Sherman Oaks/Studio City Restaurant Guide

This list is by no means comprehensive and is presented in no particular order. Just a few of the places I remember fondly from my five years working and/or living in the area.

SLOWER FOOD

• CARNIVAL – Lebanese. Full marks!
• SPUMONI – Italian. Delicious, heavy, and the friendliest service of any restaurant I have frequented. Reasonably priced.
• IL TIRAMISU – Italian. Lighter and fancier than Spumoni.
• STANLEY’S – Standard American. Good sourdough bread.
• CAFÉ BIZOU – Old-school “French”. Fair prices on prix fixe menu for surf ‘n’ turf. A chain?
• GYU-KAKU – Japanese hibachi-grill chain. Best “Happy Hour” deals I know of: it’s always happy hour if you order from the bar, $1 beers, ½-price appetizers... food and drink for 2 around $20.
• BOLLYWOOD CAFÉ (best), TASTE OF INDIA, GREAT INDIA CAFÉ – If you like Indian food.
• VIBE CAFÉ – Egyptian. Hearty, home-style Middle Eastern food. Good deals on hookah, comfortable outdoor setting (so it’s good for both hookah lovers and haters).
• OYSTER HOUSE – Seafood. Order the clam chowder.
• HUGO’S/HUGO’S TACOS (same ownership) – One is American, one is a taco stand, both L.A. landmarks. Specialty salsas at Hugo’s Tacos, good breakfast/brunch and “healthy” at Hugo’s.
• JINKY’S – Another of rather few breakfast options.

FASTER FOOD

• CRÊPE X-PRESS – In the Fashion Square Mall food court. Best crêpes in S.O. (Couldn’t find a link – did they go out of business?)
• QT CHICAGO DOGS – “Real” Chicago-style hot dogs in a dumpy convenience store setting.
• THE HABIT, IN-N-OUT – Burgers chains.
• CALIFORNIA PITA – American Greek. Order the Lemon Chicken plate with an extra side of lemon sauce.
• ZANKOU CHICKEN – One of my favorite things about L.A.!
• BRATS BROTHERS – Sausages. Great selection of meat & mustard.

PUBS

• BLUE DOG – Great beer selection, esp. if you like Belgian. Good burgers.
• MAD BULL/SPITTING CHICKEN (same ownership) – Both new, both trendy. Bull can get pretty crowded any night of the week, has the edge on food. Chicken usually more low-key, wins in the “vibe” category.
• SEÑOR FRED’S – Good margarita selection, good food/tapas. A little pricey.

PLACES TO AVOID

• JERRY’S FAMOUS DELI/SOLLEY’S (same ownership) – Overpriced, overyhyped, crowded... everything detestable about L.A.
• LA FRITE – Used to have an awesome brunch and lots of kitschy home-style French country charm, but then they went on “Kitchen Nightmares” and chef Gordon Ramsay ruined everything by turning it into yet another overpriced, full-of-its-own-crap, L.A.-style douche-house. Very sad.
• CASA VEGA – Cool décor... but terrible service, always crowded, and food not good enough to justify the prices.
• PINEAPPLE HILL SALOON – Not friendly!
• HAMBURGER HAMLET – Nothing good can be said about this place.
• PITA KITCHEN – Underwhelming. Why is this place so popular?
• MULBERRY STREET PIZZERIA – Phony, expensive, not authentic, not good.