Yü W.
Google
The first time I visited Neighborhood, I wasn't expecting much and was happily surprised by the excellent flat white. Every visit after that, my first impression is only confirmed and reinforced. The staff is always friendly and smiling, though not the conversationalist type. Whether it's a cortado or iced latte, the delicious coffee always cheers me up on a chilly morning, or cools me down during one of those heat wave days. They keep the list of signature drinks short and nothing exotic. I tried the "Day Drinker", a whiskey vanilla latte that, as the name suggests, has a malty touch that makes the brisk 8am feel like a warm 11am.
Neighborhood is located in a charming antique apartment complex called Casa La Brea. The storefront is small and deep, with a big table in the center, some merchandise displayed by the street window, and the coffee bar further inside. At the end of the room, you can get still and sparkling water on tap.
It took me a while to discover the seating area in the patio of the apartment building. Four small tables are tightly set up in the patio entry way. Though always shaded and constrained by space, the seating area has a neat view of the patio and its stairs drenched in morning sunshine. The Spanish tiles look even more exquisite in the warm, pouring light. For a moment, I can pretend I'm in Andalusia.