Pijja Palace is a place that could only exist in Los Angeles post pandemic. The logline says it all: an Indian American sports bar adjacent to a Comfort Inn on Sunset Boulevard. In LA, we know the best foods are often in the most nondescript strip malls, and it doesn’t get more LA than this. It’s like a restaurant made for hype, but specifically made to be hyped up by the current food media landscape. It’s a scene, but in an east side way, one that you actively want to be a part of.

Stepping inside is basically stepping into the creative mind of a first generation American, a child of immigrants who dared pursue the culinary arts. It’s playful, simultaneously youthful and sophisticated, catering well to the consumer base of adults with disposable income yet who are in denial of being grown up. It’s a sports bar in form and perhaps somewhat in function with TV screens lining the walls broadcasting various games, but style and substance is anchored on the food. People are here to eat, not to watch a game, the food is the real MVP. Bar food and Italian American classics are given more than a little Indian spice. Malai rigatoni gives vodka sauce a run for its money. Onion rings are crisp and light with dosa batter. And of course the pizza is given a green tikka and chutney treatments for ample flavor all around. The beverage menu is just as creative, with Indian flavors infused in cocktails and soda fountain drinks. Pijja Palace is a little of everything in the best way.