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Categories: Coffee & Tea, Sandwiches
Neighborhood: Echo ParkMon-Fri. 6:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Sat-Sun. 7:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
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the most important aspect of chango, beside the location in a darling strip of businesses [well, except the real estate broker office], is that they carry brooklyn bagel bagels. these are the best local new york bagels.
the changing shows of art by local artists hanging on the walls is also interesting. good exposure for artists who might not otherwise be showing.
fine beverages, as well.
haven't supped there yet, however.
I am done with Chango! How hard is it to make a good coffee?!! You are one of the only Echo Park coffee joints and you mess it up. I am done.
1 and 1/2 stars but rounded up to 2.
I agree with some of the other people saying 2- 1/2 Stars but I rounded up for good measure.
This…
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Chango is a reliable coffee shop in Elysian Heights. The coffee is decent and they offer a variety of decent food options. For vegans, they offer a "chicken" pesto and grilled "cheese" options, which are both very good. They leave soy milk out with the dairy, which is a major plus, because several coffee shops charge for a drop of soy in coffee. Free wi-fi, although it isn't the fastest. Clientele is local and I've never had anyone, staff or customer, act unpleasant or rude to me.
The downsides to Chango are few, but notable: They keep strange hours (and close bizarrely early, 6PM) and sometimes close before the posted time. There is an overzealous parking enforcement officer that trolls the loading zone and red curb directly outside the storefront, so be careful! The music is deafening at times, which makes it difficult to work.
Even so, this a great coffee house, and the best I've found in Echo Park.
Highly average coffee, it smells a bit inside. Stale pastries. Generally lame art on the walls.
People don't go for the coffee but to be seen in their check flannel shirts and skinny jeans.
Anyone know the deal with the one English guy who drinks coffee outside this place as a full time job. It has become an joke for my friends and family who drive by every day.
a) he must drink a ton of coffee
b) he loves to chat and will talk to anyone
c) once you know his face its guaranteed he'll be there when you leave the hood on your errands and will not leave until sundown.
He has been there for years now. Say hello to him from me as you leave with your stale muffin and lame latte.
I give him mad props he is dedicated to this place its bonkers.
Well the music is a little on the loud side, but they do play good music.
I don't get why there are so many bad reviews?
Service: I think if you tried not being a douche all…
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Good sized tables, not wobbly. Good yerba mate. Friendly staff. Odd and interesting mix of music. So I'm going back.
Good feng shui. This coffee shop sort of backs into a hill and occupies a small corner niche on Echo Park Blvd. Their breakfast burritos are the thing to get, and the coffee is pretty good as well. There's a bookshelf by the doorway with a revolving selection of orphaned works of literature, not sure if it's donation or trade or read-while-you-sit, but it's nice to have. A big tin of doggie biscuits and water bowl by the entrance means it's a dog-friendly establishment, with convenient outdoor seating to boot. If you're fed up with metered parking at other places, you can usually find free street parking here.
Thank god we have Fix.
I lived up the street from Chango for 3 years and I am here to say that it sucks. Ass.
Yeah I really want to come here and step around the art school drop outs and stuffy hipster snobs that make themselves at home with their smelly dogs chained to the sidewalk tables while they have some discussion about the virtues of sustainable corn fuel, so I can stand in line for 30 minutes to get a $4 luke warm latte served up by some guy who looks like an extra from Little House on the Prairie. Oh but at least I get too look at some crappy local art on the walls while I wait. I'd take Starbuck's any day over this inconsistent, thrift store trust fund baby wasteland. Yeah thats right I said it. STARBUCKS!!!
Lots of knit caps.
Once I peed on the outside of the building.
Ok, so you think that living right above Chango sounds like a great idea, that is, until you realize all the coffee patrons hog your parking. Bummer for parking anywhere convenient.
But, I must say that I like the barista and I do enjoy the soy latte. Every now and then I'll pop by and pay my hipster dues but I'm not going to steal toilet paper. (Read Albert S's review)
Before I came, I was pretty nervous from all the stinky reviews. Would they like me? Would they be mean? Was I cool enough? uh, um, but..no, not today, I'm not strong enough.
Oh, BALONEY TO THE HIPSTER OBSESSIVE.
I've got no niche, neither hip nor normal, and you know what? They're ALWAYS nice to me here. Pastries delicious, free refills on coffee, decent selection of books to read from the bookshelf.
..and for the days when I feel guilty ingesting high-butter-pastries but can't forgo eating one, there are huge steps right outside to run up and down! They're famous, you can just say you're checking out local history.
