Cypress Park’s Taquería Frontera specializes in handmade corn tortillas, salsas tailored to each marinated meat, and Tijuana-style toppings and format.
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
26 bars and restaurants near Dodger Stadium for before or after a game
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Los Angeles exploded in Dodger blue when our home team won the 2024 World Series against historic rivals the New York Yankees last fall, but after the team’s season-opening, two-game win over the Chicago Cubs in Tokyo, it seems the rest of the world is celebrating too.
The first home game of the season is approaching on March 27, and many local restaurants and bars are gearing up with food and drink specials.
You’ll find plenty of places to pre- or post-game in the neighborhoods surrounding Dodger Stadium — including spots to watch the game live — from century-old Chinatown haunts to street tacos in Echo Park and a cider house in Lincoln Heights.
If you’re heading to the stadium to watch the game in person, note that outside food is allowed as long as it’s in a small clear bag; nonalcoholic beverages are permitted if they are in unbroken, factory-sealed plastic bottles.
Showing Places
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
Angel's Tijuana Tacos
Echo Park Mexican $
For a quick, street-side bite before or after a Dodgers game, try Angel’s Tijuana Tacos, which pops up along Sunset Boulevard under a tent with a few tables, a plancha for cooking tortillas on the spot and a flaming al pastor spit. The recommended order for Angel’s depends entirely on whether you have plans after you eat. If you’re planning to hike the half-mile to Dodger Stadium, maybe limit yourself to a couple tacos or quesotacos — the stand is open until at least midnight, so you can always return for more after the game. If the taqueria is your final stop of the night, go big with a cheese-griddled burrito or a massive baked potato that’s loaded with your choice of meat, cheese and sauces, with tortillas served on the side.
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(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
A Tí
Echo Park Mexican $$
The pop-up residency turned permanent neighborhood fixture from chef Andrew Ponce (Bestia, Taco María) weaves modern Mexican cuisine with diverse L.A. influence, resulting in inventive plates such as year-old date mole with crispy duck and a take on the gringo taco with fried blue corn shells, ground beef and shredded cheddar cheese. The cocktail program follows a similar format, including a creative martini with charred hoja santa oil and a mezcal Paloma with umeboshi plum. A Tí just launched a weekend lunch menu with pozole rojo, a chicken tamal and $4 tacos filled with beef cheek, oyster mushrooms or birria, plus $10 micheladas and beer and shot deals. The Echo Park restaurant is just over a half-mile walk from Dodger Stadium.
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(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
Benny Boy Brewing
Lincoln Heights Brewery $$
Hidden below the 5 Freeway in Lincoln Heights is this spacious, dog-friendly brewery and cider house from husband and wife Ben Farber and Chelsey Rosetter, who make their beers and ciders with Old World techniques using modern machinery. Beer and cider flights are available, and there’s always an interesting wine or two on the menu. Local food vendors pop up almost daily in the string-lit backyard with umbrellas and fire pits, ranging from barbecue to birria tacos to hot chicken. Live Dodgers games are played on a bigscreen TV in the brewery and Benny Boy is kicking off the season on March 27 with micheladas, food from Correa’s Mariscos, live music and limited merch. The brewery hosts a full calendar of events, including live band karaoke and drawing parties. Parking can be a challenge.
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(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
Bia Om
Echo Park German Beer Garden $$
Grab a couple of friends or a whole baseball team’s worth because Bia Om’s patio is perfect for large parties. Echo Park’s tucked-away, weekend-only beer garden features plenty of seating, not to mention plenty of beer. Frosty glass steins are filled with lagers brewed on-site, washed down with Germanic fare such as paper-thin fried pork or mushroom schnitzel; seasonal salads; platters of house-made sausage; sauerkraut-bedecked potato noodles; large, fresh pretzels; and fresh-from-the-grill specialties like whole mackerel. Bia Om offers a bevy of Bavarian treats in an alfresco setting that feels breezy and bright especially in the spring — made all the more sweet with a Dodgers victory.
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(Betty Hallock / Los Angeles Times)
Bodega Park
Silver Lake Coffee Sandwich Shop $
On your way to an early game? Sunset Boulevard daytime cafe Bodega Park has an extensive list of sandwiches that distinguish it from the many sando options in the area. The menu includes its always-popular chopped cheese (ground Angus beef melded with melty orange American), pork bulgogi with onions and mayo, and fried mortadella with Fontina and mustard, among the turkey-and-avo, vegetarian and Italian-club-style standards. Breakfast burritos are filled with marinated roast chicken, hash browns, melted Jack cheese and aji verde sauce. Plus there are kids’ items. And coffee drinks made with House Roots beans — grab an iced nurungji latte topped with toasted-rice cream to go.
