The 16 Best Restaurants In Echo Park

"Elf Cafe is the little neighborhood spot everyone wishes they had a block away from their front door. This low-lit Mediterranean restaurant run by the same folks as Dune has been around since 2006 (minus a brief pandemic-era closure) and it still gets packed nightly with friends in search of wine, warm hummus, and skewers of juicy lamb shish kebab that hits the table steaming. Elf is also very vegetarian friendly, so keep it in your back pocket for when you need to feed a mixed group of plant and meat-eaters. And if you want to keep the night going, cross the street to Bar Bandini for another glass of orange wine. " - brant cox, sylvio martins