LA is rife with quality Australian cafes, each one more stylish than the next. It seems like there’s a new one popping up every month these days. Paramount Coffee Project, aka PCP, has been around for a minute (comparatively), but continues to thrive as a weekday hub on Fairfax and draws in weekend crowds at the ROW DTLA.
The nice thing about Australian cafes is that, unlike their hipster American counterparts, they not only do great coffee, they also actually put in a solid effort on food. PCP is in many ways more a restaurant than a cafe. For one, while they do have a takeaway window, the servers actually take your order from your table if you’re dining in. And while they do have a precious selection of (I believe Farmshop) pastries, they have a killer menu for breakfast and lunch too.
As for the style? Let’s just say PCP is casually cooler than most Angelenos claim to be.
the details
| Address | 456 N Fairfax Ave, Los Angeles, CA |
| Website | http://www.paramountcoffeeproject.com.au/ |
| Yelp | https://www.yelp.com/biz/paramount-coffee-project-los-angeles-5 |
| @pcpla | |
| Hours | Fairfax: 7am to 5pm weekdays, 8am to 5pm weekends |
| Price | $$ – pretty on par with café prices, coffee around $4-5 |
| Aesthetic | eclectic artsy aussie cool |
good to know
Go here for: a leisurely weekday breakfast or lunch that will brighten up any old Wednesday, or a casual lunch after a mid-wilshire agency meeting before heading back into the office
Order this: a flat white and whatever savory or sweet is calling your name
Amount of time to spend: just because it’s casual doesn’t mean it has to be quick, an hour or so is plenty (also bc parking is usually 2 hour)
When to come: mornings are nice, as are afternoons. It can get pretty packed during lunch hours at the Fairfax location. The ROW is a large space and generally pretty quiet, though weekend mornings (esp Sunday mornings) get a bit more traffic.
Parking: by Fairfax is always hellish, but during the day you can usually snag street parking in the neighboring residential streets (watch out for street cleaning though). On the other hand, the ROW’s perpetually empty parking structure is my favorite place in all of LA.
Other things to note:
- They also have a popular cafe in Sydney.
- They don’t have wifi; generally not a good place for working, better place to grab breakfast or lunch with a friend.
- Both locations have a (cute) takeaway drinks + pastries window if you’re not planning on dining in.
Last visited: December 2018
Last updated: February 2020
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