Cala La Jolla Cafe

The omakase pour-over is the whole reason to sit down here: a guided session through origin, roast profile and brew method rather than a drink called out at the register. The same counter also mixes a dragonfruit and lychee drink called pink splash, which is a wide span for one bar to hold.

Every coffee here, cold brew included, is poured on beans from Torque Coffee, the City Heights roaster. The board holds three light roast single origins at a time, swapped as new lots arrive.

Cala is cove in Spanish and Italian, and the remodel takes the name at its word: lighter coastal tones, with hand-painted artwork drawn from La Jolla Cove itself. The room runs long and rectangular and opens out onto Girard Avenue, a shape that came with the building rather than one anybody drew for it.