Creama
Categories: Desserts, Coffee & Tea, Bagels, Sandwiches [Edit]
440 Pine AveLong Beach, CA 90802 (562) 435-8435
- Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: No
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: No
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
- Good for: Lunch
- Alcohol: None
11 reviews
Buena Park, CA
"If it weren't for the friendly owner who let us sample their froyo and then giving us a heaping mound of it in a large cup for $6, I…" read more »
21 Reviews for Creama
they have free wifi which is good. but since gas prices have gone so high i have been cutting back of coffee and starbucks. This place is a bit less and free wifi.
Seriously? There were 5 cops and two sheriffs in there the other morning. And a moron cop lost his cellphone and was looking for it in the trashcan and under seat cushions for a good hour. Ahh, our tax dollars at work.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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06/03/2008
I love that Creama is within walking distance and that we can get our coffee fix on the weekends… Read more »
Creama offers trendy, cool decor, fun & eclectic music and a pretty decent wait staff. I am a strict starbuck's gal for my coffee, so I just went in for the panini. Although, the bread was a bit hard, the sandwich was pretty tasty. I ordered the turkey, blue cheese & red onion; despite the bread issue, I'd go back for another. The desserts on the other hand, reminded me of the crap you see in behind the Bristol Farms bakery counter. You know, all that shit they have ordered in and then mark the price up 200%!? The major pluses are that this place is really good hangout spot; they serve beer, framboise and they even have board games so you can invite the whole gang!!
Good coffee, sandwiches, ambiance. It's like they want you to chill there. They have righteous games. If I wasn't alone I would have played the Sex and the City board game.
Screama for Creama!
I went to this place a while back so let me at least write down what I remember. My close friend Jenny was going to leave for Columbia in NY for her master's program, so I, the loyal friend wanted to take her out. I took her to a Greek restaurant close by and then we walked over Creama.
We walked in and the owner was really nice. We didn't know what dessert we wanted and he gave some good suggestions. We settled for this chocolate thing. I forget what it was called but the owner said that "it melts in your mouth" and who can resist something that melts in your mouth? But I'm not too fond of M&Ms. Anyway, so we got that, sat down and shared the chocolate thing. Hah.
It's a nice coffee shop with good desserts. Definitely will check back if I'm around the area. And as for Jenny, she's still in NY. COME BACK JENNY!!!!! =(
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Man, this just brings home how crappy the local coffee places in Carlsbad, my current hometown are. I HAVE to go to Starbucks because the local joints make it so watered down.
I arrived right at opening on a Saturday morning and the gentleman working was extremely friendly. I'm a Southerner so this is extremely important to me. Had a Red Eye and an everything bagel and both were excellent. They had a bunch of magazines to read and free wi-fi.
The place is also spotless.
Anyway, I loved the place and wish I had the wherewithall and talent to start something similar in North County San Diego. It needs it!
I was running late so I didn't have time to wait in line at my usual place. I noticed this place and peeked in. Most of the tables were taken but there was no line. I tried the Spanish quiche. Tasty. Nice selection of pastries, good service, wonderful ambience. Cozy and clean. Half a dozen cops, but I'll take that over the tons of smelly vagrants that mob the place two blocks south. At least the cops don't beg for money.
Its a quaint coffee house located on Pine Street in Long BEACH
great atmosphere great music great coffee and bakery goodies stop in enjoy this place I do............
There are several kinds of coffee shops, and Long Beach has many of each. There's get-a-cup-and-leave, of which Starbucks is a good example. There's the funky hipster / literati shop, like Portfolio or The Library. Then there's the cafe-style shop, of which Creama is the best. Good Panini, strong-ish coffee, good lattes, excellent cappuccino, and best of all - it is served with a genuine smile.
If you like to work in coffee shops, I highly recommend Creama - there's a solid web connection, plenty of outlets, and never a feeling of being rushed. The music volume is also medium to low, so you won't be distracted.
The crowd includes suits, strollers, cruise-ship rats, and off-duty cops. You may not end up arguing over Pynchon or Descartes, but you'll get a good cuppa joe and a satisfying cafe experience.
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I would hve loved to have been the first person to review this, but alas, I have only been on yelp for a short while!
