Doubting Thomas
Cafe · Westlake ·
Pastries, coffees, and a standout breakfast burrito
Pastries, coffees, and a standout breakfast burrito
"A sunny cafe on the border of Westlake and Historic Filipinotown, this neighborhood staple on Temple Street near Rampart Boulevard consistently turns out some of the region’s best baked goods and daytime eats from longtime pastry chef Naomi Shim. As the morning progresses, Shim’s team refills display cases with danishes, banana bread, coffee cake, and croissants, pours strong coffee drinks, and sends out filling breakfast sandwiches and rice bowls. The signature draw is a pork shoulder breakfast burrito named the Doubtless, which uses milk-braised pork shoulder, potatoes, white cheddar, smoked chili, eggs, cilantro, onion, and tomatillo salsa to optimal effect and rivals or surpasses most breakfast burrito contenders in Los Angeles. The sage sausage sandwich starts with a hearty biscuit and layers flavorful sausage, farm eggs, cheddar, mustard greens, whole grain mustard, and mayonnaise—easily shareable, if you’re willing. Chicken thigh katsu arrives with tangy cabbage slaw dressed in sesame ginger aioli plus rice, scallions, and spicy furikake; if you take it home, separate the components to reheat. Even omnivores will love the vegan-friendly Angeleno sandwich, built on house-sprouted rye spread with hazelnut romesco and topped with onion sprouts, avocado, and greens. The room feels relaxed, easy, and comfortably casual as families and groups dine throughout the day. It’s first-come, first-served, but the line moves quickly and tables tend to open when needed; expect longer waits on weekends." - Mona Holmes
"Doubting Thomas in Historic Filipinotown is a coffee shop with a poorly kept secret: The Doubtless Burrito. Each one comes stuffed with crispy braised pork shoulder, smoked white cheddar, smashed Yukon potatoes, tomatillo salsa, smoked chili, and runny sunny-side-up eggs. If it sounds like too much of a good thing, you’re wrong. It’s the exact right amount of good things." - sylvio martins, garrett snyder
"This sunny Historic Filipinotown cafe is one of our favorite places to work. You'll find mismatched wooden furniture ripped from a quirky indie film, a spacious sidewalk patio, and excellent coffee. Plus, they serve fresh pastries (get the morning bun, it comes with seasonal jams and sprinkled sugar) and a pork shoulder breakfast burrito that's saved us from the brink dozens of times." - brant cox, sylvio martins, cathy park
"There’s a lot we love about this sunny Historic Filipinotown café, namely their excellent pork shoulder breakfast burrito, flaky pastries topped with fruit that change with the seasons, and a kale salad that has saved our lives more than a few times. But it’s also one of our favorite places to work – they have a beautiful sidewalk patio on Temple St., perfect for firing off emails or opening Final Draft and pretending to type." - kat hong
"One of our favorite Historic Filipino coffee shops (and home to a particularly excellent breakfast burrito) has transformed their Temple St. sidewalk space into a socially distanced patio. Perfect for sipping oat milk cappuccinos, snacking on excellent pastries, and browsing Twitter while pretending to read." - kat hong
