Sweet Elle Cafe

This post was meant to be done by NYE but with the busyness of the holidays and the emotions 2020 brought, I found it difficult to find the time and stillness to sit and reflect. 2020 was a year none of us will forget. For many of us, it was filled with challenges, adversity, loss and hurt. We struggled together as a community and nation the brokenness of our society: the divisiveness and the deeply-rooted anger, resentment and heartache. And then, we had to figure out the p...andemic-something modern society has not had to do. It was a tough year, to say the least. 2020 was also the year 2.0 started its journey; a journey filled mainly with unknowns and questions of whether we would be able to survive through a pandemic after not being open for 14 months. I didn’t know what I was doing, honestly, because I had to set aside all the planning I had worked on the year we were down. And then, the downtown location happened out of nowhere. As we have experienced, life does not always happen the way we plan. There are joys and then there are heartaches. But as we surrender what we can not control, we continue to develop muscles. Muscles to persevere, to be comfortable with being uncomfortable, to remain grateful and hopeful, and to push forward to do and be better. We learn the true meaning and heart of gratitude as we acknowledge every given moment a gift, for brokenness is always followed by pruning, healing, restoration and renewal. I hold onto this promise and hope as we embark into 2021. So many of you have shown us overwhelming support, encouragement and inspiration to help us continue through. You helped create home and we are immensely grateful. As we continue to grow our Sweet Elle community here and now downtown, we encourage you to continue partnering with us in spreading this communal and familial love, persevering through difficult times armed with love, respect, understanding, empathy and compassion. For this is the true heart of Sweet Elle. 2021, we are ready for you! *stay tuned for some exciting news about our downtown location!

Announcement: Closed Monday, 1/4. After a long and eventful 2020 year, our staff will be taking a much needed break today to rest, recharge and reset to better serve you this 2021 year. Thank you all for your support through an unforgettable 2020 year. Longer post to come :).

Mama Hwang’s New Year’s Meal Kit A traditional Korean New Year meal. Ever since when I can remember, my mom would make a spread of Kalbi jjim (braised short rib), different jeon (Korean savory pancakes, japchae and of course dduk Mandu gook with homemade dumplings prepared all the week of New Year’s day. It was the one meal our extended family would not be allowed to miss. Although this year our families can not all gather, Mama Hwang wants to share our Korean family traditi...on with you all. This meal kit is available online or in store. Order by 5pm Tuesday for Wednesday pick up or 5pm Wednesday for Thursday pick-up. Pick-up between 12pm-4pm.

Merry Christmas to our Sweet Elle family! We are so incredibly blessed for all of your support over the last decade and we are hopeful and excited to continue on this journey. For the very first time (and our first Meadowlark Christmas!), Our team is here and ready to serve you this Christmas morning. We hope to see you :) 7am-noon. Coffee. Burritos. Avo Toast. Biscuit Sandwiches.

Mama Hwang’s Christmas Meal Kit Mama Hwang is bringing on her special holiday menu with her famous braised short rib! She is also bringing back her homemade kimchi! We are also featuring my grandma’s traditional Suh lung tang soup recipes! Aka Korean oxtail bone broth. A recipe handed down about 35 years ago to my mum, made over a 24 hour period with oxtail. ... Pre-order until Tuesday at 5pm online or in store. Pick-up for this Wednesday or on Christmas Eve, 11am-4pm.

Tuesday is NATIONAL COFFEE DAY! That calls for a celebration! All day tomorrow, we are doing $2 lattes, FREE filter coffee with any pastry or breakfast purchase, and 20% off @coavacoffee retail coffee beans. Bring a friend or two and hang out with us on our large, socially distanced patio with some coffee and breakfast!... See more

Have you tried any of our burritos yet?? Fresh, healthy and DELICIOUS. TODAY ONLY for back to school, We are having our burrito special!!! $10 for any burrito and a coffee!!!! We’ll be here til 4. Kitchen open til 2.

We are kicking off the #distancelearning school year with a lot of fun specials THIS WEEK! Come by this week, today tomorrow or everyday to take advantage of our killer deals! We wanna make it just a little easier for y’all to navigate through this new season of distance learning. Let’s continue to get through this season together, Sweet Elle Fam! ... Open Monday-Friday 7am-4pm. Kitchen opens 8am-2pm. Breakfast served all day! See more

