Mel D.
Yelp
We live in the area and I've been trying to check out all the new local businesses. I've been following several places on instagram and always noticed events going on here whether it be an art night, live music and most recently, they showed the dodgers game and gave out a free beer whenever Shohei hit a home run...now this caught my attention being a huge Dodger fan. We love going out to places where local LA people congregate to watch the game and so glad we made it out to re/creation cafe.
We found parking right on West - they don't have a parking lot but there was plenty of street parking. I noticed how much personal touches there were the moment I walked in, it reminded me of my house, I hand picked the tiles, flooring, vent, etc., re/creation cafe felt like home and built with a lot of love. I chose to sit in the community table where I met several people from the neighborhood - and since they were showing the dodger game, follow fans and a few well behaved doggies.
There were plenty of seating inside and a cute outdoor patio where you can enjoy a nice meal with your family, friends or colleagues. I actually think the outdoor area is really nice to do lunch with a colleague during the weekday or enjoy $2 off drinks for happy hour from 3-5pm. They seem to have live music every Saturday night, something I'll definitely be checking out soon.
Food was the best! OMG the fries were so good! So was their chicken strips! We drank several local beers on tap. I love that they have plenty of offerings whether you enjoy coffee, unique non-alcoholic drinks and beer/wine.
I see a lot of complaints about their laptop policy which I actually love. I'm a remote tech worker but I work from home (or hotel if traveling) where I can focus, I definitely can't concentrate in a cafe and question the efficiency. I never understood what was so appealing about sitting alone in a cafe typing away - you're not meeting people, taking up valuable real estate and most people buy 1 coffee and sit for 5-6 hours, it's rude and selfish. They do allow weekday laptop use for 1 hr, they frown upon use on weekends but if it's not crowded I doubt you'd get kicked out. Just be considerate and sit at a community table rather then a regular table.
Staff was awesome and the owner Nick was very engaged and working his butt off the entire time. I can tell there were a lot of regulars and Nick treated everyone like family. Thank you for creating such an amazing community space for us!