Silver Lake

LA's first new lesbian bar in a decade is a natural wine bar that spills into the parking lot when they hit capacity, which is most nights. By day, they serve a full lunch. It’s mostly diner food: loaded cheese fries, grilled chicken sandwiches, tuna melts. At night, you’ll see a lot of hot dogs and spritzes.

In Silver Lake, locals line up well before first pitch to catch a table at Avish Naran’s James Beard Award-winning Indian sports bar. Naran and chef Miles Shorey have done away with the less desirable qualities of a sports bar situation—sticky floors and ranch dressing, begone—in favor of blonde wood and Indian twists on classic bar fare, like dosa onion rings and paneer pizzas. To skip the line, it’s well worth the small hassle of booking reservations, which release at midnight a week in advance.

This nursery specializes in California native plants, plus well-curated sculptures, chimes, and sun catchers for your garden.

You’ll always find something cool here: original art, sculpted metal pitchers, funky ceramic vessels, and a curated selection of men’s clothing.

Instead of rushing madly through every zip code of a sprawling city, why not cozy up into one especially pretty corner, live like one of those locals, and actually relax? The Silver Lake Pool & Inn hits all the right style notes when it comes to an intimate hotel oasis far from Hollywood’s tourist trail. Palisociety has renovated all fifty-four former motel rooms and communal spaces to reflect the mid-century modern (with bright accents) vibe of the neighborhood. The al fresco bar and restaurant sit adjacent to the rooftop pool (afternoon Aperol spritzes are encouraged), and the menu is all burrata, peppery pasta, and perfectly grilled steaks. Silver Lake’s little secret is its walkability: Go for a cocktail at Bar Stella, the best Thai outside Thailand at Night + Market Song, stellar shopping at Mohawk, and of course, a lap around the reservoir.

There’s something seriously appealing about a store with a point of view. Vinovore focuses its lens on female winemakers, a rare breed in an industry heavily dominated by men. Curbside pickup and delivery to several Los Angeles zip codes are available from the location on Hoover, in that patch of East LA that’s not quite Silver Lake but not East Hollywood proper. When stores reopen, we strongly recommend stopping by for wine, as well as quality tinned fish, charcuterie, and artisanal chocolate. In the interim, we’re deep in the thrall of Vinovore’s wine club, the Wolfpack. Owner and sommelier Coly Den Haan selects two to four female-made natural wines monthly, and tasting notes and pairing suggestions are included in the box.

Paige Appel & Kelly Harris (founders of the much-loved event design business Bash, Please) opened a sister store to their Culver City flagship in Silver Lake, and the buy is too good to pass up. Expect a mix of carefully chosen one-off items like West African woven fans and Zuni stones along with pieces from up-and-coming designers, like Beatrice Valenzuela slides, Cinq jewelry, and Sara Barner bags. The apothecary also stocks gorgeous body oils and the most heaven-scented candles.

As much as we miss Saturday strolls around the incredibly serene, beautifully merchandised Psychic Wines, we’re over-the-moon that it delivers. Owner Quinn Kimsey-White applies a deeply personal approach to his store’s offering, sourcing each bottle from tiny vineyards helmed by creative, low-intervention winemakers. An order from Psychic Wines is the perfect opportunity to go rogue and try something completely new.

How does a lawyer decide to open a raw fish bar? Well, you can ask Octavio Olivas himself if you get a seat inside his super tiny (no reservations) restaurant. The Ceviche Project was Olivas’s long-running pop-up—one of the best in the city—that he often took on the road to his native Mexico City, NYC, and other places. In 2019, he decided to make it permanent, but not much bigger. The sleek, intimate space on Hyperion Avenue is ideal to catch Olivas artfully arranging uni and shrimp ceviche every night of the week (except Monday and Tuesday).

We're going to go ahead and say it: L & E Oyster Bar serves one of the three best breakfasts in LA (the other two being at Sqirl and Jon & Vinny's). Sit outside and watch the flocks of cool locals who patrol West Silver Lake Boulevard on weekends. Kick off with a dozen oysters, a glass of fizz, and a breakfast of everything but eggs—smoked trout toast with pickled shallots, the cured salmon plate, a few servings of cornmeal pancakes, and the sugar-dusted beignets. And if brunch runs late, move upstairs to the raw bar balcony for stunning views of the surrounding hills.