We have been so blessed by all of you during these challenging times. Sweet Elle continues to press forward because of you all, so we THANK YOU. .. Your endless support and encouragement push us to continue our purpose here in Huntington Beach: to be your home away from home. Our mission always remains the same. We exist to foster an inviting and socially conscious community that promotes love, respect and genuine hospitality. This has been and always will be the heart of Swe...et Elle. .. 7 years ago, I began developing a heart for downtown HB.. and specifically a very certain location. Brian and I ended moving downtown when we got married. We immediately saw the need for our neighborhood to have a safe+comfortable place where downtown locals could go to and feel at home. We then felt convicted to expand our hearts to this area. .. In 2017, Brian and I discussed opening Sweet Elle’s 2nd location in the year 2020. Our community was growing and our hope was to reach out to the greater HB community. However, when we lost our lease last year, we felt like we had to give up our plans for that second location. At that time, we just had to fight for and be grateful for even having ONE location. .. But as we all have experienced together, life is full of surprises. However in this case, a pleasant one. Here we are now in 2020 and we have graciously been given the opportunity to bring Sweet Elle to its 2nd location in the exact spot I had hoped and prayed for 7 years ago. We feel a bit crazy trying to do this again in the middle of a pandemic but we know that this opportunity is not mere coincidence but a real calling and challenge to expand our hearts, our space and our love to the downtown HB community. .. We are excited to announce that we will be continuing the legacy of 328 11th St., where both the beloved Café Enchante and Sit Stay Cafe once resided. A location that left a strong impression on my heart and one we are proud to call our new, third home. .. Thank you for always believing in us. We love having you a part of our journey and story. We are able to do this because of you. Downtown, here we come! Grace+Brian See more

We are expanding our hours effective TOMORROW! .. .. We are now moving into the next phase of our re-opening: EXPANDED HOURS! ..... .. Starting Tuesday, we will be opening an hour earlier at 7am and closing one hour later at 4pm. .. .. Kitchen Hours remain the same: 8am-2pm. .. .. Come by and grab a coffee+pastry on your way into work, aka home office :) .. .. See y’all bright and early tomorrow See more

BOBA+90s HIP HOP and R&B ..... ..... TONIGHT! 6pm-9pm ........ Housemade Peach Milk Berry Matcha Horchata Shikhye (Korean malted rice beverage) Almond Milk Tea .... .... Mama Hwang’s Sweet n spicy fried chicken + Korean sushi rolls (veggie + beef) ..... ..... See y’all tonight!!! See more

We are hiring! We are looking for part-time BOH (kitchen, food prep, dishwasher) and have a few FOH positions (barista+cashier). If you or anyone you know is energetic, loves all people+community, self-motivated, hard-working, honest and looking to work in a place where you want to learn and grow, send them our way!

BOBA. PORK CUTLET SANDWICHES. PIES. Join us TONIGHT at 6pm-10pm (or sell out) for a safe social distancing evening of fun music and off-menu drinks and eats. The purpose behind this event is to help create and provide SAFE normalcy for our HB community. Please remember to bring your masks for the indoors, respect social distancing and others, be kind and most importantly... have fun! ... Who’s coming?! @ Sweet Elle Cafe See more

Sweet Elle at NITE .. B O B A + B E A T S .. SATURDAY 6pm-10pm (or sell out)... .. Join us for our very first night time event! Starting THIS SATURDAY and every first Saturday of the month, we are opening our doors at night for a fun night of Boba and lively music. .. We will have a fun line-up of drinks only available on boba nights, along with our full espresso bar! Kitchen will be closed but cakes+pie slices will be available, along with a limited number of Japanese convenience store inspired sandwiches. .. Come see our place at night and join in on the fun! So excited to boba+dance with y’all this weekend!! See more

HAPPY 4th of July family! WE ARE OPEN! 8am-3pm... Coffee. Pastries. Full kitchen. Mama Hwang’s special 4th of July grab and go. Organic Burger and hot dog buns . Soft Hawaiian rolls. Outdoor patio seating! Or picnic on our large lawn. God bless America. Stay safe and healthy, family! See more

OPEN on JULY 4th Join us this weekend for a special July 4th menu. With the city canceling our annual fireworks and festival, we decided to open this year (we are usually closed!) to provide a safe space for our sweet elle family as we celebrate our country. Come hang out with us on our socially distanced patio or bring your blankets to picnic on our lawn! Party platters of fruit, mama hwang’s marinated Kalbi, potato salad and our housemade salsa will be available for pick up starting Thursday for those BBQing at home!

Mama Hwang’s Father’s Day Saturday Korean BBQ picnic on our patio and lawn! Join us THIS SATURDAY on our patio for a socially distanced outdoor picnic on the patio or bring your blankets to picnic on our lawn. Or take it TO-GO for the beach or home! Mama Hwang has been preparing a yummy bento box of her Kalbi, potato salad, japchae fresh organic greens and rice! 11:30am-2pm (or sell out)