Sightglass Coffee

Ranked #000

Hollywood Sycamore District

7051 Willoughby Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038

https://www.sightglasscoffee.com

Power Outlets: No Outlets Available

Wi-Fi: Fast Wi-Fi/Frustrating Access

Noise Level: Moderate/Loud

Workspace: Excellent

Cost: $10-20 per person

Coffee = Good

Food = Excellent

Bathrooms = Clean & Accessible

Staff = Great

Guests = Trendy

Parking = Easy

Introduction

This was a tough one. I frequent this coffee shop to do work multiple times a week, and the architecture of the space really wins me over. What holds me back is the unreliable internet access and the inability to plug in your laptop to their outlets. For a remote worker like myself, these things really matter, but still, I find myself here often. So it is worth a test, just not on a day when you absolutely need to be connected.

No Oulets Available

As I write this at the coffee shop, I’m not even joking, someone just walked up to a barista who was working on the floor and frantically asked where the outlets were. The barista replied, mentioning that there might be one outside, but that there really are none available. It looks like just for today they opened an outlet for a customer to use off in the corner. She is sitting on a stool next to the bathroom at the only available outlet so she can do work on her laptop with someone she’s working with.

As a longtime regular at this coffee shop, I remember the days when outlets were available. That isn’t even dating myself, this was only about six months ago when we had complete outlet liberation. But what happened?

Outlets are now being closed. This is something we’re starting to see happen in many coffee shops and I’ve noticed that Starbucks has employed this idea as well. Coffee shops are starting to lose money on table turnover because of remote workers and students camping out all day by using their available outlets. This is something that I have become an advocate of changing, and it brought me to build my company, (swich), to bring outlets back to coffee shops before it is too late.

Fast Wi-Fi / Frustrating Access

Download Speed: 16.7 Mbps

Upload Speed: 26.5 Mbps

Ping: 7 ms

Jitter: 3 ms

Maybe I am skeptical, and this has not been confirmed in any way, but I have my suspicions that they purposefully make the Wi-Fi tricky to connect to so they can encourage table turnover, just like they’re doing by covering up their outlets.

Once you are connected to the Wi-Fi, you are good to go. It won’t drop on you and you are solid for the rest of the day. However, getting connected can be a problem. Oftentimes you will need to wait 30 minutes to an hour to get connected, if at all. There have been days where I had both my laptops out struggling to find Wi-Fi, all while hearing others ask each other, “Do you know how to get connected to the Wi-Fi?”

There is no password needed to get connected. The only thing you need is a lot of patience. When you finally do get connected, a window will pop up asking you to enter your name and email, accept the terms and conditions, and then you’ll be solidly connected.

Moderate to Loud Noise

Currently, as I sit here, the noise is leaning more towards loud than moderate. It really all depends on the time of day. There is that typical cafeteria-like noise, or as my acoustics professor back in graduate school would say, a constant stream of “hubbub.” The music that plays over the speakers is just enough to match the volume of the voices inside without overpowering conversation or being too light to recognize the tune.

If you need to do a meeting call, you’re not totally out of luck, since there is a quieter back patio where you can take it. However, finding a spot to sit back there is sometimes challenging at peak hours and music does still play out there as well.

Dogs are allowed at this shop, but they mainly remain quiet. You may hear a yap here and there, but I find that most dog owners in LA are really great at getting their pups trained for public environments.

Aside from dogs and “hubbub,” expect the typical coffee shop noises: baristas yelling “next guest over here” and dishes clanking, which in a strange way helps me stay focused on my work. This must be true for others as well because the majority of people who come to Sightglass are here to work and study.

Excellent Workspace

~32 Stools

~30 Indoor Chairs

~32 Outdoor Chairs

6 Booths (4 persons)

5 Wooden Benches (inside)

1 Concrete Bench (inside)

1 Concrete Bench (outside)

Like I said from the very beginning, the architecture of this space makes for the perfect workspace. There are skylights and windows that evenly distribute natural light across the entire interior, and the exterior space has a relaxing nature to it.

The temperature inside is something I want to point out too, because I find that other coffee shops either really overdo it with the air conditioning or don’t have any at all. Every time I’ve been at Sightglass, the room temperature has been perfect, and I never need to add or remove layers to be comfortable.

The tables are a really good size to have multiple things on. I can comfortably have a laptop, sometimes two, along with my drink and food order. There are several types of seating options across the indoor and outdoor spaces. There are communal tables where you sit alongside strangers on stools, booths, four-chair tables, two-chair tables, and abstract concrete benches outside. I’m usually lucky and can find a spot to sit right away, but some days it can get too packed and you may have to wait.