Chango is overpriced. 7 bucks for an iced coffee and iced soy latte that are just average. There's nothing horribly wrong with this place except for the fact that their coffee is overpriced... The staff is nice enough and attentive. Although I do hate that it's almost always hard to find parking.
2-1/2 stars
CONS
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- WEIRD SERVICE. I don't know if I can classify it as "bad" but the guy was kind of mean. When he gave me the credit card slip to sign, he was freakin' EAGLE-EYEING THE "TIP" LINE. This made me feel VERY uncomfortable and VIOLATED, so rather than rounding off my total charge to the nearest dollar, I flat out wrote "0" and signed my signature.
- WEAK HOT CHOCOLATE: We had tea and hot chocolate. The H.C. was LUKEWARM and the cup was about 60% full and the rest was FOAM! Moreover, it tasted instant - like the Nestle packets you find in your office kitchen. I was NOT HAPPY.
- CLOSES EARLY. We drove by Chango around 9 and it was already closed.
PROS
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- CUTE PLACE: you can't deny that this place has a warm, old skool hippy vibe.
- RED BATHROOM: very cool concept - the entire lavatory has bright red walls - kind of creepy if you saw this in someone's house though.
- BIG SQUARE TABLES: they provide ample room for small parties (1-3 people) who want to study, socialize, or play board games.
Changos' is a decent Cup o' Joe.
Iced Coffee: low acidity, slightly woody
Cuban Sandwich: unfatty ham (yay), perkily dill pickles, joyous bread.
Good lounge spot.
Free WiFi.
It's an EP rite of passage to write a Chango yelp review. Well here's mine. I live right up the street and I've been here maybe 3 times in 2 1/2 years. I never really asked myself why but maybe now is the time.
Perhaps it's the drive up appeal that has kept me away. As soon as I approach the intersection of Echo Park and Hipster Drive, I can see them peering above their macbooks. Their little beady eyes staring behind blu-blocker original issue shades, under lightly sweat soaked wool beanies in the July morning sun, Jeans too tight to sit in without terminal plumber butt. "O...M...G...he is NOT thinking about parking his non vintage automobile and walking his non fashionably clothed self into MY coffee shop/living room/supercool zone!" they mumble in a tantric unison as I instead make a left onto Echo Park and drive on towards my productive day.
On the few occasions I HAve gone in I was un-nerved by the foot dragging baristas. I don't expect McD's robot like speed of service, but I AM paying for this Americano, not scoring a free one from a hungover friend who's couch I passed out on the night before. A little sense of service would be nice. I just think they could add a barista or 2.
I will say that I didn't think anyone working there had an attitude. They were very polite and seemed to enjoy their station in life. I just feel like life is passing that station by. I had to get out. I felt that if I had stayed a minute longer than necessary I would walk out the door and BAM it's 2011. I mean, I'll drive by in the morning, come back in the evening, and the same people are still sitting outside. ?
Aesthetically it's got the feel of a Mission District SF beanery with concrete floor and a "pack up the place and disappear in 20 min if necessary" setup. I can see why some like it. If you have the time and the look then go for it. I have neither. I get the feeling more from the patrons than the staff that I don't belong there.
Coffee- burnt
WiFi-spotty
Food-haven't tried any, maybe it's amazing.
Maybe the next time I get my $1k custom jeans re-sewn next door, I'll stop in and try the mint lemonade. In the meantime. I'll just keep driving by
Not my thing.
It was all I could do not to post this review WHILE I was eating my vegan pesto chicken sandwich today. Holy god. I traveled all the way from WeHo after reading about this baby on a food blog to try it as well as...yep, WORK ON MY SCREENPLAY! (When I'm writing Lifetime movies for a living, who will be laughing then, haters?)
When I walked in, I was disappointed to see the sandwiches were pre-made, wrapped in plastic in a cold case. To be honest, they didn't look like much. WELL LOOKS CAN BE DECEIVING!!! I ordered, they toasted up my sandwich, and what followed was an animal-free lunch experience that can only be called divine. Big cubes of fake chicken and a homemade pesto sauce that wasn't too oily or overpowering on a big, crunchy but soft roll. I had a rice milk latte with it, and I was happy they had milk options so I wouldn't get the super soy shitz.
At first it was crowded, and the place felt like a tight squeeze, but I didn' really mind. They were playing the Carrie Nations. As in, the "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls" soundtrack. THAT'S LIKE MY HOLLYWOOD FANTASY CAFE.
