The 9 Essential Silver Lake Restaurants
LA’s expansive landscape can be both a blessing and a curse. While its segmented neighborhoods allow for a great diversity of restaurants and vibrant fare, making long treks during peak dinner hours isn’t always a viable option. Enter Eater LA’s neighborhood guides, handy maps of essential restaurants grouped strictly by neighborhood boundaries.
After finding the essential restaurants in Santa Monica, West Hollywood, and the South Bay, we now look east to Silver Lake to find the most important restaurants in the neighborhood. We asked Eater LA readers for the restaurants they would recommend in the hood booming with new eateries, and curated this handy list of classics and newer favorites, presented in alphabetical order:
1 Alimento
What is perhaps one of the best neighborhood restaurants in LA, Alimento offers inviting Northern Italian fare that is great for sharing. It doesn’t hurt that Zach Pollack’s insanely delicious tortellini in brodo and chicken Milanese sandwich can be washed down with $9 grüner veltliner all night long.
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2 Barbrix
This cozy 1940s house-turned restaurant sports a pleasant patio and low key vibes that make it an ideal spot to enjoy some charcuterie or Mediterranean small plates while sharing a bottle of wine or two with friends.
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3 Cliff’s Edge
Cliff’s Edge’s ethereal patio lit with bistro lighting creates romantic vibes that make for the perfect date night restaurant. Well crafted cocktails that come by way of Darwin Manahan set the tone for the beautifully plated dishes that follow. Come on Thursdays for $1 oysters from 6 to 7 p.m.
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4 Forage
Lucques alum Jason Kim’s Forage has flown under the radar after settling in to the neighborhood five years ago. The restaurant’s dedication to, well, foraging produce from local home growers truly highlights super fresh, seasonal fare.
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5 L&E Oyster Bar
This Silver Lake mainstay serves some of the freshest oysters around, and is a reliable spot to stop in to grab a glass of wine and a small plate or two while enjoying a nice view of the neighborhood.
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6 Lamill Coffee Boutique
LAMILL has becomes a second home for many locals, fueling the neighborhood with plenty of crème brulee cappuccinos, avocado toast, and hot doughnuts along the way.
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7 Night + Market Song
Kris Yenbamroong’s follow up to his hugely successful flagship restaurant in West Hollywood, Night + Market Song feels right at home in Silver Lake, what with its neon colors and cheerful pink exterior. Here you’re dining on blazing hot Thai street fare that is best consumed with a few frosty Singhas.
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8 Pine & Crane
What is probably the best Taiwanese fare outside of the SGV, Pine & Crane has been serving its tight menu of Taiwanese and Chinese classics for almost two years now. Seasonal produce is sourced from Vivian Ku and Allan Lai’s family farm, resulting in super clean, fresh flavors that’s quite a boon for the neighborhood.
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9 Silver Lake Ramen
While this perpetually packed ramen shop may not best the big guns in Little Tokyo and on Sawtelle, it is a much beloved addition to the neighborhood for its spicy tonkotsu ramen topped nicely crisped, buttery chasu.
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