Lamill Coffee Boutique

Martha Burr

Citysearch

In Short
The purr of La Marzocco espresso and Clover machines is usually overwhelmed by the buzzing mob of Silver Lake's coffee aficionados at this neighborhood caffeine haunt. French baroque motifs frame the elite space, where nonchalant chicks in Chococat baby tees rub elbows with old-school skate punks, tattooed soccer moms and alt-trepreneurs. Tableside servers brew a deluxe list of limited premium blends with a sliding scale of complexity for varying levels of coffee snobs. There's the ubiquitous plunging French press; the scientific drip brew of Chemex; the hi-tech, vacuum-brewed Japanese siphon; and the insulated, filter-funneled Eva Solo. An upscale cafe menu by Michael Cimarusti (Providence) includes Dungeness crab cocottes, an Asian-style BLT with pork belly, clam cakes with yuzu aioli, crispy-skinned New Zealand char and liquid tiramisu.

Hits: The coffee world hasn't been this rocked since a certain Seattle-based company became a household name in the '90s; dining and drinking here is not just a meal or a drink--it's an experience. Staff are knowledegable, friendly and diligent, even amid peak-time chaos.

Misses: Prices can really add up fast, so it's hard to justify the expenditure for everyday drinking. The menu is wonderful, but also likely unfamiliar to many people--you might not understand which dishes are among the limited breakfast picks.