Everyone complaining about hipsters is so annoying and insecure. I walked in wearing head to toe Forever 21 cast-offs circa 2004 and a raggedy old fucking Whole Foods bag as my "purse" and no one was a-judgin'. Pretty smiley and attentive service. What is a hipster anyway? Let it go.
Minus one point for chairs that hurt my butt after awhile. And the internet didn't work at ALL on my Mac for the first hour...but I didn't really mind, because I was working on that killer screenplay. :)
Ok I really like Chango. I call it changos. Don't why I need the plural or possessive form, but I do.
I came here to study on a lazy Saturday and felt completely normal. Got myself a refill, overheard some silly hipster conversations...but I felt completely at ease. I know it's not hip doing math at a coffee shop in hip-echo-park. But who cares about hip-ness. I'm not an artist or band-member. I'm just the next girl looking to drink some coffee and prepare for the day.
This place reminds me of Atlas in Williamsburg Brooklyn. Rundown. Shabby. Filled with hipsters, and yet I don't feel judged. I feel like you can get away with anything here. It's not a catwalk, folks.
Chango is my favorite little place to be on Saturday morning, read a good book drink my iced chai with my dog.
Great conversation, plus a nice walk from my house!
Love it!
Free Wii Fi!
Lots of attitude..poor service..expensive second rate coffee...more than anything is the phony bolony hipster attitude which ruins a really cool corner.
It is really that difficult to be nice to your customers? not even on the champs de elysses do you get this &%%$ service.
Save your time and money and skip this dump!
Don't mean to be a hater, but I've been here twice and both times I had bitter, burnt coffee, stale pastry, and seriously mean service. Not rude, discourteous, but fracking mean.
Since there are so many coffee places nearby, there's literally no point in coming here. I would honestly rather drive down the road to Starbucks and support their crap because at least their company policy forces their employees to be nice to you.
Meanies!!!
the only reason i'm writing this is because i'm surprised at how many people dislike this place. seems weird.
this is pretty much my coffeeshop of choice if i'm lookin to just hang out with my laptop. it's super cheap, considering if you bring yr own cup you get a discount. not sure if they give free refills anymore tho? can't remember. coffee is good, & the place is chill with mostly mellow clientele, everybody who works there has always been cool to me and everyone else while i'm there.
my main gripe is that they close pretty early, and don't have their hours posted so i really don't even know when they open & close. the hours this listing on yelp says are not right... they DEFINITELY close way earlier than 10pm.
i don't know why people complain about chango. every time i come here, the service staff is kind, the coffee is super strong, and the wifi is free. chango carries lots of different teas, like genmaicha (my favorite), and for those of us who are vegan and trying to watch our soy intake, they offer rice and almond milk for an additional 65 cents... (i think it's an extra dollar for rice or almond milk at the bourgeois pig in hollywood...and they don't even have them at intelligentsia, so don't ask).
the rudeness of the staff at chango has become rather legendary on their yelp reviews, but my experience could not differ more. incidentally, if you are having trouble with staff rudeness, perhaps you should try being pre-emptively, genuinely nice. it usually works. you might even get an add shot for free from an appreciative barista, who just doesn't get enough kindness from the average caffeine-twitching, free-wifi poaching cafe goer. just try it!
Get it together Chango - you are all we have in Echo Park for a quality coffee house!
I'm in love with the Arnold Palmers here. Very refreshing, fresh and not saturated with sugar. Yum. And the bagels are great. I hear the sandwiches are pretty good too. But I have complaints about the service. I don't want or need peppy customer service but I do care to be treated cordially. I noticed the service going downhill... again. I thought it was just me but I found other customers who feel the same.
Free WIFI. Decent coffee. It's low key. Hipsters Schmishters...It's a good place to write for me, close to mi casa. Woot woot! I don't mind the service. Who cares if the people behind the counter don't worship the ground you walk on. I think I actually prefer that kind of treatment. Maybe that's just me though.
Man, I hate how it's monday. Boo.
Following a VERY HOT dodger game today, my friends and I stopped at this neighborhood coffee house. It's full of character from the artist's display for sale, to the food, to the drinks galore. Well, I didn't really like the art work this time, but it's been amazing in the past and the artists do display it for sale.
I had "Aunt Mahalia's" - or however you spell that. It was a black tea blended with fruit juices, kind of a new twist on an Arnold Palmer. VERY REFRESHING for a nice price of about $2.50 for a large! My friends ordered a variety of things, espresso shots, iced coffees, etc. We were all pleased and had a nice time chatting while there.
Character like this cannot be replaced by chain coffee houses. We need more of them!!!!