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(Betty Hallock / Los Angeles Times)
Cassell's
Chinatown Burgers $$
The garden behind Cassell’s in Victor Heights is an Echo Park-adjacent haven, where sitting down for a burger or sandwich with fries feels like a respite from the city — a picnic-perfect way to kick off a day at Dodger Stadium. Burger patties are made from Aspen Ridge chuck and brisket, and the vegan version is house-made with farro, mushroom, zucchini, miso and flax. Both are among best-of-category burgers in L.A., served with crisp iceberg lettuce, tomato, red onion and thickly sliced pickles. Foldable takeout boxes double as convenient makeshift food trays (easily packed into a stadium-approved clear bag if needed). As delightful as the sweet potato waffle fries are, eat them on site while they’re hot. Otherwise, opt for a side of coleslaw or mac and cheese.
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(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
Cielito Lindo
Downtown L.A. Mexican $
The Olvera Street taqueria founded by Aurora Guerrero in 1934, who named her business after an 1880s-era song favored by mariachis, is known for one enduring specialty: beef taquitos, pan-fried in batches until the rolled tortillas seize into crispness. They come doused in mild tomatillo-based avocado sauce; the pleasure is in scarfing down the taquitos while they retain their crunch, even as the salsa begins to seep in and soften them. Guerrero’s granddaughter Diana Robertson carries on the family legacy with her sisters Mariana Robertson and Susanna MacManus.
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(Gabriella Angotti-Jones / Los Angeles Times)
Eastside Italian Market Deli
Chinatown Deli $
It’s best to know exactly what you want before getting in line here. You don’t want to piss off the guy behind you who has been coming to this 94-year-old deli for the last 90 years. The Combination — cold cuts and cheese — is the textbook Italian sub. The cross-section is a neat pyramid of mortadella, salami, capicola and a thick wedge of provolone cheese. The guys behind the counter have a heavy hand when it comes to the mustard. If you want to add pepperoncinis or banana peppers, there is a serve-yourself area by the drinking fountain. No frills. No extras. Just good, honest sandwiches.
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(Silvia Razgova / For The Times)
Guisados
Echo Park Mexican $
The L.A.-based chain from father and son Armando De La Torre Sr. and Armando De La Torre Jr. specializes in home-style braises that work their way into tacos made with fresh masa, including a mole poblano option that represents one of our favorite tacos in L.A. The Echo Park location is an easy half-mile walk from Dodger Stadium, and it’s open daily from morning until night, so you can swing by early to pregame with a breakfast burrito and horchata cold brew or celebrate after a win with a spread of tacos. Heading west down Sunset in Silver Lake, the De La Torres also run Playita, a mariscos-focused stand where you’ll find ceviches, aguachiles, beer-battered fish tacos and crispy taquitos filled with shrimp or potatoes.
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(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
Gyoza Bar
Echo Park Japanese $
There’s a gyoza-happy, casual Japanese gem near Dodger Stadium, in case you’re looking to grab a bite and a drink in honor of Shohei before or after the game. Echo Park’s Gyoza Bar is filled with fresh dumplings, ramen, vibey red lighting, sake and shochu-based yuzu piña coladas. The fresh, handmade gyoza come stuffed with pork or a blend of aromatics, cabbage and soy meat, and both are perfectly seared to a crackoing crisp. Of course, with owners like Hiro Igarashi and Nori Akasaka — the duo behind the HiroNori Ramen chain — there’s a pitch-perfect and fairly unique dipping ramen available too, made with fish broth, plus salads, rice bowls and sides. With an intimate setting (there are only so many seats at that L-shaped concrete bar) this is an ideal date spot on game day. Order some gyoza and sparkling sake, then toast to the home team under the large paper lanterns.
