Brick & Bell Cafe – La Jolla Shores

Awesome café! The ladies there were so nice and helpful. Their Caramel macchiato was delicious. Perfect after our kayak outing.

Every weekend morning we are on the hunt for excellent coffee, a couple of pastries and a nice outdoor seating area in our neighborhood. Brick & Bell was our first choice at la jolla shores, as it looks very inviting and nice, and doesn’t have that super long line out the door like shore house kitchen up the street does. I have to say I have been here more than 20 times now, and sadly I’m keep getting disappointed. Brick & Bell has awesome acai bowls (5 out of 5 stars) and pastries (5 out of 5). Food is okay, but nothing outrageous (3 out of 5). My biggest disappointment is however, the coffee (1 out of 5). It is very clear that they have no training what so ever as baristas, as they keep burning the milk and not ever getting the foam right. Also, the people who work there have a bad attitude (2 out of 5)… We found out that shore house kitchen serves way better coffee, so we’ll be going there from now on.

The best scones in town! I’ve never had a better scone. Ever.
Their coffee is great (but not amazing) & the staff is very friendly.
It also makes a great place to relax on the weekend or work during the week.

Brick and Bell is a La Jolla gem. I am so thankful for their second location, beautifully located on Avenida de la Playa RIGHT near LJ Shores, a nice option besides their downtown La Jolla original store.
This Brick and Bell is GORGEOUS. It channels the La Jolla class and charm in a way that is magentic to me – I NEED to spend a morning there. It is stunning and super cute outside, has a beautiful patio and GORGEOUS purple trees outside, and the inside is clean, with white tile everywhere and nice bright lights and A FIREPLACE. Ina Garten would be SO into this. Ina, hit me up if you’re in the area and we will go here. Then we will be best friends, I promise.
But I digress. I am shamelessly into their scones, and this location DEFINITELY has them. They seem to have less selection than the other location, but still a WIDE selection nonetheless! They had all the faves – orange almond, blueberry, maple, cranberry, etc. They also offer the full menu and the coffee selection loyalists have come to know and love.
AND, the prices are shockingly reasonable. I got 8 mini scones, a regular sized scone (the regular ones are HUGE – easy to share with a friend), AND a 16 oz coffee for $ 13. WHAT? I’m totally smitten.
This place is my dream. It is far too beautiful and is totally my future house goals. Staff are super nice and efficient and helpful, and location is ¹⁰⁄₁₀. Perfect for early mornings, breakfast, brunch, a coffee stop, or a meetup with friends, OR SUPER perfect for introverts (especially real early – they open at 5, I came at 630 and it was just me and one other person – what a dream!).
I will be back SOON. Brick and Bell, you’ve done it again!

I was looking for a good acai bowl and I found it! Wow their bowls are amazing. Their granola really tops it off. I’ll definitely be coming back here. Also, their vanilla chai latte is delicious. Thanks for great food and service!

The maple scone ($ 2.95) left a greasy aftertaste in my mouth as if it were made with cheap unhealthy Crisco shortening, rather than butter or other quality ingredient. After eating the scone, I had to go home to brush my teeth thoroughly and gargle to eradicate the greasy film stuck to my teeth and the inside of my mouth. I thought only cheap greasy donut shops used Crisco shortening for baking. Be warned.

I love local coffee shops and brick and bell does not disappoint. So many drink choices and they don’t charge you an arm and a leg. A large caramel macchiato I think is 3 dollars and some cents, in comparison to places like Starbucks, that’s a pretty awesome deal. Pastries are delicious and beautiful to look at. Location is great. All around great place.

Super clean, mega white, well organized, fast and awesome coffee. Plus cute accessories to play for our pictures. A lovely coffee shop, on the smaller side, perfect for waiting for a brunch table at a restaurant nearby. We were a large group and they were very accommodating.

This is mostly a review of the acai bowl and especially in relation to the ones I’ve had in the past. They used to be amazing and super fresh now they’re $ 8 and have been over frozen. I feel like this was one of the distinguishing points about this café in the past. When I brought up the poor quality of the food the staff said «sorry» and did nothing about it. This new location also lacks the atmosphere of the downtown La Jolla location. Not a bad spot but definitely nothing special and I would avoid the overpriced bowls.

Their scones are melt in your mouth goodness! I like mine softer, and not as dry as they typically are and this is especially true about their scones. Their cranberry orange are my favorite! The bigger ones are almost doughy on the inside and they’re scrumptious! Perfect for breakfast, snack or dessert!
And the café is super cute with indoor and outdoor seating.
#sandiegofoodgirls

Yum! Best scones ever.
When I go anywhere else and try a scone, I always wish it was one of these.
The people behind the counter are always refreshing and the coffee and cappuccino is right on point.

