Eastside record-shop hipster country turned coffee and natural-wine country. Sunset Junction holds the cafes; the reservoir holds the joggers.
Avish Naran's Pijja Palace in Silver Lake, Los Angeles, fuses Italian-American pizza and pasta with Indian sauces in a sports-bar room. Walk-in only.
Signature: Tikka masala rigatoni, Chicken tikka pizza
Order: Tikka masala rigatoni and a chicken tikka pizza for the table.
Tip: Walk-in only, three TVs always on sports; the wait at 19:30 is 90 minutes, at 17:00 it is zero.
Jessica Koslow's Sqirl on Virgil Avenue, Los Angeles invented the ricotta toast format in 2012 and still draws a daily brunch line at the counter.
Order: Ricotta toast on Sqirl brioche with house jam.
Tip: Order at the counter, sit at a sidewalk picnic table; the queue is for groups, not solos.
Sara Kramer and Sarah Hymanson's Kismet in Los Feliz, Los Angeles plates a vegetable-led California Mediterranean menu in a sunny corner room.
Order: Crispy turmeric chicken with sumac and freekeh.
Tip: Brunch on weekends from 09:00 takes walk-ins; dinner is a 30-day-out booking.
Tyler Wells and Ashley Wells's All Time in Los Feliz, Los Angeles runs a 30-seat neighbourhood room with the best brunch eggs in Eastside LA.
Order: Eggs benedict on the brunch menu, lemon-pepper chicken at dinner.
Tip: Brunch is walk-in only Saturday and Sunday from 09:00; dinner books two weeks out.
Vivian Ku's Pine and Crane in Silver Lake, Los Angeles serves Taiwanese family recipes at a counter and a dozen tables on Griffith Park Boulevard.
Order: Dan dan noodles and the three-cup chicken.
Tip: Counter service, fast turnover; this is the casual sibling of the more formal Joy in Highland Park.
Akbar at Sunset and Fountain in Silver Lake, founded 1996, is the LA queer neighborhood bar with rotating DJs, comedy and a back dance floor.
Tip: No cover most nights. Tuesday comedy and Saturday Dance Yourself Clean DJ set are the regular standouts.
Tiki-Ti on Sunset in Los Feliz, opened 1961 by Ray Buhen, is the 12-seat LA tiki room pouring 90 family-recipe cocktails over three generations.
Tip: Cash only, no reservations. Closed Sunday through Tuesday. Order the Ray's Mistake, the bartenders ring a bell.