the most ugly togo cup ever… like the ones you see at gas stations.
I felt bad for the brew inside of it.
The sleeve was way too large for the small cup as well.
That’s not very «hipster» imo.

Was pleasantly surprised by this place! Got the Grasshopper latte with almond milk. Was craving a nice cup of coffee with some real latte art and that’s what I got.
After I ordered I forgot to say less sweetened cause I thought it would be really sweet like starbucks or other syrup based shops. But dang subtle sweetened with the mint, it was perfect and relaxing. They have other specialty drinks as well that I’d come back for. White and dark chocolate which is called zebra I think? But the Grasshopper is a favorite, mint latte similar to phils coffe mojito if anyone is familiar but here its with the perfect sweetness. Plus the barista was friendly!

Who said that there are only boba shops in Monterey Park. There is also decent coffee shop here! Located in Atlantic Times Square Plaza, De Café Baristas offers great quality of coffee and cozy ambiance for customers. Since there are mostly Asian restaurants in this plaza, this coffee shop is like a hidden gem here. I always ordered their latte and never disappointed. They always make different latte art on my latte. My BF always ordered their Mexican mocha and he loves it. Sometimes they have dessert selections on the side. Wi-​Fi is 240 minutes free. Make sure to grab the password code from the cashier. The coffee shop space was not too big and it is mostly community tables or bar table. The noise level was not bad at all so I would see myself coming here to study or read. Parking is plaza parking so there are plenty of space.

I’d come back! If only there was tea… but that’s because I’m not a coffee person. I did mention this to the barista, and he recommended the Mexican mocha as something hot and sweet. It was pretty good, although I have nothing to compare to. It was perhaps a tad too sweet, but I know something with a higher proportion of coffee would be too bitter for me.
On another note, this place was HIP to the MAX today. I hafta say, the two bearded baristas fully decked out in red plaid and beanies along with the caged pendant lights and wooden counters/​tables/​chairs were oddly juxtapositioned to 99 Ranch, Daiso, and Phoenix, which are all within sight and walking distance. If you forget about all of that, the place has a nice feel to it. The music’s maybe a bit too loud, but there’s enough seating (⁵⁰⁄₅₀ tables vs counters) and a decent number of outlets for the size of the place. I also love natural lighting, and this place has tons of that.
Like I already mentioned, I’d come back to hang out or wait for friends, which I’m doing today. The 4 hours of WiFi have been good to me, and is pretty generous for a place with a limit, compared to places which offer 2 hours.
EDIT: After sitting there for 4 hours, my only complaint is that the door doesn’t automatically swing completely shut — seeing as how we’ve had cooler SoCal winters, this was rather unfortunate for where I chose to sit.

A small coffee shop right next to AMC and across from Ten Ren in the Atlantic Time Square Plaza — I’ve passed by this place several times and didn’t know what it was until I was searching for a nearby coffee shop couple months ago.
Menu: Pastries (e.g. gluten free blueberry coffee cake, Oreo cheesecake), traditional coffees (Cappuccino, Americano, Latte, Macchiato, Cortado, Shakerato, and Espresso), and other speciality drinks (e.g. Vienna, Mexican Mocca, Grasshopper, Steaming Zebra, Affogato, etc.)
You will need to grab a sheet of paper with Wi-​Fi code in this red cup located at the cashier counter (limited to 240 minutes of internet access). De Café Barista accepts credit card, but this coffee shop is pretty small comparing with other SoCal coffee shops that I’ve visited. So there’s a good chance you might not be able to find an available table to sit.
***
Vienna Latte ($ 4.50): It was slightly too sweet for my taste.
***
Personally I don’t like to visit a coffee shop knowing that there’s a 50 – 50 chance of not able to find a table. If you are willing to drive a bit more, then I think there are better coffee shops in Downtown LA or Pasadena with better lattes and more available seatings.

