Intelligentsia

Intelligentsia Restaurant Review:

Intelligentsia’s Chicago-based founder, Doug Zell, opened his first Los Angeles coffeehouse at Silver Lake's Sunset Junction in 2007, followed by a second branch in Venice. In 2010, the popular café arrived in Old Pasadena. Exposed brick and vintage pews salvaged from a Midwest church remind us of the historic, turn-of-the-century site, but the dark space exudes a hip, contemporary look. Behind a sturdy, reclaimed wood bar, baristas make every coffee drink to order from custom-built Synesso espresso machines or by pour-over. Quality teas, produced under the sister Kilogram Tea label, are also available hot or iced. Initially, Intelligentsia experimented with a full food program, but now it has scaled back to its core strength, along with offering pastries.