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(Homage Brewing)
Homage Brewing
Chinatown Brewery American $$
This spacious brewhouse is located in Chinatown near L.A. State Historic Park, serving as a hoppy oasis in the warehouse-crowded district. The minimalist interior is spacious with a dance floor, tables and Art Deco lighting, while the string-lit covered patio features a plant-lined partition. The taproom hosts regular DJ nights and makers markets, with a rotating food special each week. Bites to pair with your beer or wine are limited but worthwhile, such as a pillowy focaccia sandwich with oyster mushrooms, avocado and red cabbage slaw and masa-battered fish tacos or chicken wings. The beer list focuses on lagers, ales and saisons, with a handful of natural wines available by the glass or bottle. In case you’re feeling like brewery hopping before or after the game, Highland Park Brewery is on the same block. Homage is a five- to 10-minute drive from Dodger Stadium, but be mindful that traffic can pile up on game days.
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(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
Hop Woo
Chinatown Chinese
For a late-night bite near the stadium, it’s hard to beat Hop Woo. The Liang family’s long-running Chinatown institution serves a lengthy roster of Chinese and Chinese American favorites, including succulent barbecued meats, live lobster and crab, dim sum, wok’d specialties, whole fried fish, noodle soups, rice plates, congee and a bevy of fresh vegetables. With roomy booths and large round tables sporting lazy Susans, this is a dream destination for big groups — especially late into the evening, because service here runs until 1 a.m. nightly.
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(Solomon O. Smith / For The Times)
Lasita
Chinatown Filipino $$$
In Chinatown’s Far East Plaza — a four-minute drive or half an hour walk from Dodger Stadium — the Filipino restaurant and natural wine bar run by Chase Valencia, his wife, Steff Barros Valencia, and chef Nico de Leon remains centered on two dishes. Inasal, a chicken specialty of the western Visayan Islands in the central Philippines, soaks up a pungent cocktail of lemongrass, ginger, garlic and calamansi juice before being grilled. Pork belly lechon is rolled like porchetta and filled with similar herbs and spices. Lasita bills itself as a rotisserie, and with sides of garlicky rice and vegetable-laced noodles the staple specialties are ideal for group dining. Or, give yourself time to settle in and become better acquainted with the breadth of de Leon’s cooking. Grilled branzino stuffed with lemongrass and ginger or pork chop with a spicy-sweet barbecue glaze may be on the menu one week; soon they’re replaced by snappy grilled shrimp over sweet corn puree and whole dorade in a summery sweet-and-sour plum sauce. Chase freely gives advice on wines: He looks for ones that he thinks of as “cutters” — high-acid whites and meant-to-be-served-chilled reds that especially slice through the salty, garlicky density of the meats. For game-day convenience, both food and wine are available for takeout.
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(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
LaSorted's
Chinatown Pizza Bar Bites $$
Last fall, one of L.A.’s best pizzerias expanded to a new, sit-down location in Chinatown that’s blocks from Dodger Stadium, where diners can be immersed in team memorabilia that owner and third-generation fan Tommy Brockert has been collecting throughout his life. On the menu are hybrid-sourdough pies, focaccia sandwiches, salads, wings and hot dogs, with a wine list curated by John Cerasulo of Anajak Thai. Brockert frequently collaborates with other L.A. restaurants, including a recent Wagyu curry pie with Budonoki to celebrate the Dodgers’ opening game in Tokyo.
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(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
The Little Jewel of New Orleans
Chinatown Sandwich Shop Southern $
The muffuletta sandwich was made to travel. The salt, fat and acid in the rainbow of cured meats and olive salad intensify and settle into the soft sesame seed roll as it sits. If you grab a couple of muffulettas from the Little Jewel of New Orleans on your way to the game, they may taste even better during the seventh inning stretch. Or have a seat in the dining room for a full pregame spread of New Orleans-inspired dishes, with shrimp-stuffed po’boys as long as your forearm, barbecue shrimp plates, sugar-dusted beignets and hot chicory coffee. There’s also a small market area stocked with enough sweet and salty snacks to keep you satiated through all nine innings.
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(Kailyn Brown / Los Angeles Times)
Lowboy
Echo Park Bar/Nightclub American $$
For cocktails and loaded bar bites, there’s Lowboy, a western-themed bar off Sunset Boulevard that’s next door to buzzy Italian American restaurant Donna’s. The moody haunt blends low- and highbrow with decor that includes a color-coded bookcase and Jell-O shots on the drink menu. But don’t take that to mean the cocktail program isn’t carefully considered, including an Old-Fashioned with palo santo bitters and a bourbon-spiked milk punch with red apple, pomegranate and lemon rosemary. The food menu is fairly straightforward, with smashburgers (including a vegan option), tenders, a hot dog, wings and a Caesar salad. The gator fries are an elevated take on animal-style fries from In-N-Out, with griddled onions, American cheese, house-made pickles and “2,000” Island dressing. For the home opener, Lowboy is offering happy hour from noon to 6 p.m. and playing the afternoon game on its big-screen TV. The bar is just under a mile from Dodger Stadium.
