Menotti's Coffee Stop
A roaster behind the bar, a boardwalk out front, and a cortado worth the sand in your shoes.
Curator’s note
Nicely — Christopher Abel Alameda — opened Menotti's on Windward Avenue in October 2013, in a building that had belonged to Cesar Menotti, who ran a grocery-front speakeasy there through Prohibition. It opened as a 600-square-foot walk-up with no seats inside, just two chairs out front and a turquoise La Marzocco, built to send you out to the boardwalk with your drink.
Double espresso with an orange peel twist over the shot, steamed Clover milk, house-made Tahitian vanilla syrup, finished with cinnamon. Started as an off-menu drink inspired by Espresso Vivace's Caffe Nico from Nicely's Seattle days.
The one food item with a specific, credited source behind it rather than just a description of the pastry case.
The coffee
Menotti's sells its coffee under its own name, but the production roasting looks to run through Cat & Cloud in Santa Cruz — their wholesale site carries the same blends, under the same names, that are on Menotti's own shelves today. The lineup mixes house blends built around named-farmer lots (Aida Batlle in Chiapas, Damian Chavez in Honduras) with single origins from Ethiopia, Colombia, and Brazil.
Roasting happens in the room, in full view, feeding a house blend and an espresso that are properly dialed in — more than a boardwalk walk-up window owes anyone.
Chapple Design did the interior and brought back the old logo identity that was once painted straight onto the outside of the building. It is a tiny, music-soaked corner of Windward a few steps off the boardwalk, with the roaster working in plain view behind the bar — a walk-up room rather than a sit-down one.
- V.S.E.B. - Menotti's Blend
- Heirloom, Bourbon, Catuai
- Washed
- Various smallholders (Ethiopia); Aida Batlle (Mexico)
citrus · floral · lemon/lime · white grape · caramel
- The Tokyo Blend
- Caturra, Yellow Bourbon, Heirloom
- Natural, Washed
caramel · berries · chocolate
- The Best Friends Blend
- Parainema, regional landrace/heirloom
- Washed and natural
- Damian Chavez (Honduras); various producers (Ethiopia)
white chocolate · cherry · orange · burnt sugar · molasses · cardamom
- Night Shift - Dark Roast
- Dark
- Bourbon
dark chocolate · full body · developed sweetness
- After Party - Dark Roast
- Dark
- Yellow Bourbon
- Pulped natural
dark chocolate · full body · s'mores
- All Night Long - Decaf
- Dark
- Heirloom
- Natural, water-processed decaf
blackberry · molasses · graham cracker
- Colombia El Tejo
- Medium
- Washed
bright fruit · milk chocolate
- Ethiopia Kercha Natural
- Heirloom
- Natural
blueberry · chocolate chips · strawberry ice cream
- Brazil Cavaquinho
- Pulped natural
peanut butter · grape jelly · milk chocolate
- Espresso · Pour-over · Batch drip · Cold brew
- Whole · Oat (Oatly) · Almond · Soy
- Single-origin available · Decaf available
The room
Nathalie Chapple designed the interior and rebuilt the branding, including the original 1920s Menotti's logo that used to be painted on the building's facade. The room runs hand-hewn wood, salvaged ceiling tile, white subway tile, and black steel, with vintage vinyl gear as the only real decoration and international coins set into the bar counter under glass. It opened tiny in 2013, just a walk-up counter with two chairs outside, then doubled into the space next door around 2015, picking up honeycomb floor tile, copper ceiling tile, and bigger windows along the way. The turquoise La Marzocco is still the thing everyone photographs.
Food menu · pet friendly · wheelchair accessible · locally owned
The vibe
Photos
People
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