![101 Best restaurants of Los Angeles]()
101 Best restaurants of Los Angeles
#39
Rattan-covered light fixtures swaying over the bar; a tropical, leafy pattern in the dining room that resurrects the 1980s with its peach-and-seafoam-green color scheme: The boisterous, beachy decor at this Silver Lake draw sets an upbeat mood for the Filipino glories that follow. Cocktails such as Hala Kahiki (pineapple, mezcal, fernet, tamarind and black pepper) prime the palate for starters like uni-gilded lumpia filled with shrimp mousse and lardo. Sizzling sisig is a tour de force featuring various cuts of pork braised, grilled, chopped and then depth-charged with onion, vinegar, chile and the extra-sour juice from calamansi citrus. Look for the comforting adobo rice bowl overlaid with braised chicken thighs — it’s a nod to Rice Bar, Charles Olalia’s downtown ground-breaker that closed earlier this year. That tiny spot helped set the bar high during a decade that saw Filipino food become one of the nation’s deservingly emergent cuisines. With Ma’am Sir (the name refers to a long-standing, gender-neutral greeting used in the Philippines, particularly in the hospitality trade), Olalia keeps the conversation moving.
Full bar. Street parking. Credit cards accepted.
