Artisan by 7 Leaves & Crema Bakery

Ten years after 7 Leaves Cafe opened its first tea and coffee shop in Westminster, it chose Fountain Valley as the site for Artisan – a fast casual restaurant pairing its drinks with breakfast and lunch items from Crema Bakery. As of early 2025, there’s still only one Artisan, and it serves food on a three-segment schedule: “Brunch” and “sides” are offered from 7am to 3pm, several pizzas can be ordered only from 11am to 3pm, while drinks and a selection of baked goods are available all day, until 9pm each night.

7 Leaves fans will be pleased to find all of their favorites here. The short drink menu begins with lattes, black coffee, Vietnamese coffee served with milk, condensed milk, or salty “sea cream,” and an affogato that pairs either coffee or matcha with matching jelly and a generous scoop of ice cream – one of the better items we tried at Artisan. On the tea side, there are hits like the Summer Mint, made with green tea, orange, and lotus petals, while drinks such as powerfully herbal green Thai tea, strawberry hibiscus tea, and fully fruity Sunset Passion tastefully extend beyond typical local tea shops, each with the option of adding boba.

As is the case with 7 Leaves, the quality of Artisan’s tea and coffee drinks tends to be above average and sometimes really great – especially for their prices, which hover around $5. They’re still the biggest draw here, from our standpoint, as the food offerings are more “acceptable” than “excellent.” On the baked goods side, it’s hard to go wrong with any of the half-dozen macaron cookie flavors, though rose water is particularly delicious, while the croffles (warm croissant waffles served with vanilla, caramel, or blueberry dips) and plain, almond, and chocolate croissants are somewhat underwhelming – generally on the small side and not really special in any way.