Intelligentsia Cafe, Pasadena

I wasn’t able to make it to Intelligentsia Pasadena on the first day, even though I’m a total fangirl and had been waiting for the cafe to open for some time now. However! I did manage to barely make it down to Pasadena today, on their second day open! I was supposed to go into work today to start setting up my new classroom, but due to a very good reason (um…oversleeping) that didn’t happen…

By the time I woke up and actually got out of bed this morning it was pretty late…and I knew that Intelligentsia Pasadena had limited hours (10-4)…but I convinced RE and Jeffrey that we should totally head out and check out the new cafe. I absolutely have to go to work tomorrow (no excuses) and this weekend is jam packed with concerts. Today would be the best day to go…

So we did! Except we got to Pasadena at 3:55pm and after finding parking (the structure behind the cafe) and walking to the shop…it was 3:59pm! Yikes! Talk about cutting it close! I thought maybe I would find the door locked or something…so imagine my surprise when I saw that the cafe was still full of people. Not packed, but there were people definitely getting comfortable (kindle, newspaper, text books).

I was having a discussion with D the other day where he was adamant that Intelligentsia was a chain. The funny thing is he doesn’t even drink coffee and was just trying to prove a point because I tease him about only liking to eat at chain restaurants. I said that sure, there is more than one Intelli coffee shop, but each one is different and has their own style, so to me it didn’t fit the cookie cutter stereotype of a chain. Mike weighed in and said that it was a micro-chain but we agreed that labeling it a chain gave a different idea of what the shops were about.

You know I’m a huge Intelligentsia fan, and I have spent time at both IntelliSL and Intellivenice and both are completely different. They have their own identity, and so does Intelligentsia Pasadena. The shop is beautiful (of course) but what sets it apart from both SL and Venice is that they also offer food items. I’m not talking about the usual Cake Monkey and other pastries (they have that too) but I mean actual food food. Since I was already pushing it (time wise) I hope to come back to check out their lunch menu.

I ordered an Angeleno and RE and Jeffrey disappeared to check out the rest of the cafe. I thought these were their drinks so I took the liberty of photographing. So imagine my surprise when I realized these drinks belonged to someone else. Oopsie. They still looked pretty though! This was my Angeleno (below).

I like the space and design of this shop. It has plenty of seating and is a clear standout within Old Town Pasadena. I like Old Town, and I’ve been going there for years. Remember Gaucho Grill? Remember Saks? And whatever happened to Tommy Tang’s? I used to go there too!

Although Intellivenice will always hold the keys to my heart and will always be my first choice, there’s something about this new Pasadena location that will keep me coming back. It reminded me of a certain shop I visited in Seattle, and I want to come back for the complete cafe experience (food).

Congrats to Kyle and the Intelli crew! Amazing stuff! I can’t wait to go back with my Awesome(town) friends! Let’s make it happen!

Intelligentsia

55 E. Colorado Blvd

Pasadena, CA 91105