Had the VIENNA $ 4.50 and it was out of this world. Me, a coffee snob, a morning bean grinder, espresso brewer, organic coffee sipper… i am so happy this cup blew my mind. Excellent beans, seems they get the good stuff (Honduras, Colombia, Brasil, and Intelligentsia coffee as well)
The only downside to this place is the barista. ONE. To care for everyone from cashier to brewing, to serving you. Poor guy, I felt bad. Then I sipped, and I felt good. Because of lack of workforce, the whole process took almost 20 minutes, from entering the store to getting the drinks. You MUST have tons of time to spare. Ambiance is mellow and bright, I really hope students don’t kill the place with their laptops and books. This coffee shop should stay clean, for coffee lovers and good conversations ONLY.
Love it, I will make it a personal goal to try all of them and list them as favorite to least fave. (getting the caffeine shakes already)

Even in the land of boba and fruity iced teas (the 626), I still want a good cup of coffee in a place that gives me the same ambiance and service I’d come to expect out of the best coffee places in nearby LA.
De Café Baristas fits those needs perfectly and proves that there is room for a hipsterish coffee establishment to exist in a outdoor shopping area that is heavily and visited for a variety of Asian restaurant and teahouses. De Café Baristas also definitely provides a cozier and quieter area of the plaza for if you want to study, hang out with friends, or kill time before catching a movie at the amc next door.
I found the baristas there to be friendly and incredibly informative about their menu — upon one’s recommendation, I had the Vienna — a latte with a wonderful mix of honey and cinnamon that was topped off with a «heart» latte art. Parking at this plaza is, if your familiar with it, terrible but De Café Baristas will definitely become my to-​go place the next time I’m in this area.

Not sure this coffee shop lives up to the many rave reviews! I liked the coffee shop atmosphere but wasn’t too fond of my drink
They offer almond and soy milk as alternatives for 50 cents extra
—iced grasshoppa with almond milk: really nothing special
NOTE: they have self serve water and a pastry case to the right, further from the register (I didn’t notice t until I walked toward the bathroom)

Nice little coffee shop, and I can totally see why people would find this a nice place to study or do work. There’s a couple nice long benches to park yourself if you need to study.
I stopped in for a quick cup of coffee and was quite impressed with what I got. Half of the menu is so foreign to me, who I would claim is an avid coffee drinker. But of course, you cannot argue with speciality drinks from a small coffee shop, hence the foreign-​ness (if you will). I asked the Barista to explain what the grasshopper, steaming zebra and vienna was, and he was very kind and patient to do so. After hearing his explanations, I went with the steaming zebra that was a mix of white and dark chocolate. I asked that it not be too sweet and thoroughly enjoyed the drink he handed to me.
Unique stuff here and I would recommend stopping by. All the speciality drinks seem to be a flat rate cost of $ 4.50 — not too bad.

I’m a huge nerd always on the lookout for study spots and this was a pleasant find.
Must Try:
— Zebra latte, a blend between dark and white chocolate. It’s creamy and one shot of espresso is perfect for me. I’m not a huge fan of super sweet coffees, so I requested to have less white chocolate and more mocha dark chocolate in mine– the barista tailored to my taste and it came out on point!
Pros: There is free wifi and friendly baristas who know how to make well hand dripped coffee. Although the wifi lasts for 4 hours, you are always allowed to ask for another 4 hours or as long as you need. They have great service, so don’t be shy :) their internet is extremely fast compared other free wifi places I’ve tried in this plaza, I absolutely recommend this coffee shop!
Cons: They only have outlets by the window booth though so I would not bring tons of books with you if you are looking to study.

My husband recommended this place. I kinda like the selections and like the special drinks. I opted for grass hopper which tastes a bit alcohol in it but i don’t think it really has it.
One star off is simply bc i went there on a hot aftertoon and they don’t have AC?
I was waiting for a friend, and their hard wooden chair and table definitely not good for long-​time seating.
Another star off bc. hmm i was standing at the counter for couple minutes but the barister kept talking to some guy who ended up going to the back of the store. not sure why he ignored me and kept me standing.
Hence, good place for coffee, but not necessarily good for hang out.