Dorala

Dorala is the Sawtelle shop that pairs an all-matcha drinks bar with dorayaki made to order, and it opened in the summer of 2026. The matcha is ichibancha out of Yame in Fukuoka, meaning first-harvest leaf, which is a strong place for a brand-new cafe to plant itself. Dorayaki is the other half of the name. It is an old Japanese sweet, azuki bean paste sandwiched between two small pancakes, and Dorala fills each one fresh: the Dorala Dorayaki with red bean, whipped cream and strawberries, a custard version, a chocolate one with chocolate chips, and the Double Matcha carrying matcha cream and matcha whipped cream at once. Every one of them gets fresh strawberries. The drinks board runs twelve deep and all of it is matcha. The Cloud Latte is the one ordered most, a latte under a cap of foam and matcha powder, with the Okinawan Black Sugar and the Yuzu Refresher close behind. We would come for the Matcha Tonic, which is the drink that shows what the Yame tea does with nothing in the way.