Hooked Venice

Hooked, the name says it all. The coffee shop is ran by one talented individual and an additional talented one from Flow Coffee. These guys utilize their experience and expertise to serve each individual customer a crafted drink which is prepared in front of you, enjoy the experience. I have been to this coffee shop several times now, service and quality have not declined but rather improved. If you’re a coffee nerd, a connoisseur, or whatever label you identify yourself as with regard to coffee, then this coffee shop is a must. Easily within my top 3 coffee shops in California. As always, I drop a bit of crumbs to my readers, here are three. One, try their salted caramel latte, it’s honestly their most slept on drink although it does get sold out before Sunday. Second, their brewed coffee is nearly identical to many other coffee shops Pour-Overs, a must. Third crumb, Abel (owner of hooked), is a 3 times latte art world champion, another reason why Hooked is such a slept on location. Thank me later, with a coffee.

My brother and I tried the cappuccino and cortado. Both were excellent. The cappuccino is in the top 2-3 I’ve ever had, while the cortado was unquestionably the best I’ve ever had. The main barista introduced himself as “Nicely”, and it turns out he happens to be friends with my favorite barista in LA-Jason from Caffe Luxxe, which gave him credibility points. I would love to see those two in a PPV cappuccino showdown one of these days, I would volunteer to be one of the judges. Anyway, the spot is cool, the lady helping them is very accommodating and nice, and I also liked Nicely and his understudy. Some reviews mention staff being rude but I didn’t pick up on any of that, I just think it’s just a particular place run by an eccentric and quirky guy. In conclusion, I would come back in a heartbeat and strongly recommend to anyone who takes their espresso drinks seriously.

This place was exceptional. Tucked inside Dudley Market right along the water, it transforms into a coffee shop during the day. I walked in and there was a warm familial vibe between everyone. And a great DJ. Seems like a neighborhood staple. It was just one barista operating the shop, he opened this place four years ago and clearly cares deeply about the craft of coffee!! He was thoughtful and said the quality of beans and where/how they were sourced was important to him. He even sells the beans in vintage VHS movie tapes. The drinks were excellent. I ordered the Cafe Rico. Warm, bold, rich coffee with a hint of orange, vanilla and a thick frothy top sprinkled with cacao. Amazing. No modifications, which feels like the artistry. You drink as it’s intended. I ended up grabbing a cappuccino as well bc my first drink was so impressive and I’d heard rave reviews about this spot. I noticed online there were poor reviews about him specifically being a jerk but he was lovely to me! We had really nice conversation. Little sassy but in a fun way. Like when I ordered the cafe Rico he was like “okay be basic then”. Which I thought was funny. Will definitely be coming back. Can’t wait to try more drinks. Thanks Nicely!! xx

I was so excited to finally get to try this spot for a latte but had such an awful experience I left without what they wanted to force me to purchase. I flew to Missouri to see a neurosurgeon, a specialist, right before the pandemic and because of related concerns I asked if I could have my latte deconstructed with the steamed milk separate in advance first so I could add my own powdered nootropic creamer, which I carry with me. I got the most awful response that I consider it abusive and a violation of my civil rights as an American with disabilities as well as just tremendously bad customer service. He could have just said no I can’t or won’t or made another suggestion but it ended up with the barrister letting another customer try to bully me into whatever they expected. I noticed that another review mentions what horrible service she got in response to her being an American with disabilities so that customer is in no way alone in her shock and disappointment.

This place is crazy. I didn’t even know coffee could taste this good. Bit spendy but it’s worth it. Full send. Go here and you may literally have the best coffee of your life