If you’re not paying attention, you could easily walk past the tiny Red Window coffee stand in Studio City and miss out on getting your cappuccinos “Aussie-style.”
Just like its name suggests, the quaint, brick-walled coffee shop that shares a parking lot with Iroha Sushi is marked by a scarlet-framed window—and it’s the size of a walk-in closet. But don’t judge this stand by its diminutive size; the coffee purveyors go big with their caffeinated beverages.
Here, you can get your standard flat whites (which, by the way, originated from Australia and New Zealand, but Starbucks got all the credit for popularizing it stateside), lattes, cold brews, and Americanos done well. Their beans hail from some of San Francisco’s best roasters: Patrons get De La Paz for drip coffee and Four Barrel for espresso.
The charming part about this place is that there’s an “Aussie-style” option on the menu that will run you an extra quarter. Basically, chocolate powder gets sprinkled on top of your cappuccino. It may not seem like much, but the sugary bitterness from the chocolate adds zest to the beverage.
Photograph by Jean Trinh
If you think Red Window has a strong Australian influence, you’re right. The husband-and-wife owners Dan and Leah Pringle—who just happen to be music producers and songwriters—are Australian. Jack Daz, a Red Window employee who’s been slinging coffee since the stand first opened about a year-and-a-half ago, says that the Pringles launched this shop because they just wanted a place with good coffee in their neighborhood. The couple lives just around the corner and built the space from the ground up, even importing bricks from Australia to line the structure.
Along with your coffee, you can also grab a pastry—from chocolate croissants to muffins—from their counter. Their baked goods come from L.A.’s Cake Monkey Bakery.
If tiny, take-out windows are your jam, make sure to also check out Mud Hen Tavern’s Blue Window, where you can grab elevated street food like chili cheese Frito tamales and fried artichoke po’ boys.