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(Jenn Harris / Los Angeles Times)
My Dung Sandwich Shop
Chinatown Vietnamese Sandwich Shop $
Walk to the back of this tiny market for a full spread of banh mi sandwiches. The crackly baguettes are slathered with pâté and brimming with cold cuts, tofu or grilled meats. They’re made to order, served hot and cost around $6. It’s a highly portable food you can shove in your bag or nibble on while you wait in traffic to get to the stadium. And there’s a sizable selection of fruit and snacks too, including prawn, cuttlefish and shrimp chips and plenty of ginger and coconut candy.
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(Jenn Harris / Los Angeles Times)
The Original Carnitas Michoacan
Lincoln Heights Mexican Tacos Carnitas $
The Original Carnitas Michoacan opened on the corner of North Broadway Street and 19th Avenue in Lincoln Heights in 1977. You can usually spot a handful of Dodgers caps in the outdoor dining area, regardless of the season. Its proximity to the stadium and free parking lot make it a dependable destination for pre- and post-game meals. Nachos are loaded with carne asada and chopped escabeche, and the cheese sauce is a couple notches above what you’ll find in the helmet nachos at the stadium. Though carnitas are in the name, I’m going to steer you toward the al pastor instead, with layers of pork and onion that crisp up on the trompo in a smoky, sweet adobo. Regardless of what you order, ask for extra cups of hot salsa to dribble on everything.
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(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
Ototo
Echo Park Japanese Restaurant $$
Cheers to Shohei “Shotime” Ohtani, the Dodgers’ wunderkind pitcher/hitter who hit a game-winning home run in the season opening games against the Chicago Cubs in Tokyo. At Ototo’s stylish sake bar, you can pre- or post-game with a set meal that includes three mini Kurobuta corn dogs, fries, shaved cabbage and Kushikatsu mustard mayo for $24 whenever there’s a home game. Wash it down with a glass or carafe of sake — Ototo’s expansive list represents the best you’ll find in L.A., including an option from Ohtani’s home prefecture of Iwate.
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(Laurie Ochoa / Los Angeles Times)
Philippe the Original
Chinatown Sandwich Shop American cuisine
Phillipe the Original is famous for its beef dip sandwiches. Over the years, however, I’ve come to favor the beef dips at Cole’s, which, in addition to serving some of the city’s finest cocktails, uses excellent meat and a beautiful roll for its sandwich. It’s also a competitor for the title of inventor of the French dip. I’ve read persuasive accounts for each side of the debate, but the important thing is that we have two great L.A. restaurants, both founded in 1908, still serving history on a plate. For me, that comes in the form of Philippe’s hand-carved leg of lamb dip smeared with blue cheese and ready to take just enough hot mustard to wake up my sinuses. With it, I like an IPA on tap — Philippe’s is not just a daytime place — plus pickle spears and, of course, a hot-pink pickled egg.
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(Jenn Harris / Los Angeles Times)
The Lonely Oyster
Echo Park Seafood $$
Find this maritime-themed seafood den on Echo Park Avenue across the street from Lassen’s grocery store. It’s a great place to come with a group before or after a game, with a covered patio deck and a low-ceilinged interior that feels like stepping onto a vintage cruise ship. Study the menu board that lists the day’s oyster offerings sourced from small, sustainable farms, and decide if you want them raw or grilled, with accouterments that include citrus soy sauce and sesame chile oil. Open for brunch, lunch and dinner, its menu, from newly installed executive chef Mazen Mustafa, features ceviche and crudos, crab cakes, seafood towers and large-format plates such as fettuccini alle vongole with Little Neck clams, a trio of lobster sliders and steak frites. The beverage menu spans martinis, wines by the glass and bottle and cocktails such as the Cherry Popper, with serrano-infused tequila, tart cherry cordial, ancho chile liqueur and Topo Chico.The Lonely Oyster is open from noon to midnight daily and less than a mile from Dodger Stadium.
