POT Cafe

Had the black sesame mochi. The mochi was moist and delicious in texture and flavor. However, I’ve realized I’m not into black sesame flavoring for my desserts, so this is a personal preference and not a bash on the item itself.
Friendly and helpful staff. Right across the street from the Normandie/​Wilshire metro line.

We stayed at the line hotel for a company event. Honestly, this is my first Unilocal review ever but just leaving it based off of the breakfast sandwich which tasted alright, nothing special. Ate it two hours ago, and just threw it all back up for some reason. It really was such a bummer. Because the POT restaurant was great.

I came here one morning when I was in KTown; I was looking for coffee but, didn’t find this place until I stumbled upon it. There was a little line forming but, I wasn’t sure what to choose. I wanted to try the matcha latte with soy but, unfortunately they were out. So, I stuck with my usual and ordered a soy chai latta, hot. It was gingery and spicy, like real chai should be. They weren’t using a powder mix like a lot of other places do. I love when you could taste the actual ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, and flavors of the chai masala mix. It’s a little pricey but, worth trying. It;s located in the Line Hotel, I believe. They have nice enclosed booths for you to sit and enjoy your beverage. They were very friendly when they took my order. It was a cool place to try.

Thought I wasn’t a fan of toffee. But Pot’s cookie translation wooed me. I ordered the red eye and the aforementioned toffee choco-​chip cookie. I was wide eyed and bushy tailed after three gulps from the generous serving. Did I leave room for sweetener? No. I believe it is best to have coffee and sugar chemically react directly in my mouth. There is a taste experience missed if you sweeten your coffee before tasting it. This is why, when I drink chocolate milk, I don’t stir. I put syrup on the edges of the cup. LPT.

well first off, full disclosure here… Roy Choi is my LA hero. aren’t the Kogi taco trucks legendary??! they began a nationwide revolution in food on wheels. to this day, Kogi is still my favorite food truck, being consistent and true to itself. but he didn’t stop there. today, Choi has an empire in this angelic city, and continues to sojourn outside and above its realms. when Choi opened the Pot Café, he was talking to that other [ginormous] part of my heart that adores sweets and baked delectibles.
the first time i stopped by here i couldn’t get past the pastry case and coffee menu. (well that was the case for the second, third and fourth time too.) that BLACK SESAME MOCHI is one of my favorite things here. a firm mochi cake, slightly sweet, topped with black sesame buttercream and toasted coconut and black sesame seeds. the other things i love are the BUNS! there’s the BoG, the which is topped with butter, sugar and crystalized ginger, then toasted to caramelized goodness. it’s the perfect anytime snack with coffee. the brioche bun is fresh and i feel like a little girl again in all its buttery sweet comfort. the HURRICANE is a more savory version (with garlic, butter and furikake) but just as powerful when it comes to taste. both are toasted to order. ahh… comfort food! i love the SALTY CHOCOLATE FUDGE COOKIE. it’s scrumptious… the HELLO KITTY CAKE is a yellow cake layered with lemon marscapone and raspberry jam, topped with whipped cream. the F-​CARAMEL candy you will see as an afterthought, «ok i’ll grab one of these too!» item right in front of the register is worth trying. it’s a savory caramel, with a molassesy and spicy (think sriracha) kick. also try the MISUGARU LATTE (with an extra shot), my favorite drink here. the PIZZAS are pretty bomb satisfying too! and that MISO CHOCOLATE BAR, delicious dark chocolate treat to enjoy after you’ve left.
surprisingly, i did have the chance to grab actual lunch here. loved everything we ordered:
STONED BIBIMBAP WITH KALBI — just really comforting bibimbap, sizzling, with the crusty rice on the bottom. who doesn’t love that?!! loved all the elements.
OLD SCHOOL — flavors were spot on. intense and bold. tons of sauce, authentic veggies… felt like i was in southeast asia. just divine.
SIDE OF SPICY PORK — served on a sizzling platter on a bed of white onion. they complemented each other perfectly. i could’ve used a bit more spice to the meat, but you can always add. meat was tender and flavorful.
service was pleasant. love the way Choi has a way of re-​inventing LA. definitely has done so in the Line Hotel. it’s all about bringing new into the old… perfect revival for this hotel. and everywhere you look, it’s old+new… check out the centerpieces, made of «refurbished» milk cartons, spray painted and filled with succulents. my son also loved the little blocks filled with army figures.