Price $$
Quality: 4.5 stars
Service: 4 stars
Value: 4 stars
Portions: average
Neat little breakfast/​café located just off of the main strip. Very limited seating inside, more patio seating available outside. Great tasting scones and decent cup of coffee. Hot meals are just as fullfilling. Great place for breakfast/​brunch if you want to avoid the wait at the other overrated breakfast cafes nearby.

I’ve been a fan of the Brick & Bell on Silverado and this new location is just as good. Terrific scones, friendly staff and a perfect caramel macchiato. So charming!

I would come here every day if I lived in La Jolla. They made a delicious cappuccino and the almond croissant was a little over baked and dry but had a lovely flavor. I’m hoping I’ll have opportunity to return.

Cute café with excellent pastries. Nice servers. Shady & inviting patio in a great location. I had just baked a dozen blueberry muffins that morning for my kids & their sleep over friends right before we came up to LaJolla, but the Brick & Bell scones looked so good I had to order a big one. Perfect texture and flavor. Moist but still held its shape. Mildly sweet to allow the flavor of the cranberries to shine. Light dusting of sugar on top for a quick sweet taste but won’t overwhelm you. We were supposed to get a coffee and latte only, nothing else. But we happily ate the whole scone and both commented on how nice it was. I bake quite a bit and would drive 50 miles out of my way for a good bakery, Brick & Bell baked goods definitely worthy of the extra miles.

A lovely location and interior design. Clean and bright.
The scones are good, albeit on the dry side. I grabbed a small blueberry scone and it was somewhat crusty on the outside, soft on the inside. The croissant would be much better if it were warmed up. It has all the fluffiness and doughiness of a Costco croissant. There is no crunchiness or crustiness to be found, just a flat, buttery taste.

I can’t speak to their food as I didn’t get any but came in here for a smoothie. It was DELICIOUS-​I asked for a strawberry with orange juice smoothie. The prices were very reasonable (I believe 24 oz was $ 4). It’s a relatively small café but they have seating both outside and indoors. The girls that worked here are extremely friendly and accommodating.
Also, they have AC!

This is Brick & Bells Café’s second location and a very nice location it is. I stopped in early in the morning and ordered a house drip coffee, their lox on a everything bagel, and a mini sesame and berry scone.
The lox was pretty good. They toasted the everything bagel so it had good texture and they placed a generous amount of smoked salmon, cream cheese, and topped it with crisp red onions, sliced tomatoes, and capers. I added a nice dusting of black pepper because that is the way I roll. It all tasted very good and was a great way to start the day.
The mini scone which cost a couple of bucks was good. It was not as moist as I would of liked, but it had good flavor, especially the sesame seeds and berries. The drip coffee was very good. It was a medium roast with a very good smooth flavor.
They offer comfortable seating inside and a nice shady patio outside. They have free Wi-​Fi and make simple breakfast items, such as scrambles, sandwiches, granola, and fruit bowls. The girls that were running the shop were very cool, especially Bruna, who demonstrated a great attitude and was quite helpful.

One of the cleanest places I’ve visited. They have a unisex bathroom for customers. Approximately five small tables inside and several tables outside, some with umbrellas.
I’m not a coffee drinker, but the I was told the coffee is better than Starbucks.
The chocolate chip scone was tasty and the chocolate protein shake was good, I don’t know if they use real peanut butter or syrup… I think I would have added some if I knew it was real peanut butter… I regret not asking.
I would recommend this place if your looking for a snack, treat, or small meal.

Woohoo, my favorite coffee spot opened another location! This location is a bit more spacious on the inside than its original location, and the drinks are just as good! Super clean and modern looking inside, with a couple tables sprinkled inside as well as outside.
My go-​to here is always an almond milk latte, or an americano. Rich and strong espresso, just the way I like it. It is a bit pricey however ($ 3.25 for a small almond milk latte. welcome to La Jolla). The SCONES here are delicious, and it’s hard to resist stuffing my face with these after my workout. They do look smaller here than the ones at their other location, not 100% sure if the pricing is the same though…
The offerings are slightly different and more limited than their other location — several people came in asking for their sandwiches but apparently they won’t be serving those here. They have pretzel bread sandwiches, and will eventually be offering paninis and soups.
The girls here are super friendly and service is fast. It’s a couple blocks from the beach and next to Shorehouse kitchen so I see this is a great place to grab coffee while I wait for brunch.