The Alcove Bakery & Cafe
1929 Hillhurst Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90027
323.644.0100
I love the Los Feliz / Griffith Park vicinity. There’s alot of small/quaint restaurants all stacked horizontally next to each other. Along with Pasadena, these are the two areas I would probably not go to the same restaurant on purpose, just to see what new delight I could find down the street. I’ve only heard of The Alcove from so many different people. People from different ethnicities all rave about this place, so I just had to go. And turns out, this past Saturday, I got my excuse to be up in the area. Idina Menzel was performing at the Greek Theatre (amazing show btw) and so we decided to go to the Alcove for dinner.
Atmosphere
The inside of the cafe looks like a nice quaint cafe. If you’ve been to a couple restaurants in the Los Feliz area, there’s a similar vibe from alot of these restaurants. It’s not pretentious, very warm and cozy, and just an overall lovely atmosphere. There aren’t that many seats indoors, but outdoors there’s plenty. The outdoor patio has a very nice atmosphere with all the greens and wood colors and cafe tables. A very nice atmopshere that is very versatile in that the outdoor patio has a nice feel for brunch, lunch, dinner, or even just a cup of coffee. A very great place to get brunch before heading over to the observatory, date before watching a show at the Greek, or even after dinner dessert and drinks.
The Process
So here’s how it works.. It’s pretty simple, but just for you guys before you take a girl on a date here and act clueless. No one seats you, this is still a bakery/cafe. Stand in line and order at the counter and they will give you a number and they will bring the food out to you wherever you sit. Pretty much act like you’re at a fast food restaurant and stand in line, order, get a number, and find seating. Not too hard right?
Food
Although I think I’d want to come here as a breakfast or brunch place, I went for dinner. So I’m sorry to say but I only have reviews for two of the dishes for dinner š¦
Texan Chili
I thought my sandwich order was going to be small, so I thought I’d also order a soup. As I hear the choices for the soup, I don’t know what drove me to order it, but I went with the Texan Chili (it’s not even a soup and I wanted soup!). The Texan Chili is very hearty. If you don’t like heavy food, I would advise you to stray away from this delicious dish. The Texan Chili, first of all, has no beans. It’s justĀ packedĀ with meat. It’s actually lean but you will feel a little heavy, especially with the pepper-jack cheese melted on top. ThisĀ “cup” of chili is a meal on its own. Lots of flavors and a little on the heavy side for me, but it was still good nontheless.
Steak Sandwich
After pondering over the menu for the longest time, I decided to go with the Steak Sandwich. I don’t know why but I wanted to get something a little heavier/heartier than a panini, and then I stumbled upon this monstrosity (in a good way). It’s a open-faced Foccaccia topped with a mixed green salad, Portobella mushrooms, 9oz. New York Strip, and Fried Onion Rings. It also comes with a side of A-jou and sweet potato fries. I haven’t felt so gross after a meal in a long while from the really hearty meal. It was in no way bad, but it was definetely hearty. (the Texan Chili didn’t help at all) The foccaccia bread was very soft and acted as a great sponge to soak up the juices from the meat, mushrooms, and a-jou. The a-jou was surprisingly not salty at all, onion rings were fried just right. My only problem with this dish other than it being very hearty (but it was in the Heartier section of the menu to be fair), my New York strip that I asked for Medium Rare, came out Well-done. The meat was a little too dry for my taste because of that, but it was still good cut of meat. The mixed greens helped A LOT to make the dish from being too heavy. The sweet potato fries were fried perfectly to a crispy outside, but moist inside.
Overall
This is definetely a place where they are serious about their food and I’m sure has a certain pride to the quality of food they serve. Each dish, even a simple sandwich, was well thought out and balanced.
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