There is nothing luxury about the seating here, but I don’t find any of it uncomfortable. I surprisingly sit comfortably for long hours on their wooden stools. There isn’t much to them, no back support of course, and your feet won’t touch the floor, but there is a little rack for your feet to rest on. The chairs are just as simple, but here you’ll be able to rest your feet and have some back support. For whatever reason, I can never get in early enough to grab one of those chairs. They fill up quick!

Cost at an Average of $10-20 per Person

This is LA, so your specialty coffee is going to be a bit of a marked-up price, but it’s not too bad and you are getting a good quality cup buzz. Check the website, as menu prices may change, but expect to spend between $5 to $10 on a beverage and $15 to $25 on food from the kitchen. I haven’t yet tried their pastries since I’m not big on sweets, but you can expect those items to run between $5 to $15.

Good Coffee - Excellent Food

Some days I specifically choose this location to work during lunch because of these two items on the menu that have me completely hooked. My first love was the Chicken Club Sandwich, however I have been known to have an affair with their Breakfast Burrito (add chorizo). Both are excellent choices that keep you energized through your work.

At Sightglass, you order and pay up at the front, and the baristas will find you to deliver your food and drink while you are sitting. This is always nice because it gives me time to find the right spot and get started on my attempts to connect to the internet.

A lot of coffee shops that I go to don’t put too much effort into the food, and that’s to be expected. Much of the time you’ll get a dressed-up bagel or a glorified hot pocket. At Sightglass, that is not the case. All the food is presentation-ready and delicious.

I won’t say that I’ve had the best coffee of my life here, but I can confidently say that it holds up. Their Vanilla Iced Coffee seems to be a favorite among others and myself. It tends to pair the best, in my opinion, with the food items.

I mentioned this before in my cost section, but I haven’t tried any of the pastries. They do look very good and fresh. They’re also very popular with the guests, even though they are marked up pretty high in cost.

Clean & Accessible Bathrooms

If the (swich)List was ranked on best bathrooms in Los Angeles, Sightglass would have slid into the number one spot with no brakes. No codes are necessary to use, and each stall is its own room with a lock. Sinks are organized in a common space that allows free flow from the front to back spaces of the coffee shop, with lots of airflow and natural light.

The only drawback of this bathroom is so trivial that I almost wasn’t going to include it, but it is my duty to report to you all the facts that brought me to this ranking, so that’s what I’ll do. The paper towels are neatly organized on an open rack, which looks great when no one has used the sinks. But when the restrooms start to get busy, the paper towels end up getting wet from people grabbing them with wet hands. They then start to get unorganized, and it makes for a very messy look.

Great Staff and Trendy Guests

First, I will say, there is always a line at the counter and this coffee shop stays very busy. For that, I give the staff a lot of credit for maintaining a good attitude. You can tell that they like to work here and do approach their work in a serious manner. You won’t catch any of them slacking on their job and when they are interacting with each other, they do it when there is absolute downtime. Whoever is managing the staff here is doing one hell of a job.

Next, I want to address that out of all the times I have been here, we’re talking multiple times a week for almost a year, I have never had a bad experience or wrong order. You have to expect a hiccup every now and then from any place but I can confidently say that this has never happened here.

So what about the guests here, are they cool?

Sightglass brings in a motivated crowd from early 20s to groupings of those in their 40+ years. Rarely will someone bring in their kids but they do have highchairs for babies, so all things are possible. I love going here because it does keep me energized with the people here. Everyone seems to be very focused on their work and doing something interesting and creative. Spaces like these in Los Angeles are special to me because finding culture in Los Angeles are typically behind tall gates and hedges.

Easy Parking

Here is a very important category that I threw on for last. Some places in LA I won’t even attempt to go to because the parking is going to be a nightmare. There is no parking lot specific to Sightglass but there is a lot of free street parking right out front. If you can’t find it on Sycamore, just circle around the neighborhood, there is no permit only parking until 6pm and if worse comes to worse, there are paid lots next door. I have never needed to use the paid lots or parking meters.

Summary

If you can, don’t let the Wi-Fi and inaccessibility of outlets steer you away. If you can spend a few hours working off of the laptop battery or do some work without internet connection, do it. This really is a great spot to get your work done. If the Wi-Fi is accessible at the time you come, you are going to have a very productive day.

There are talks that they will be transforming part of the coffee shop in to a sit down restaurant. I’m not sure on when this will happen but they are updating their website to inform guests when this is happening. Do I think this is the move for them? No. I think Sightglass needs to realize that they have a strong Remote Work following and encourage that in a way that can benefit their guests and themselves. How can they do that? That is a talk they will have to have with me.

Please reach out to me with your experiences at Sightglass, I would love to hear them and add it to the (swich)List.