This is the best Café I’ve been to in a long time. The funny thing is it’s inside a hotel. Once again Roy Choi does it again with his pastries. C’mon!!? he’s just on fire right now. Let me break it down:
— Hawaiian sweet rolls turned into cinnamon rolls
— Hot dogs wrapped in dough and drizzled with mayo & Sriracha
— Bun-​tops with milk & butter spread and ginger & honey spread (amazing!!)
— The chocolate hazelnut cream bun tasted like Ferrero Rocher
— The breakfast pizza was ridiculous! It had sunny-​side eggs running on top, the bacon has a sweet apple glaze to it, and the crust was baked to perfection.
The coffees were A++! The habanero mocha is one of the best espresso drinks ever created; the chocolate used is made straight from the kitchen and fresh picked habaneros are sliced for it’s juice to be used for the heat. It’s a genius creation.
I also loved their iced misugaru latte! It’s one of the best lattes/​drinks I’ve ever had as well. It’s like a black sesame mochi drink. It’s creamy with sesame black bean texture so this makes the drink more like a soft smoothie-​latte hybrid.
I love POT Café with a passion. It opened my eyes to new ideas and creations. Right now, this is the best pastry joint and Roy is killing these local chefs.

I really like it here.
Pot Café is the little café located in the lobby of the Line Hotel. If you have friends visiting from out of town, and want to check out the recent revitalization of K-​town without the commitment of a $ 15 dollar brunch dish at the obscenely popular Commissary upstairs, I would highly recommend grabbing breakfast/​lunch at the little café and making your way upstairs after.
You order at the counter. It’s self seating both inside the lobby/​dining area of the hotel as well as the patio out front. LA has real nice days, so you should take advantage of that if you can. The café menu offers a number of affordable breakfast pastries, pizza pastries, pastry pastries, so everything is super wallet friendly.
Two favorites:
–breakfast sandwich ($ 9): eggs, cheese, choice of breakfast protein (in my case, bacon), sandwiched between artery clogging buttery toast. Yeah whatever, it’s a little greasy, but you can easily wash the grease down with an ice cold brew. Really good.
–congee ($ 6): congee is just rice porridge. Here they top the porridge with scallions, fried onions (maybe), garlic, a poached egg, and other delectable things. Maybe because I grew up familiar with the porridge texture and taste, but the congee here is really, really good. If you’re feeling adventurous — definitely check this out.
If you happen to be in the area — make it a point to stop by. Grab a bite, grab some coffee, and chill out in the front and people watch.

If you’re staying at The Line Hotel (like I was), it’s super convenient to roll downstairs to POT and pick up a cup of coffee and get your day started. Also, you can feel the hospitality at POT because their staff are super friendly. The downside is, is because it’s attached to the hotel, prices become highway robbery for just an average cup of joe.
I was in LA for a mini, 4-​day vacation and stayed at The Line. Every day I was there, I visited POT. And on every visit, there was always a line of at least 6 people. If you’re in a rush, I recommend just getting a drip coffee. If you have some time to spare, give their latte or mocha a try (both were fab)! While it might take a little bit of time to whip up, it’s not too shabby. If I come back, I definitely am going to give their horchata latte a try, which I’ve heard so much about.

