Fast Times

A coffee bar at the back of a clothing store

Fast Times is not a café you walk into from the street. It is the coffee counter inside Buck Mason’s women’s flagship on Abbot Kinney in Venice, Los Angeles, set at the back of the shop, so the visit begins as retail and turns into coffee somewhere around the second rail of clothes. The overlap is deliberate rather than accidental, coffee meeting retail in the most literal way, and the name fits the store’s Southern California styling: relaxed, sunlit and retro-modern, while keeping the counter distinct from the clothing line.

Espresso first, pastry second

The coffee comes from an outside roasting partner, built on a house espresso blend with rotating single origins behind it, which puts the counter above the usual retail-café standard. Food is minimal and honest about being minimal: a small pastry case, no kitchen, nothing pretending to be lunch. Order at the bar, wait in the shop, then either take the cup with you or stay a little in the store.

Order the cappuccino

Ask for the cappuccino first. It is the drink that shows what the espresso blend does with milk, and it is the most reliable read on a counter this size. A latte is the softer version of the same idea and a cortado keeps the espresso concentrated for anyone who wants less milk in the way. Seating is limited and the rhythm runs morning to afternoon, so treat it as a stop on Abbot Kinney rather than a place to set up for the day.