Los Angeles
Why I won’t Go Back to abbot Kinney
Cafe Crawling at AK
Stepping out of the car onto the narrow, sunsoaked backstreets of Venice Beach, I am immediately hit with that smell I know all too well: the sea. The smell of home. My mood boosted by the ocean breeze after a tiring day of buzzing around Los Angeles, I am ready to explore one of Venice’s most iconic streets: Abbot Kinney.
Aside from the endless stream of palm trees and tourists, the most noticeable feature of Abbot Kinney is the string of cafes. On every block, it seems as if there’s an infinite supply of swanky new coffee shops, each catering to those looking for the typical “LA experience.” Walking past the million-dollar clothing stores and hip fad bars, I marvel at the ability of Abbot Kinney to feel both authentic and disingenuous at the same time. This is unmistakably Los Angeles — the palm trees, streetwear, and fancy cars give that away. And yet, when I take a closer look at the people enjoying this crowded, beautiful area, I struggle to find anyone who looks like they actually live here. Tourists, both domestic and international, dominate the landscape, and we soon find clues as to why this was happening. Enter the first stop on our AK cafe crawl, Shuhari Matcha Cafe.
Shuhari has the kind of energy I would expect from a sunbaked beachfront surf shop. A mixture of soft rock, reggae, and indie music fills the atmosphere as we walk into the bamboo-decorated interior, and there is a distinct surfer theme integrated into the Japanese-inspired decor. A Kanagawa Wave mural takes up most of the space on the left wall, and matcha tea products line nearly every available surface. The menu has countless options — from traditional matcha tea to waffles and ice cream — nearly all of which incorporate matcha flavor in some way. I am initially aghast at the pricing; five dollars for a cup of matcha tea? I could make that at home for two dollars if I didn’t mind giving up the Venice experience I would get in the cafe. Nevertheless, I order a cone of vegan matcha ice cream, and take it into the back of the store to explore one of my favorite parts of this location: the bamboo garden.
Walking into the back courtyard of Shuhari, I am overcome with the soothing scent of incense. The garden walls are lined with tall stalks of living bamboo, and bulbous string lights hang over the couches situated throughout the area. This is the perfect place to sit down, unwind, and enjoy the admittedly delicious ice cream I bought. Sitting in the tranquil setting of the bamboo sanctuary, I give myself some time to reflect on my initial reactions to Abbot Kinney. It makes sense, seeing the price of a single cup of matcha tea, why LA locals prefer not to frequent this area; it’s so, so expensive. I always wondered why I’ve never been, growing up just an hour away from this place, and now I know. It’s a beautiful street, and there’s loads to do — that’s for sure. But how can I justify coming to these titular “LA” hotspots when their products cost twice as much as anywhere else’s? Slightly frustrated, but still content after enjoying my heaping cone of ice cream, we move on to our next cafe — Cha Cha Matcha Cafe.
Cha Cha’s vibe is a world away from the lowkey surfer theme of Shuhari. For one, Cha Cha is much busier, probably due to the fact that it’s nationally renowned as one of the first popularizers of matcha in the US. With features in the likes of Vogue, Timeout, and Wall Street Journal, it’s no wonder why tourists flock to this cafe to get their fix of the green drink. The decor in Cha Cha has a mix of vintage items typical of an LA hotspot; old vinyls, cigar boxes, and movie posters are scattered throughout the store. Succulents are on every available surface, just waiting to be posed next to a delicious matcha drink for an Instagram post or a Snap Story. The whole room is light pink, and the countertops are flecked with bits of green, giving the cafe a distinct color palette which separates it from much of the rest of Abbot Kinney. The drinks here are even more exorbitantly expensive than those at Shuhari, and could be enjoyed either in the comfortable wicker furniture scattered sparsely across the floor, or on the sills of the large, perpetually-open windows dominating both exterior walls.
At a glance, both Cha Cha and Shuhari offer two distinctly LA experiences, but in reality, both are incredibly similar in the actual food and beverages they serve. This would be normal were there just those two and no more. This is far from the case, however. In fact, just in the short stretch of Abbot Kinney that we walked around, we see at least six “unique” cafes which, in reality, all serve incredibly similar pricey drinks meant to cater to those seeking some LA flavor. It was fun to play tourist for the day and to enjoy these places from an outside perspective, however, it gave me a lot to think about as someone native to the greater Los Angeles area. Would I ever go back to these places? Probably not. I think most of these types of locales are a “one and done” deal for someone living near them, and as a college student, it’s hard to justify going to a place that is simply not built to accommodate me. Abbot Kinney is a tourist trap, plain and simple, and it makes me a bit sad to think that many of the most fun places in LA are engineered solely for people who don’t even live here. I would still recommend coming here to anyone visiting LA, though; it makes the city look just like it does in the movies. For someone unfamiliar with LA culture, this is a great place to take photos, window shop, and enjoy the kind of coffee that one only sees on the feeds of Instagram foodies. But for the SoCal native, or anyone who has the opportunity to spend more than a few days in Los Angeles, I would encourage you to look deeper; there are some amazing spots still hiding in this city, untainted by the capitalistic fervor of the tourism industry.
Words: Niko Frost
Photos: Niko Frost and Apple Cuneo