I love this place! I found it one day about two years ago while walking down Pine. Any place that has panini's are great in my book. I love that they have so many varieties. Another huge plus for them is that they have horse radish, well at least they used to. I think they might have gotten rid of it since they don't have the roast beef panini any more :(
As everyone else has said, the staff is very friendly and polite. I have never had a bad experience here.
If you read my reviews, you see that I do a lot of food ordering for my office. I always try to get the shirts some things that they normally don't get, or maybe something with a twist. The last time I ordered sandwiches, I ordered from here. They have an impressive varitey of sandwiches and drinks. The only downside to the sandwich combos is that they only have one type of chip ( plain, kettle cooked). However, they totally let me substiute cookies for the chips. ( I recommend the oatmeal cranberry). I was so impressed that I had them cater breakfast for me the next day. They have a very good selection of breakfast pasties for contintental breakfast.
My only compliant that I have, is, as an office worker in downtown, that they do not deliver, so that means schlepping down the street to them, but that means getting out of the office. In which case, that may actually be a plus.
This place is highly recommended.
Oh, one more thing, I do not recommend the pinaple upside-down cake. It looks very appealing, but it has carmel instead of carmelized pineapple and it just turned me off. But everything else I have tasted was fabu-u!
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We love this place! It's the only neighborhood place that I can think of down here in the doldrums of CityPlace. Comfy couches, window seats, booths, plenty of magazines, board games, it's great to hang out at. Caveat: my wife and two young boys (1 and 3) frequent it, so if you're looking for a pick up joint, no, this isn't it. But the staff is nice, bathrooms clean and, oh yeah, the food I've had is quite good. I especially recommend the cookie-shaped scones with bits or orange (I guess it's an orange scone!) and coffees. If you like cold coffee drinks, I recommend you get a hot caramel mocha, for example (maybe with soy) and have them pour it over ice. The iced frappe-types are from a powder and not as tasty, though not bad. Creama is a gem in what is otherwise a wasteland of cheezy stores, corporate chains and military recruiting storefronts. Check it out.
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Fantasic desserts. This is a great place to go for a leisurely cup of coffee and dessert. But fair warning: leisurely is an important part of this. If you're in a rush, forget about this place. Go to Starbucks for that.
I visited Creama for the first time today. I was craving some bagels and decided to search Yelp of a cafe near by (that wasn't Starbucks) and found this place. Their blueberry bagel was awesome. A nice crust on the outside and soft bread in the inside.
The workers there are so nice. I didn't want cream cheese so the guy put a butter in my bag and said "In case the bagel is too dry for you." That was pretty thoughtful. And the bagel was only $1.25. I'm definitely going to come back here.
Their desserts look really good! Maybe next time I'll get one.
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It's a shame!!!! They gave me a old croissant!!! I saw a guy taking my croissant, going to the "kitchen" and after a handfull of second coming back and giving me a croissant in a greasy bag. By the time I went back home (2 blocks away...), my croissant was hard...
The coffee is very strong, drinck ONLY ONE.
However you have intern access...
I do not recommand...
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I'm a Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf girl, but the closest one is in Bixby Knolls, or Belmont Shores. But I think it's pretty nifty that this place is within walking distance of both work and home, because it's good, too. I went in one afternoon to pick up some chai for myself, and some jasmine tea for my co-worker. They didn't have jasmine, but the lady did list all the teas they do have, all of which sounded delicious. I opted for a green tea.
They sell a few variety Noah's Bagels, too, which even after working for them I'm still a fan. The one Noah's I knew of was in Marina Pacifica, which turned into a Baskin Robbins, and then turned into Chicken Dijon. Also in the pastry case were sandwiches and desserts that made my mouth water. Creme brulee! Berry tarts! Pear & gorgonzola panini! Creama also has a catering menu, which I brought to my office's attention. Mmm, bagel & fruit platters.
I wish this place had opened sooner, since we are moving next week. It would have made for some great quiet get-togethers with a couple of close friends.
Edit: haha, yelp doesn't like my fancy use of international characters. Crm brle FTW.
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I usually stick to a cup of black coffee, so I can't speak comprehensively about its menu, but its decor, service, and ambiance are superior to Starbucks, its nearby Pine Ave competitor.
