Pijja Palace
Restaurant · Silver Lake ·
Indian fusion sports bar with malai rigatoni & green chutney pizza
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71635314/Dina_Avila_Eater_Thanksgiving_2022_Kalimurch_Paneer_Pasta__19432.0.jpg "Pijja Palace by Dina Ávila/Eater")
Indian fusion sports bar with malai rigatoni & green chutney pizza
"Located on the ground floor of a Comfort Inn in Silver Lake, this Indian sports bar flips the concept of a typical sports bar on its head with Indian flavor–infused American bar food, mid-century modern vibes instead of sticky floors, and televisions playing everything from football to skateboarding competitions. The raucous energy, cold beer, and lively crowds make it a dependable neighborhood standby and a fun spot for going to dinner during an important baseball game, lingering over piri piri fries, cocktails, and salad, or impressing out-of-town guests. The menu is a charming collision of Indian flavors and bar standards, with tikka masala–topped pijjas, achaari Buffalo wings, hot wings, and thin-crusted bar pies, including one slathered in aromatic green chutney. Nearly every table orders the malai rigatoni, a bowlful of ridged or tubular noodles in a creamy tomato masala sauce tinged with coriander that eats like an Indian take on spicy vodka rigatoni, with bright acidity from the tomato and coriander in place of basil. Other standouts include the Caesar salad with baby lettuces, piquant pickled mango, chaat-spiced breadcrumbs, and a mountain of grated Parmesan; dosa onion rings where shatteringly crisp lentil batter surrounds thick-cut onion slices to be dunked in sweet-tangy mango chutney; the Pepperoni Playboy pijja topped with spicy pepperoni, honey, and sliced chiles tucked between bubbles of mozzarella on a blistered thin crust; and the off-menu Andy pie topped with northern Makhini sauce, spicy pepperoni, fresh dill, onions, and honey. A luscious cookies and cream–inspired cookies and cardamom soft serve provides a sweet, spiced finish, and those in the know can often snag a spur-of-the-moment visit via walk-in seating at the bar." - Rebecca Roland
"At Los Angeles’s Indian-Italian sports bar superstar that quickly gained a cult following when it opened in 2022, I came for two things: gigantic dosa onion rings and green chile pickle–crusted chicken wings, and both delivered. As a gluten-intolerant diner my options were more limited, but that felt fine because I became especially enamored with the puffy, golden-brown onion rings, encased in an urad lentil batter (hi protein) and fried until shatteringly crisp—generously cut, doughnut-sized bar snacks that eclipse the palm of your hand. Dip them in the accompanying green mango chutney or the green curry leaf ranch and yogurt dips that come with the wings (yes, the move is to order both). My husband and I finished on the sweetest note possible with Pijja’s irresistible mango lassi soft serve." - Eater Staff
"Pijja Palace may be one of Los Angeles’s hottest restaurants thanks to its mashup of Indian, classic American, and Italian American flavors, but it’s also a bona fide sports bar. Catch the game on the restaurant’s many televisions while digging into chutney-slathered pizzas and plates of malai rigatoni. The see-and-be-seen crowd completes the picture. Make sure to book a reservation in advance, Pijja Palace is consistently busy most nights." - Rebecca Roland
"This Indian sports bar offers stimulation with a capital S. There are three giant flatscreen TVs on each wall showing any game you can imagine and the dining room uses mid-century modern furniture and neon lights in a way that reminds us of a vintage arcade. Plus, the food is just fun. Thin-crust pizzas come topped with saag gravy. Wings are doused in masala and Kashmiri red chilis. Our favorite dishes here are the pastas, though—don't miss the malai rigatoni. Come to watch (but not really watch) a game, but also for casual hangs with friends who want to eat something memorable. Reservations are released seven days in advance at midnight and they’re infamously gone within seconds. If you’re not the type to chase a reservation, just borrow our move and show up at 5pm when they open. You’ll almost certainly walk right in. Unless there’s a Dodger or Lakers or Rams game, in which case, circle back a different night." - sylvio martins, brant cox, cathy park
"The Indian sports bar Pijja Palace, known for its malai rigatoni, collaborated with Budonoki to serve a malai Budo-gnocchi that blended Italian, Indian, and Korean influences." - Bettina Makalintal