I can't believe I haven't reviewed this place on Yelp yet. Can I give Zero stars? They deserve it.
Lame-o decor.
Bad coffee.
Blah food.
Rude, Rude, RUDE employees. One time, and I am not making this up, This bitchy guy who works there ( we call him keanu) was taking out the trash and literally hit first my stroller (which had a baby in it) and then my face. He hit me in the face with a bag of trash he had flung over his shoulder. He hit me in the face with a bag of trash AND THEN! told me that I and the baby were in the way......we were in line and in no way in the way. Maybe he should have waited to take the trash out when there wasn't a line of people.
Another time, instead of giving me my Change, he shoved my change in his tip jar......wha? I took it back, it was $1 and change.
The one star is for this cute guy Gavin who worked there, he was always really nice and wore tight pants. I liked that.
I never go here anymore. stay away.
Not much to look at from the outside, and the name is kind of uninspiring, but hey I changed my mind - I like it now!
A very centrally located place to chill and check your email and get a bagel, it's the little things that make a big difference - right?
They play very decent music here, free WIFI (but you need the code to login), also very decent art the time I've visited. I found the service very friendly. The barista dropped my bagel and gave me a fresh one, now THAT"S soyviss.
As far as the dipster element, I didn't think it was that bad, but I did spy some post burners disussing they're next trip to black rock.
Extra star for having AC.
p.s. I was not working on a screenplay.
Now this is the place to go!
The place to go, that is, if you want mediocre coffee, rude service, long lines, stale pastries, and a look of death if you don't drop a dollar in the tip jar for a $2.00 drink.
It's especially great to go here early on Easter morning. You'll hear things like this:
"Oooh, I made some Easter cookies. He IS RIIISSSSSSEN! Hahahaha!"
It's nice to know that employees at Chango have no problem insulting a large group of people on their most holy day of the year in front of customers, what with a Christian church across the street. I mean really, who needs Christians as patrons anyway? They only make up, what, 80% of the population, right?
Also: do you love chalk boards but hate erasers? Go to Chango! You can enjoy the experience of waiting in a long line to order a sandwich only to find that your choice is sold out and that they couldn't bother to ERASE that choice from the CHALK board placed on the counter.
There are two other places for coffee on the street (Delilah's and Magic Gas) and one more a few blocks away (Downbeat Cafe) but why bother? Chango is there to make you feel better about treating everyone you know like a total jerk.
Chango's very near where I live so I've been in a few times just due to the convenience. I'd agree with a lot of the complaints about rude service. I've been in three times, I acted the same way each time, got different service each time.
When I was dressed casual and slightly cool, they were tolerating me. When I was dressed dorky (for a morning hike), they were passive-aggressive with me. When I was dressed like I had a lot more money than they did, they were actively hostile.
Every time I was in there, I was quiet, but reasonably friendly. I tipped every time, too.
The coffees are good, the food's OK, but I would say the place is basically a waste of time, unless you A) enjoy dressing up to suit the whims of baristas or B) happen to dress in a way that they will approve of anyway.
Also, the review where somebody said the Keanu guy there hit her and her child with a bag of trash, then told her it was her fault? I can totally see that. I think I know who she means.
Check out the review from Pamela - can't tell the difference between punk rock and being a bratty child. I don't know what her deal is but that's pretty representative of the vibe.
On the other hand, if you're wearing the right kind of clothes and you want to feel safe antagonizing people, I guess it's good for something.
A charmingly bohemian Echo Park mainstay with decent coffee, passable bagels, and an undeserved sense of smugness.
The place is charming; the clientele, not so much. Chango is best appreciated on a Sunday morning before the hipster scum that populate it have woken up, shaken off their hangovers, and snagged a table for the day, peering over their macbooks or leather-bound journals to express contempt at everyone and anyone who walks in.
I haven't had too much trouble with the service itself, though, and the coffee is quite decent. Visitors, however, can see why the place has a somewhat deserved reputation as the poster child for the neighborhood's gentrification.
It's f*ckin' ExPx people!!! Please explain to me how the lone place to get a latte within 5 square miles is not going to be filled with hipsters. That's like being mad because you moved to Chinatown and "dammit, there are all these Chinese people in my favorite Dim Sum joint"!!!
It is what it is. I live on the block and yeah, sometimes you do have to wait for your coffee. Hey, don't want to wait 20 minutes in line behind hipsters for your coffee and "breakfast sandwich?" Here's the answer... get your coffee at 7am. Hipster's aren't awake at 7am. Oh wait, you don't get up that early... oh yeah, I forgot... YOU'RE A HIPSTER!!