Comfortable furniture, newish polished wooden furniture, and a dark wooden or tile (?) floor all make for a somewhat chic, yet comfortable, coffee shop.
There is a certain warmth to the baristas' service, and they kinda stay out of the way and make very little noise when they aren't busy, which lends a certain relaxed quality to the store.
Also, it has free wireless internet, which has been a life saver for me since I'm temporarily working from home and have been suffering power outages due to construction in my building. I feel comfortable working and making calls here for many hours at once. Power outages aren't such a bad thing to me any more.
I have experienced a few poseur hipsters and self-inflated businessmen here. But I guess it's marginally better than the homeless that frequent the Starbucks a couple blocks away.
It's always nice to see a new local business have the balls to go up against a better financed corporation, and beat it at its own game.
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I stumbled across this place yesterday after lunch at George's. I probably wouldn't have even noticed it if it weren't for the name. My best friend, a former barista, explained to me what the creama of espresso is. And it stuck. (look it up, people. I'm not an encyclopedia.)
So, my friend and I stopped in and we were pleasantly surprised. The decor is that of an indie-coffeehouse, but nicer. They have these quasi-booths that are very comfortable. The furniture is new, so you don't need to deal with those wobbly tables that you wind up sticking a pile of napkins under the leg.
The service was very friendly and helpful. They seemed to know what they were talking about. The barista told me they have free Wifi too. I love free wi-fi. F you, Starbucks.
The coffee was really good. Not over-powering, and certainly not watered down. They also had some great sugar-free syrups, which is always a big thing in my book.
So, definitely come here instead of Starbucks. Especially the one on Pine, that always seems dirty and is a home to some very shady characters.
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I used to work at the old Press-Telegram building and we were all about the opening of this place! It's a great walk down to Creama and the staff was always great. The coffee was always done the way coffee is supposed to be done and its a great place to get a sandwich or a DESSERT! oh man their desserts were the best!
Creama is definitely a great asset to the downtown. Long live the indy coffeehouse!!!
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i like this place a lot. clean, nice staff, delicious looking treats (i have yet to try), drinks are decently priced.. they even have beer!!! a cool place to hang out for a bit.
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One of the upsides of Starbucks ubiquitous presence on the corporate landscape is that it has attracted many competing (read: better) independent coffee establishments near its stores.
Starbucks has a store on Long Beach's Pine Avenue, of course, but just a block north of its store is independent coffeehouse Creama. The prices are the same, but the money is far better spent at this one-store, locally owned shop.
Creama has a good selection of coffees and teas, hot and cold, fair trade and ... umm ... not. But the coffeehouse, a little more than a year old, has slowly but successfully added to its menu to become a one-stop eatery emporium. It stocks bagels and rich pastries provided by an outside purveyor and delivered fresh daily. It makes four delicious pressed panini sandwiches in store, the best (and fastest-selling) being pear and gorgonzola cheese.
The decor is simple, yet polished. The tables have laminated tops covering foreign currency, and the best seat in the house is an overstuffed chaise.
If that's not reason enough, customer service is provided by friendly -- and attractive -- staffers.
And no car is needed. It's on Pine Avenue, within the Blue Line Loop and an easy walk from the First Street Transit Mall.
Transit access: Metro Blue Line and bus lines 60/360 and 232; all Long Beach Transit routes except 101-103, 131 and 171; LADOT Line 142; Orange County Transportation Authority Line 60; and Torrance Transit Line 3.
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I love me some Starbucks. I really do. As an ex-partner, I find it very difficult to break away from my extra ice, double tall, vanilla latte. But if I can find another place that can make me something 90% close, 95% of the time, then we have a deal. This is how I feel about Creama. The staff is SUPER friendly, I mean knock your socks off happy, so that always feels good. And yes, like a previous Yelper, I would say pretty damn attractive as well. The pastries are pretty damn good looking too, although I haven't tried many because I'm trying to lose the pounds. Which brings me to my next point, I also like Creama because they don't carry whole milk, only non-fat and 2%. I dunno why, nor do I know why I like that idea, but I do. Last but not least, you don't get the homeless crowd that Starbucks draws on their patio. I have nothing against the homeless, I just usually like to enjoy my coffee homeless-free.
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