Dinah G.
Yelp
I'm not really mad for Mad Lab. I had higher expectations for this shop, given that I saw a location within the Topanga Social (a food hall with some of LA's best eateries). When I saw the Del Rey location had opened, I thought it would be worth the stop after work.
There isn't too much parking besides street parking, but that of course is expected around all of LA. I was hesitant to go in because I didn't really see any employees at the counter through the door, but as I got closer, a gentleman stood up from one of their outside tables (who was taking a smoke break) and walked in and behind the counter. Not a huge deal, but I prefer to see all around attention at businesses.
I ended up ordering just a simple iced matcha latte with whole milk. Gentleman was super friendly and even offered me a pastry since I came in an hour before close, and he said he wasn't gonna sell them. As for the matcha, the matcha looked to be prepared from a concentrate, as I watched matcha come out of a sauce bottle, which kinda seemed off putting to me. The color seemed promising though (the color of the drink is always the first indicator for me). When I drank the matcha, it tasted a bit gritty/powdery, which made me feel sad for going out of my way for this.
It overall wasn't a terrible experience, but Mad Lab didn't live up to my expectations at all. Maybe next time I'll give their actual coffee a go.