If you want Starbucks' automaton-like service-with-a-grimace, why the hell did you move to Echo Park?
If you go there regularly, smile at the person making your coffee, introduce yourself, hey, maybe even act like a neighbor and drop a tip. Maybe everyone won't think you're such a punter and treat you as such.
2.5 Stars but I'm feeling generous so I'm giving it 3 because I like monkeys (specially monkeys that know Kung Fu) -- see this link: http://www.youtube.com...
I'm pretty neutral about this place. They really tried at the beginning but now it sort of blah. Nothing memorable. Ok drinks, not bad. Staff was helpful, decor a somewhat "street" vibe (exposed brick walls, graffiti style prints on the wall). Street parking really sucks ass every time I come here.
The employees play very bad, annoying musak. Then again, wouldn't you? And you will die trying to say hello to a fellow patron. You're in Los Angeles, for God's sake! So I recommend coming in as early as possible when it's still really cold outside and nobody except the server, you, and that other weirdo who got there before you, are there.
You will get a cup of regular coffee here. It won't kill you. Once, some friends asked me where I'd breakfasted that day, which had been at a Denny's. They whipped out their cells, one called the coroner, the other the police, and the third took my pulse. It was a little after 1pm, and when I looked at my watch and suggested we grab a bite at Norm's, I cleared the room.
Since opening two years ago, Chango has done nothing to help L.A.'s dire espresso situation (Urth and Peet's are not enough.)
What *should* be Echo Park's destination coffee spot is instead a great opportunity squandered. Chango sits right on Chicken Corner - a great location, decent space, okay atmosphere and crowd.
But Chango brews light roast espresso beans that have a high-pitched finish -- like a soprano who can't sing. Furthermore, the Chango staff doesn't know how to steam milk. You get loose fish-egg foam instead of thick velvety cream.
The worst offense? Stale boring pastries. Bleh.
Nope.
Stale or out of everything. Even the homemade ice cream here is bad. How can you screw up something so wonderful as ice cream??
The place just looks dirty. Wet Swiffers and a spritz of disinfectant never hurt anyone.
Oh well. You are lucky if you come here and they have the mint lemonade. It's pretty good, but they probably just ran out right before you ordered it.
I live right by this place...and I thought it was cool when I first moved here. Then I realized everyone that worked here was a jerk.
They get really pissed if you pay witha credit card....and there food isn't so hot.
One time, when I went to this place after a really long day at work...
I'm ready to chill out and have some coffee....
the girl at the register tells me "Hey, hows it going!?"
I'm like "hey?!" thinking WOW someones actually nice here...
then she goes "You look just like the guy I used to know that worked here!!"
I was like "oh yeah?"
she goes "Yeah..But he was a total @sshole. "
I was like "oh....thanks"
better off going to delilah down the street and getting a cupcake.
Want to get a boyfriend that is in a band, will sponge off you for years and smells like B.O.? Want to wait 25 minutes for a breakfast sandwich? Want people to look like you are crazy when you ask for any type of service?
Then you WANT to go to Chango.
Full of filthy hipster-wanna-be's who always seem to be cruising for action and really lazy workers, this cute little cafe is actually a good place to read a book (that is why I gave it 2 stars) and hang out in Echo Park area. Some outside seating near some GREAT hiking trails makes it a good coffee stop - just don't EVER be in a hurry. I guess it is a good place to "slow down" if you like it or not.
The home of my preferred liquid crack (generally taken in the form of a medium iced coffee with a couple packets of raw sugar), Chango is the refreshing keepin-it-real good music playin', art exhibiting anti-Starbux that everyone needs in their life. Plus, they open at the godforsaken hour of 5:30 a.m.
OK, so it's true that the famous chicken-graffiti wall (which, along with the former chicken grazing area across the street is how the block came to be known as Chicken Corner) was blasted in the making of Chango. Colorful wall art has taken its place -- I believe it was placed as a backdrop for some commercial/movie/tv scene.
Chango has ample seating indoors and out, is kid- and dog-friendly, and has free WiFi after 12 noon. Also, slightly overpriced sandwiches and properly priced bagels, muffins, pastries, etc. Oh yeah, and reallllyy good ice cream in the summertime.
UPDATE: Chango is raising money for a pizza oven. My suggestion: replace the ice cream display freezer with a couple taps of local beer. Beer license is cheap + I need somewhere nearby to sip Craftsman.
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Neighborhood: Elysian Park
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