Java Brew

Coffee: 4 stars
Service: 1 star
I walked into this cute little café after a massage (my day out), hoping to get a nice cup of cappuccino & replenish my caffeine supply.
Ambiance is nice, but as I walked in towards the counter and stand in front to look at the menu, the dude working there doesn’t welcome me into the shop or say anything at all. He just gives me a weird look and continues to laugh with another customer. Wow way to make it awkward… I ordered a cappuccino and it tasted pretty good– but the whole time I’m there I just feel extremely unwelcome.
I would definitely make this my go-​to coffee spot on Honolulu if it weren’t for the guy working there. But I don’t like feeling like an intruder when I’m buying my coffee. (& I’ve noticed other reviews commenting on the poor service as well).
*oh and they don’t take credit cards for purchase under $ 5

Great little hole in the wall coffee shop! Iced and blended coffee drinks tasted delicious and seemed original. The below street level patio offered privacy and set the stone for a cozy environment. This is a great alternative to the rather busy ‘corporate’ coffee shops down the street. To add to the charm of this establishment, the dude working there could be a bit friendlier but you can’t blame him much since the air conditioner wasn’t working and it was hot as hell inside.

I always visit this location when I’m in town. The only thing better than the coffee, is the incredible service. If you like coffee this place is the best! Best scones too! LOVE THE AMBIANCE!

I always visit this location when I’m in town. The only thing better than the coffee, is the incredible service. If you like coffee this place is the best!

I honestly haven’t ever ordered anything but Chai Tea Lattes here, but I have driven from downtown LA to Montrose just for one of them. It’s okay though, I own a Prius.

My favorite person at Java Brew hasn’t been here in quite a while and my schedule has changed a bit and therefore I haven’t been able to spend much time here. But I did stop by to kill a few hours 2 weeks ago and my Matcha Green Tea w/​soy still rocks!
I really to enjoy this place. If you haven’t been here, make it a point to stop by. Keep in mind, only one person is on shift at any one time, so be patient and KIND! :-)

Friendly people, excellent coffee and service. That’s all that matters to me. I have to try their food one day due to being in a rush. A hidden little gem that is easy to miss in a plaza. I like the place, it feels real relaxing to be in there. That’s a real coffee shop and that’s something Starbucks is starting to lose. Highly recommended in my books.

awesome

Christen Rock songs a bit too much for me !! But most of the time it’s a nice relaxing place

private little café off of Honolulu! You can easily miss this place due to it being a little below street level. their lattes & coffees are fresh & delicious
it’s one of my personal favorites to lounge at (:

They make their iced coffee the right way here. Fresh brewed every single time, not sitting around all day in some storage container.
The service isn’t Starbuck’s speed if there are a lot of customers, but I would much rather spend my money here. I still have yet to try the food.

Nice place!
As a Montrose resident, I’ve probably walked past Java Brew countless times (normally after their business hours) and wondered about them. With ANOTHER Starbucks going up in the area (by my count, the fourth in a 3-​mile radius), I always fear for the little independents: it is they who are the coffee bean Davids who daily fill their slings with rocks (perhaps beans) and head forth to battle giants.
I don’t think I have to worry about these guys going under. These guys seem to have an extremely loyal following of customers and the atmosphere is really quaint and relaxing. I never felt rushed or unwelcome, which are always pluses in my book. Especially for coffee «hang out» joints that really don’t actually want you to hang out.
As for the coffee? It’s precisely as good as you need it to be at a price that is precisely what you expect to pay. I’ve so far had a Chai Latte and a Vanilla Latte. Both were solid, but were prepared about as well as I’ve had them anywhere else. I don’t need anything earth-​shattering in the morning, but if I want my mind blown I’d probably head to La Mill. Then again, it’s in Silverlake and I’m in Montrose.
Still, friendliness and atmosphere are tops, and isn’t that really what we want from our independent, neighborhood coffee slingers, anyway?

I had lunch in Montrose and wanted to grab a coffee before heading back to work. I hoped on Unilocal and Java Brew sounded interesting… it also happened to be pretty much the only non chain coffee shop on the area. While the other reviews were ecstatic about the place… I thought it was just solid. To be fair I only ordered a Raspberry Mocha and not one of their sandwiches. The Raspberry Mocha was in the solid-​ok range. It wasn’t as strong as I would have liked nor did I get much of a punch of raspberry or mocha… it was all a little muddled. Nothing special in my opinion but still worthy if you are in my situation… in the area and in need of some caffeine.

This hole in the wall is my favorite spot for some legit coffee and a chill atmosphere. The place has a great outdoor patio and calm indoor. Also has WiFi so I usually come and do work while sipping on their finest. I agree with Andy that the drinks are as good, if not better than overpriced/​overhyped intelligentsia and Lamill.
The prices are dirt cheap and their sandwiches/panini’s hit the spot. I highly recommend!

Cool spot. But unfortunately really, really slow on service, especially when only staffed by one person. Waited an unmentionable amount of time for a half sandwich and half salad — the greens were wilted and the chicken was dry. Perhaps it was an off day. I love Montrose and will go back as this is the closest café to my house.

Panini was good (though a little small). Drinks were amazing. Very cute patio outside. street parking.

Tried the BLTA panini. Soooo good. Definitely becoming a regular here :)

I love this place! And here’s why: their SANDWICHES! The sandwiches are always delightful. I’ve tried most of them and they’re ALL really good. But, my favorite is the turkey mozzarella with tomato, red pepper and balsamic vinegar. So good!
The staff there are friendly and they bring your food to your table — always nice touch for a coffee shop. I’ve been there many times and it’s never crowded. What’s really cool about the place is that it’s kinda tucked away — definitely a nice little nook to have lunch!

This is a cute spot. Some small table inside and rarely crowded, so you can get your laptop/​wifi on without issue, if that’s your thing.
The girls working there are nice, and the coffee comes out pretty decent. They’ve got some good selection too, if you want a green matcha type latte, or somesuch. I’ve had a few of the lunch sandwiches, and they are also good, and very reasonably priced.
Wifi is free and works pretty consistently. The outside has a large table and some small tables with shade, and the inside has natural light, but is dark enough where you don’t have to deal with glare (again, if you are doing the laptop thing).
Edit: increased from 4 to 5 stars. This is in my top 10 of favorite places to work.

I’ve found it hard to find a local small coffee place that I really enjoyed lounging around since years ago (when Higley’s in LC went out of business). But I’m recently on a chai kick, so I popped «Chai» into Unilocal for some non-​Starbucks help. Java Brew came up, and I figured I would give it a go.
It’s a little difficult to find Java Brew, so I’m sure it often gets overlooked unless you’re local. Please note that it’s sunken down in a plaza by one of Montrose’s directories, so you go downstairs to get to the entrance. The coffee shop interior is super tiny, but in a non-​claustrophobic way. If it’s nice out (as it usually is), you can enjoy the seating in their mini-​courtyard and sit, chat, and people watch.
When you walk in, you’ll notice that the smell of coffee doesn’t thickly permeate the air like most coffee shops. It’s a refreshing change if you happen to decide to stay indoors. They offer a pretty good selection of baked breakfasty goods, paninis, sandwiches, and salads which looked delicious, but I didn’t partake on this trip.
I got a skim chai latte, and although it was a bit sweet, it was well made and tasted great for skim milk; it also had an almost unnoticeable thickness from regular milk chai lattes. That’s pretty rare in my experience.
An added plus: there’s free wifi and outlets. Java Brew may just be my new favorite place to sit and read on a nice day when I visit my hometown.