As a workplace to pop open a laptop, take meetings, or read a book without feeling like you’re taking up valuable real estate that is ready to be poached the minute you get up to leave, POT in the lobby of the Line Hotel gets 5 stars from me. The seating is plush and plentiful, the wifi free and reliable (when inside… it’s a bit spotty outside), and the open layout of the space is perfect for drowning yourself in whatever task you set out to accomplish there. If you metro or live nearby, you don’t have to worry about parking, either.
As for the café itself, it’s in a hotel, so it’s not cheap. I do love the variety of their coffee beverages and their pastry case is a sweet tooth’s wet dream come to life. I’ve had the iced horchata latte, which was as divine as it sounds. On this last visit, I had the da bang iced coffee and a toffee chocolate chip cookie. I was lured to the cookie by a sign on the sandwich board outside the hotel that boasted the cookie as being voted one of LA’s best. I disagree. It wasn’t anything special, but still a cookie, so not a huge loss for my afternoon snack. The da bang iced coffee was basically the equivalent of a high schooler’s doctored up version of instant coffee (basically all the ingredients you would find at ⁷⁄₁₁ coffee condiment station piled in)…and I loved every minute of it! At $ 4-​$ 5, though, I wish it was at least some fancy drip coffee being bastardized by all things sucrose.
All in all, though, $ 8ish for an iced coffee and a cookie, wifi, comfortable seating, and 5+ hours of uninterrupted work time ain’t too shabby in the land of Angels.

They use LaMill coffee and serve up a pretty decent cup of coffee. I wish they would use better quality milk though… You would think a place as hip as Line Hotel and LaMill coffee would use organic milk…

I Love this place sooooo much. I stay at the Hotel and come here every morning. Staffs are so friendly and the veggie pizza was my fav.

Two words for you. Breakfast. Pizza !!
Life changing !!!
Great vibe here as it is part of an artsy koreatown hotel. The pastries are delicious you must try the guava and almond POT pie. However I must say be ready for a mediocre cup of coffee. Wish it was just a tad bit better nonetheless my favorite place to go on Saturday mornings. Outdoor seating accommodates my pup as well.

This café is located in the Line Hotel. While waiting for a table at Pot, my friend and I grabbed a coffee and a latte to kill time.
Originally I wanted the chai tea latte but they were out of chai tea so I got the pot latte which the barista described as similar to earl grey. For a regular cup of latte, it came out to almost $ 4.which is probably average for DTLA coffee. I enjoyed the latte very much because it was a chilly night in LA.
The café also offers congee and lots of different pastries.
Inside the Line Hotel, they have lots of sofas and tables for you to sit and enjoy your drink. Sound enough, my table was ready at Pot!

Just for the crazy good custard bun and the decadent candy bar, this place deserves at least 4 stars. The cakes here looked great, the people working here were extremely helpful with choosing what to order, and the sweets were pretty awesome.
I don’t think this is hands down the best bakery in LA but you can definitely do some work here if you are in the area looking for something sweet. The candy bar here is like a cross between a brittle, a shortbread cookie, pecan bark, and biscotti. In other words, it is ridiculously good.
All the buns here are just perfect, but I think I enjoyed the custard bun the most. There is a huge amount of egg in the custard and it is so subtly sweet that it gives the bun a extremely rich taste without being overly cloying. Yum.
The Hello Kitty cake here is also awesome. I would definitely recommend this café if you are in the area looking for some sweets, or if you finish a meal at the nearby POT restaurant and are craving some legit dessert.

Roy is on a roll these days. He’s been in the paper recently and opened up this place not too long ago which also houses Pot Restaurant inside the refurbished, Line Hotel in KTown. Open early and late for hotel guest and anyone who needs a quick bite.
I came here recently after my sis, MK D., gave me custard bun she bought here. I thought it was good but not great. The bread is a brioche with vanilla custard.
The main reason I came her was to try their black sesame mochi cake. I love mochi cake. Loved it ever since I met mochi when I was a youngster when my mom made batches especially for me. Pot Café’s version is good, not great. I wish it was a bit thicker and more buttery. The black sesame is an buttercream icing sprinkled with kinako (soy bean flour) crumbles. Flavor go well. Actually, my other sis, Angela AM makes great mochi… Ask her to make you some (for a price).
There also an assortment of other bunds, sweet toast, sweet breads, pricey small cookies, cakes (Hello Kitty), French bread pizza slices along with Lamill coffee and teas. Signature beverages are horchatta latte and habanera mocha.
Worth a drive? Maybe not but if your in the area, it’s worth a try.
This café is directly across from Wilshire Normandie Metro Station.

