For perhaps the most profound way the pandemic has changed how we eat, just look to the wide-ranging outdoor options we currently have. It used to be that the police would show up if you dared to put a single chair on the sidewalk in front of your place. But creative ingenuity and desperation came together to turn unlikely bits of sidewalks, streets and parking lots into places one can commune with other humans outdoors while having food and a drink.
I’m hoping that all the provisional transformations become permanent because sometimes eating in a former parking lot, alleyway or parklet makes things better. This isn’t a list of grand built-out patio spaces, although there are a couple of those, but “eateries” where I would go, even on my own to sate hunger, enjoy the air and have a human bath. You know, be around people. My favorite response to my Instagram request for favored “patios” was “the hood of my car.” I know that I’ve personally turned my truck bed into a table for one multiple times in the past year.
Lodge Bread - Culver City
-Tiny patio with sidewalk spillover
In Culver City, Lodge Bread features a tiny patio with sidewalk spillover. Photo by Lodge Bread.
Jackson Market and Deli - Culver City
-Residential street bliss
Apple Pan - Westwood
-Parking lot eats
Birdie G’s - Santa Monica
-Front patio dynamo
In Santa Monica, Birdie G’s patio is filled with customers at night. Photo by Jim Sullivan.
Dudley Market - Venice
Gjelina - Venice
-Hipster discomfort that wins
Gracias Madre - West Melrose
-Prettiness, people watching, cocktails and lots of cashew cheese.
AOC - Beverly Grove
-Famously beautiful patio
Aroma - Studio City
-Former residence with secluded patio and additional sidewalk seating
Kensho - Hollywood Hills
-Intimate getaway on Yamashiro grounds, with views
Phenakite - Hollywood
-Secret garden beauty
Damian/Ditroit - DTLA
Manuela - DTLA
Salazar - Frogtown
-Former gas station
Spoke Bicycle Cafe - Frogtown
-On the LA River path
Bacari - Silver Lake
-Former Cliff’s Edge with one of the most magical patios in the city centered on a fabulous tree.
Anajak Thai - Sherman Oaks
-Alley eating creates community
Cafe On 27 - Topanga
-Funky natural surroundings