Order-at-the-counter European café and full restaurant in a restored 1888 Old Towne landmark.
Urth Caffé's Orange location reads like a café from the sidewalk, but it's a full restaurant once you're inside — breakfast plates, salads, sandwiches, hot entrees, a pastry case, and Urth's signature organic coffee and tea program. You order at the counter, grab a table, and food comes out from the kitchen. It's the outlier on this list: a well-known Southern California chain, not a local operation. But the room — the restored 1888 Hemphill & Morse real-estate office at the west entrance to the Old Towne plaza — makes it a genuine reason to stop. The restoration won a California Preservation Foundation award in 2020, and the café opened in January 2019.
Founded by Shallom and Jilla Berkman, Urth Caffé has been an LA-first organic coffee, tea, and food operation for decades. The Orange location was a preservation project: the building dates to 1888, was originally Hemphill & Morse's real-estate office, was expanded in 1907, and required peeling back layers to reveal original brickwork, a painted real-estate sign, and Art Nouveau cast-iron columns. It's now the west anchor of the Orange plaza.
Restored brick, original signage, generous ceiling heights, and enough seating to handle a plaza crowd. Counter service on the way in, food and drinks brought to the table. Works for weekend brunch, evening dinner, business lunches, and unhurried afternoons.
Spanish Latte—the Urth signature drink. Sweet, well made, the reason most regulars come back.
Honey Vanilla Latte—the alternate signature; approachable, dependable.
Baker's Breakfast or Avocado Toast—the breakfast pillars; morning service is a real anchor of the day here.
Salads & Sandwiches—Chinese chicken salad, Cobb, roasted-veg sandwiches, and more; the lunch menu is deeper than most people realize.
Pastry Case—a full European bakery case rotates by day; standardized across the chain, but consistent.
Location: 100 W. Chapman Ave., Orange (west entrance to the plaza) · Hours: Sun–Fri 7:00 AM–10:00 PM · Sat 7:00 AM–11:00 PM · Service: Order at the counter; food is brought to your table · Note: Menu is standardized across Urth locations — the reason to visit is the building and the setting
If you're chain-averse, this one is worth the exception. The restoration is genuinely thoughtful and rare in Orange, and the food program is more serious than a coffee-shop framing suggests. Come for a full meal, sit under the restored ceilings, and read the plaques on the way out. It rewards paying attention.