"Pine and Crane is the rare fast-casual restaurant where you'll actually want to have a sit-down meal, as evidenced by the lines that have stretched out the door at modern Taiwanese/Chinese spot for the last decade plus. Service is efficient, the menu is straightforward, and no dish costs more than $16. Prioritize the beef roll with sliced beef, cucumbers, and hoisin sauce wrapped inside a flaky scallion pancake that has more layers than a Kardashian-Jenner's makeup routine, and the wonton noodle soup, with broth so soothing it'll instantly clear a head cold." - sylvio martins, brant cox, cathy park
"At the DTLA location of Pine & Crane, you won’t have to deal with long waits or mimosa-fueled brunch crowds. Stroll right up to the counter at this casual Taiwanese cafe starting at 8am to order fan tuan or a chive-and-egg pocket, then seat yourself in the comfortable dining room or covered patio. After 11am, the menu expands to noodle dishes, dumplings, and a full list of cocktails. The only thing that might distract you from your meal is a brown labradoodle running in the park next to the restaurant. We consider this a perk." - brant cox, sylvio martins, cathy park
"You could theoretically be in and out of Pine & Crane’s DTLA location within an hour, but we like to linger on their breezy patio with a beautiful Taiwanese spread. Within minutes, you’re served things like flaky beef rolls with salty-sweet hoisin sauce, bowls of wonton soup with chewy housemade noodles, and circular scallion pancake wraps with more layers than Britney Spears’ cryptic social media posts. And if convenience and great food weren’t enough, Pine & Crane serves as a true all-day spot, whether you need lunch, a sea salt cream cold brew in the morning, or a black tea cocktail at night. We're big fans of their sibling location in Highland Park, Joy on York, too." - sylvio martins, brant cox, garrett snyder, cathy park
"Pine & Crane’s DTLA location is the rare casual spot that makes you want to stick around for a long sit-down meal. Not only does the breezy, open-air restaurant have one of our favorite patios in LA, but they also serve excellent Taiwanese dishes. We especially love the bowls of steaming wonton soup with chewy housemade noodles, the beef rolls with salty-sweet hoisin sauce, and doughy pan-fried pork buns. You could hypothetically be in and out of Pine & Crane within an hour (most of the food arrives in a matter of minutes and costs less than $15), but we suggest coming for lunch with an ambiguous end time to properly enjoy the all-day menu and cocktails." - brant cox, sylvio martins, cathy park
"In a perfect world, we’d eat at this all-day Taiwanese spot once a week. And if you regularly hang out near DTLA, please live out this dream for us. The beauty of this open-air hangout is that you can eat, drink, and peruse at your own pace. Starting at 8am, head to the counter for a thousand-layer pancake wrap with more flaky, buttery layers than a Kardashian-Jenner's makeup routine. After 11am, the brunch menu expands with more noodle dishes, dumplings, and cocktails you can enjoy on their massive covered patio. No dish costs more than $15, plus most of the items are easy to share. Keep DTLA’s Pine & Crane in mind for your lazy lunches, dates, and other meetups with ambiguous end times." - brant cox, sylvio martins, cathy park