I’ve been here twice now you see
Once to pick up a friend
once to meet three
While there I had some coffee
I couldn’t leave without trying the pastry
Once I had some with red bean
The taste was more than would seem
Another with guava and cheese
Not as tasty if you please
I prefer the red bean as for me
If I return I may leave with three
I look forward to trying the ones with mochi
@eatatpot and you’ll see

The POT CaFe is in the lobby of The Line Hotel all the way across the room from the POT Bar. If you’re waiting for a table at POT, then you can pass the time at either one of these two spots. When we came for dinner early on a Friday evening, it was still pretty quiet in the lobby, but that all changed by the time we were done. A live DJ was playing and the room was filled with loud music and folks having drinks, eating desserts and chatting away. The cool thing is that there are so many seats that we still didn’t have any trouble finding an area for us.
We were originally going to head out for shave ice, but saw they have it here so we stayed put. They offer one kind of SHAVED BINGSU with fresh mochi cake, sesame brittle, sweet red bean, condensed milk and misugaru powder. We got a couple of them to share between all of us, plus we couldn’t pass up on the HELLO KITTY CAKE. The desserts were pretty good, but it’s more about convenience if you’re craving something sweet and you’re already here. The service at the CaFe was fine, but the service in the lobby overall was horrendous. We kept trying to flag someone down for water. After waving our arms and asking multiple servers, we did finally get it.

Of course I had to stop by the CaFe on my way to POT.
Ritz Candy Bar: An impressive concoction but not as tasty as I was hoping for. There’s not a lot of toffee or chocolate-​y flavor in it. It had the classic toffee-​bar texture but just tasted mildly like butter.
Hawaiian Pull-​Apart bread: Really, the most special part was the sweet butter they brushed on top. Otherwise, I honestly prefer Kings Hawaiian rolls.
Since I’ll probably come back to POT, I’ll probably come back here. The strawberries & cream bun were calling my name.

Good coffee and desserts till late night. Been here couple times already, during the day to work (they have free wifi) and for dessert after dinner at POT.
My fave is the Hello Kitty cake that’s made with raspberry and lemon. The army cake was a little too sweet for me.
The red bean mochi was just ok.
But great place for quick pastry and coffee in Ktown.

If you could pick up Hello Kitty and eat her she would taste exactly like the Hello kitty cake at Pot Café. She would be fluffy and light pink with a hint of raspberry flavor. Her innards are slightly sour, cause she’s a more complex kitty than we think. She’s filled with a special delicate lemony crème which compliments her perfectly sweetened white condensed milk, frosted exterior.
Oh Hello Kitty Cake, you are mighty tasty! Hey Pot Café, how about a Rainbow Brite or Care Bears cake? I see a possible theme here. Copyright issues aside. The very simple looking Hello Kitty Cake is fantastic. Besides the name there isn’t much to entice you to try her, because she looks like every other plain ‘ol cake/​kitty on the block, but this one is special enough to be dubbed the one and only Hello kitty.
That’s the case with most of the offerings in the Pot Café display case. They don’t look very exciting (some of them look downright unappetizing) but once you take a bite you realize the complexity and subtleties of the creations. The magic that is Marian Mar and the skills she brings from NYC’ s Momofuku milk bar.
Oh and Don’t pass on those Mochi bars. They are ugly but mighty tasty and more complex than they look. There is more than what meets the eye here at Pot Café.