Bougie SoCal cafe chain announces major expansion to London

A Southern California institution is taking its pricey lattes across the pond.Urth Caffé — the celeb-friendly cafe chain that grew from modest origins to a SoCal staple — revealed it will open an outpost in London’s Covent Garden in early 2027.“London is calling…and Urth Caffé has answered,” the company announced on Instagram — calling the brand a perfect fit for the “neighborhood of new and old traditions.” The perennially packed tourist hotspot many time zones away is a long way from the cafe’s humble, 1990s beginnings, when grabbing an Urth latte on Melrose Avenue was practically a prerequisite for being young and fashionable in LA.

Over time, the brand became beloved around the region for its organic coffees, boba teas, enormous salads and sweet desserts.The celebrity cachet was helped along by appearances on HBO’s “Entourage,” with locations in West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and Santa Monica becoming prime people watching territory.But judging by the reaction to the latest expansion, the excitement has faded among some longtime customers.“It’s actually so mid, food is not good but the vibes are cool,” one commenter snarked beneath a KTLA Instagram post about the London expansion.

“Their food is terrible,” one person bluntly declared, while another asked of its international success: “How? It isn’t good.”One apparent fan offered perhaps the most backhanded endorsement of all: “Love some Urth ️ but they need to focus on the quality and service at their US locations instead of expanding internationally,” they wrote.“I wouldn’t trade Europe’s bakeries and coffee for this or any American coffee shop,” one continental type snarked.Urth was founded by husband and wife duo Jilla and Shallom Berkman, and first opened in 1991 in Manhattan Beach, before the operation relocated in 1994 to the larger Melrose location.

Current US stores include Downtown LA, Pasadena, Laguna Beach, Orange, Hawthorne and outposts at...