La La Land

Originally known as La La Land Kind Café – and part of a non-profit supporting foster youth and individuals in need – the coffee shop chain La La Land initially looks Southern Californian, combining bright yellow drink lids, signs, and logos with cupholders and stickers promoting kindness. Tempting though it may be to dismiss its sunshine vibe as cynical marketing, the Texas-based, 30-plus-location chain is taking the opposite tack from deliberately provocative (and arguably toxic) OC rival Coffee Dose, leveraging upbeat branding to appeal to a mostly happy audience.

La La Land’s first Orange County cafe opened in March 2026 following the successful launch of eight outposts across Los Angeles – from Beverly Hills and Brentwood to Calabasas and Westlake Village, the chain’s cafes fit seamlessly into outdoor shopping centers. Here, La La Land is starting with a location at Lido Marina Village, where its sidewalk-facing drink counter, indoor ordering space, and rear seating area feel perfectly suited to Newport Beach, and are already drawing serious crowds. We visited early on a Sunday morning in April 2026, finding the large drink and food prep area robustly staffed and busy with numerous orders – the sort of volume we’d normally see at a Starbucks, but without grumbling customers or transparently overworked baristas. Yellow drink holders, bags, custom heart-shaped straws, and lids all contribute to broadcasting the brand’s message of radiating light “even when the world feels heavy.”

Almost everything we tried at La La Land was in the good to great range. Our two favorite items were a seasonal drink – carrot cake latte ($8.10, medium) – and a piece of carrot cake ($6.50), the former with an espresso base that was pleasantly overwhelmed by a strong carrot- and nutmeg-flavored cream top that was nearly as powerful as the cake itself. A wave-shaped squirt of cream cheese frosting topped with gold foil made the brownie-sized piece of carrot cake feel special and just a little sinful, even though it otherwise tasted healthy (in a good way); we’d certainly order both of these again.