Bar Betsy Is the Breezy All-Day Cafe and Wine Bar Altadena Needs Right Now
In Altadena, a sense of renewed hope fills the air along with the intoxicating scent of blooming star jasmine. New residential construction seems to be underway in every direction as longtime residents trickle back after remediating or rebuilding their homes.
What to order
- Wells was a formidable player in Los Angeles’s third-wave coffee movement years before he opened the two Betsys in Altadena. Given his experience and expertise, the coffee drinks — from filter to cortados and cappuccinos — arrive balanced and strong using Ex-Animo beans from Vancouver.
- Head baker Dahlia Gomez’s morning pastries remain worth waking up early for, especially the delicately crumbly orange poppy seed scone and plump and pliable pecan sticky bun.
- Don’t miss the creamy grits sourced from South Carolina’s Lowcountry. Under chef Avanthi Dev’s care, they arrive topped with thickly cut, slightly sweetened bacon; a bright hit of tomatillo salsa; and a smattering of fresh scallions and cilantro. A poached egg can be added for heartier appetites.
- The dinner menu’s lone pasta dish — cavatelli with smoked pork belly, zucchini, walnut pesto, and preserved lemon — tastes like a soulful ode to summer. There’s a silkiness to the cavatelli that keeps forks coming back for more.
Insider tip
The workers behind the counter can warm up sticky buns to order if you ask nicely; pastries taste best fresh from the oven.
Make a day of it
Before or after a meal at Bar Betsy, swing into the pair of women-owned shops anchoring Mariposa Street. Heading toward Lake Avenue sits Sidecca, a store specializing in whimsical women’s clothing (think: bright colors and cutesy prints), trinkets that wouldn’t be out of place at ‘90s mall staple Aahs!, and a selection of Altadena merch. On the opposite end of the block is Carciofi Design. The “paper boutique and studio” specializes in fancy wedding invitations but also sells a well-curated selection of highly giftable paper goods, home goods, and jewelry.