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(Jenn Harris / Los Angeles Times)
The Park's Finest
Echo Park Filipino BBQ $
The Park’s Finest started as a backyard barbecue operation turned catering company in 2009. In 2012, owners Johneric Concordia and Christine Concordia-Araquel opened the restaurant on Temple Street in Historic Filipinotown. Long tables in the middle of the dining room invite larger groups to linger, with TVs and nearly a dozen beers on tap. Concordia infuses his smoked meats and barbecue sides with Filipino flavors. On the table, there are squeeze bottles of a pineapple barbecue sauce and a tangy vinegar to drizzle onto the slow-smoked St. Louis-style pork ribs, smoked chicken and tri-tip. The hot links are longanisa and the cornbread is an homage to bibingka, made with coconut milk, rice flour and cornmeal, baked on banana leaves and covered in sugar. It’s the perfect place for a group to share a family-style meal and sip a few beers before a game.
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(Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)
Perilla LA
Chinatown Korean $
On afternoon game days, where would you go for a nearby lunch that’s light on the stomach but profound in taste? My answer comes easily: Perilla LA, housed in the back of a complex of food businesses in Victor Heights, a tiny neighborhood on the edge of Chinatown that borders Echo Park. Jihee Kim’s banchan, so full of geometries and colors and so urgent in flavor, bring this class of Korean dishes center-stage. Expect straight-from-the-farmers-market produce prepared in intuitive variations of freshness and fermentation — garlicky eggplant, sesame-speckled green beans, complex kimchi made from collard greens or daikon — and perennials such as her stunning seaweed-rolled omelet cut into circles with hypnotic, spiraling centers. Small portions of the day’s banchan selection also come over rice as part of a compartmented dosirak tray, served with warm doenjang-marinated chicken or cod. The operation is takeout-only so everything is packaged to go, even if you stick around to eat under one of the umbrella-shaded tables in the complex’s courtyard.
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(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
Pho 87
Elysian Park Vietnamese $
You can usually count on a small crowd waiting for a table at the entrance to Pho 87, but diners cycle through quickly. Opened in 1987, this Chinatown restaurant is known for its steaming bowls of pho, with broth that simmers on the stove for 16 to 20 hours. The egg rolls are crisp and tightly packed with seasoned ground pork. Vermicelli bowls are crowded with grilled shrimp, pork and tiles of cucumber. Depending on how fast you can slurp, you can be in and out for dinner in half an hour.
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(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Quarter Sheets
Echo Park Pizza Bakery $$
At the best pizzeria-that’s-more-than-a-pizzeria in Los Angeles, Aaron Lindell oversees the pizza and Hannah Ziskin handles the sweets. Their respective mediums are equally important to the greatness of the tiny restaurant. Lindell might pave a rectangular Detroit-style pizza with potatoes, olives, pistachios, cured lemon slices, mozzarella and Pecorino. On Wednesdays and Sundays he often bakes round, thin, charry-edged bar pies. Ziskin still serves her now-famous spin on princess cake, but in her creative restlessness she’s also returning to the plated desserts of her days as an upscale-restaurant pastry chef. Chocolate mousse scented with sherry Anglaise and finished with a fine layer of espresso and citrusy whipped cream? A big holy yes. With all her spare time, Ziskin also makes the just-salty-enough feta for a warm, brothy bean salad: It’s a headliner for an increasingly lengthy list of appetizers (vegetables seasoned in unpredictable ways, fluffy meatballs dusted with aged provolone) on the dine-in menu. Quarter Sheets began accepting reservations this year for the tiny, scruffy-chic dining room, and they tend to book as soon as they become available. For game days, know that a daily takeout menu goes live for reservations at 10 a.m. and usually sells out fast.
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(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
Taqueria Frontera
Cypress Park Mexican $
The trompo spins continuously, the bright-red al pastor beckoning through the open windows of Taquería Frontera. The Cypress Park taco destination serves marinated, perfectly singed meats in handmade corn tortillas and, when it comes to burritos, positively packed large, pliant flour tortillas. The menu leans toward Tijuana-style tacos dolloped with a large helping of fresh guacamole, a nod to the restaurant’s provenance: It’s run by the family that’s also behind Tijuana chain Tijuanazo Taquerías. But owner Juan Carlos “J.C.” Guerra veered from many of his father’s recipes, developing his own sauces and marinades that coat chorizo, birria, al pastor, carne asada, lengua and more, be they in tacos, tortas, burritos or quesadillas. Stop by before or after the game, or load up on burritos and tortas — which hold up especially well — if you’re bringing your own food to the stadium.
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