5 Low-Key LA Food And Drink Spots That Are Great For Meetings, According To A Local

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Everyone's seen the trope of the young ingénue moving to Hollywood with big dreams of becoming famous, then getting beaten down by the reality of the industry. That's why I came to LA 10 years ago with only the modest dream of doing something fun for a living. Whatever your goal is in Hollywood, at some point you have to take a meeting.

Over the years I've found a few go-to spots I'll suggest for a meeting. My criteria are these: It's quiet, there's lots of seating, there isn't a long line, and the place has food, coffee, or beer worth ordering. All four are important. When someone suggests a place where I don't enjoy the food, I usually find a way to redirect to somewhere on my list because I'm not going to waste my time and money on something I don't like.

Although the industry exists all over LA, most of the people I meet with are in the Valley or East of La Brea, so most of the places I go represent that geographical fact. If you're meeting with a major West Side studio, you don't need this list — hopefully they're taking you to lunch at Spago!

The spots below — Basecamp Dinette, The Trails Cafe, Spoke Bicycle Cafe, Quat LA, and All Seasons Brewing Company — are my favorites. But they aren't the only places where I go. Other ones I like are Coffee Commissary (though it can be crowded), Friends & Family (the patio in Silver Lake), and Kissaten Corazon (chill space!).

At the base of Griffith Park, on the Valley side, is Burbank's Equestrian District. As you come up to Basecamp Dinette you may have to wait while a horse crosses the street. Parking in the neighborhood is easy (maybe from the number of people using horses to get around), which prevents the dreaded "looking for parking" text. If nothing else, "Did you know there are horses in LA?" is a fine topic of conversation to start any meeting.

The food, coffee, and beer here are all good. I usually get a drip coffee, which always has a bright flavor. When hungry, I choose either the giant morning bun slathered with a creamy icing or the filling breakfast burrito. The space leans into a national park theme with a brown and yellow sign and photos of mountains. Finding a table has never been an issue, either inside or on the sprawling patio. The patio is well shaded and full of greenery — comfortable even at the height of summer. The cafe is a peaceful place that does not feel like you're right down the street from hectic Los Angeles.

On the other side of the mountain from Basecamp Dinette is The Trails Cafe. This coffee and sandwich stand is along the Ferndell Nature Trail and has several spots to sit at concrete picnic tables. It looks like a rustic cafe inside Griffith Park, but the food and coffee are much better than a park snack stand. Parking is roadside, but you can usually find a spot right by the cafe. If the seating area next to The Trails Cafe is busy with a hiking group stopping on their way back from the observatory, there's always plenty of seating in the picnic areas of the park nearby. Or you can take your coffee to go and do a walking meeting.

Food-wise, the chickpea salad sandwich is simple and delicious. So is the avocado sandwich, which is loaded. The iced coffee is good, and the cafe makes both hot and cold loose leaf teas. Among those offerings is an intensely minty iced tea you can drink on a hot day in the park. A thick tree canopy keeps the space well shaded. 

Along the LA River bike path is Spoke Bicycle Cafe – a place that feels like it came to LA by way of Portland or Berlin. The aesthetic is a bit funkier with the brightly painted walls and outdoor seating space. On one side of the patio is the kitchen; on the other side, a bike repair shop. You can sit out along the bike path and watch life on the Glendale Narrows, a portion of the LA River that isn't fully concrete, full of greenery and birds. The space is big enough that, on a weekday, you can always find a table. (Weekends, it's full of cyclists making a beer or iced coffee stop.)

The delicious coffee drinks use Trystero, a local one-man roaster who sells his beans direct-to-consumer via email, but you can also pick up a bag at Spoke. The food is tasty, the breakfast sandwich and burrito are stand-outs in the morning thanks to the house-made sauce and crisp potatoes. The veggie burger, with its house-made patty, and waffle fries are a must the rest of the day. Whichever type of spuds you choose, the kitchen is a master of making them just right. The food used to be slightly expensive for such a low-key space. However, the rest of the world has caught up, and now a $13 breakfast burrito is reasonable.

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Quat LA is already one of my favorite coffee shops in Los Angeles, and it has enough space to sit and have a conversation. It's a big, sunny courtyard that, on a weekday, can absorb all the people coming for coffee. Tables, benches, and couches give you plenty of options for a quiet corner. Parking is easy – the lot next door has enough space for everyone during the week.

This is the best coffee on this list, as it's the team behind Loquat and Kumquat. The 'quat chain is currently dominating the high-end coffee scene in LA. Kumquat serves beans from all over the world, whereas Loquat is the company's roaster. The menu at Quat LA is still limited, as it opened recently in October of 2025. However, the light roast coffee is still exceptional, and much of it is prepared there. You can see the roaster while you wait for your drink. The perfectly laminated pastries come from Fondry, the bakery owned by the same group. If you're there for a meeting, a scone may be the way to go, though, as you don't want to have to keep wiping croissant flakes off your lap as you discuss the brilliance of your script.

Centrally located All Season Brewing Company is already a big industry hangout. I've been to many entertainment industry mixers at this brewery, and the WGA celebrated the end of the strike here. Hollywood types love a theme, and this place has one. The building is an old Firestone tire shop and little has changed. Where there were once tires, there's now good beer, tasty Mexican food from Chicas Tacos, and skee ball. The restaurant is at a separate little window in the back of the bar. Grab chips and guac to split with the person you're meeting with, or show up early for a hard-shell taco.

There is a lot of space here, and it's in the middle of the city (which just means most Angelenos will have an equally long drive to get to it.) I can only speak to the hoppy beers, but they are well balanced. The beer menu rotates, but there is often a low ABV hazy like the Some New Kind of Kick on tap to sip on. The bartenders are friendly and down for a chat while you wait for the other party to show. The one downside is the parking can be tough, so if they say they are trying to park it doesn't really mean they finally left the house.