22 hours Ago
Editor's note: We first ran this guide at the beginning of last year’s World Series Championship season (yes, we are still gloating). We noticed plenty of you are still using it, though, so we've updated it for 2025. In the immortal words of Vin Scully: " It's time for Dodger Baseball .
" If you are heading to Dodger Stadium, you might be looking for sustenance before the umpire calls “play ball.” See it as fuel to get through the traffic and trek to your seats. These are some of my favorite places to eat and drink within 5 miles of the ballpark.
If I've missed one of yours, please let me know.. You can email me at gchabran@scpr.
org or reach out via Instagram. Pro-tip : If you’re short on time (which you will be, since traffic and parking are always issues in L.A.
), consider ordering ahead and having a passenger jump out to pick up the food while the driver circles the block. There's no parking cost, and you can have your private tailgate in the parking lot and still make the first pitch. Little Fish (Echo Park) Little Fish , about a mile from the ballpark, is an excellent, casual "order-at-the-window" establishment.
It started as a pop-up specializing in seafood, and in 2024 it was awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand for offering high-quality food at a moderate price. The most popular item is the beer-battered striped bass sandwich ($17), topped with a slice of American cheese, Kewpie mayonnaise and sliced pickles on a potato bun. The superb-tasting fish, whose breading resembles a delicate crackly Japanese tempura, interplays wonderfully with the creaminess of the umami-inflected mayo, the fresh crunch of the pickles and the softness of the bun.
They also offer a tofu version ($14) for non-meat eaters. Pair it with crispy nori potatoes ($9) seasoned with seaweed and salt and served with hearty garlic aioli for a supreme dipping experience. Little Fish is a tremendous to-go option if you need to eat on the run.
However, if you arrive early, Little Fish's sister establishment, DADA , is behind the cafe, which can be found via its back alley entrance. With a cool-looking speakeasy vibe, they serve various upscale bistro plates. Lowboy (Echo Park) Located on Sunset Boulevard, Lowboy is a casual sit-down bar restaurant just down the street from the main stadium entrance in Echo Park.
Lowboy goes hard with the neighborhood vibes, offering an extensive array of cocktails, beer, wine and reasonably priced food. There are plenty of happy hour deals during the week, from 4 to 6 p.m.
The best is the Triple Play ($16), which includes their signature Lowburger, small fries and a draft beer. Recently, they’ve also unveiled their Spring-Summer menu, which includes Sunset Shandy ($15) made with Knob Creek rye whisky, Campari, a combo of passion fruit, grapefruit and lime juices and Miller High Life. Other options include Greener Days ($16) tequila, Kummel liqueur, which contains caraway, cumin, and fennel flavors, mixed celery juice, arugula and green peppercorns (for those looking to get their intake of veggies with their tequila).
Finally, there’s First Pitch, a Jell-O shot made with mezcal, raspberry, citrus and topped with a raspberry powder. Burgers Never Say Die (Silver Lake) Many cite Burgers Never Say Die as the gold standard of smash burgers in Los Angeles. Owner Shawn Nee was a cameraman when he started a side hustle slinging burgers in the courtyard of his East Hollywood apartment complex.
Slowly developing a cult-like status in the burger world, he opened his Silver Lake location while continuing to meticulously refine his concept. When you head to the window and order the Regular with cheese ($10.75), you'll see that Nee has achieved nothing short of alchemy.
With his single patty creation, he's channeled something similar to what a McDonald's hamburger tasted like when we were younger. The perfectly cooked burger patty with its smooth and lacy edges, and the mixture of ketchup, mustard, pickles and tiny white onion stir up nostalgia. The burger has no business being this good, but it is, and we are all better for it.
Pro-tip: Take advantage of their daily special, such as BNSD Happy Hour, which runs from 4 to 6 p.m. and can be found pinned to their Instagram stories .
Ototo (Echo Park) Saddle up to the bar at Ototo , situated just catty-corner from Vin Scully Avenue leading up to the stadium entrance. The walk-in-only establishment won a James Beard award for Outstanding Wine or Other Beverages Program in 2023. Yet despite its national recognition, the approachable space is a perfect place to grab a drink and bite inside the minimalist yet comfortable bar and small seating area.
It has an extensive sake collection from across Japan, offered by the glass or the bottle, and a small selection of Japanese lagers on draft. Equally impressive is their regular food menu, which includes Kampachi sashimi ($28) served over fresh wakame (kelp salad) and Otoro Takari ($36), a seared Japanese fatty tuna served with truffle creme fraiche and chives in ponzu sauce. However, if you aren’t feeling raw fish, there’s much else to choose from, including karaage nanban ($28), and fried jidori chicken thighs, served with sweet and sour sauce, spicy tartar, and topped with a house-cured ikura (red caviar).
In addition, Ototo will run a series of Dodgers-themed specials during home games, including three mini Kurobuta corn dogs, house fries and shaved cabbage salad with a mustard mayo dressing. Make a note: On Monday, April 28, Dodgers' Japanese Heritage Night , Ototo will serve Japanese stadium specials from 5 to 10 p.m.
The restaurant will also open its doors on two Sundays, June 1 and July 5, for outdoor BBQs in front of the restaurant. Expect grilled shrimp donburi, Japanese curry rice, chicken katsu sandwiches and chicken teriyaki donburi. Taqueria Frontera (Cypress Park) Let’s say you’ve been following the taco scene in Los Angeles, as any good Angeleno should.
If so, there’s a good chance you might already be familiar with new-school favorite Taqueria Frontera . Their mighty yet straightforward taco creations perfectly exemplify what makes Tijuana-style tacos great. Freshly made corn tortillas and even fresher salsa are prepared in-house.
They're topped with delicious proteins such as al-pastor, birria and lengua ($3.75-$4) and finished with a cool slather of guacamole, the defining characteristic of Tijuana-style tacos. Assembled perfectly and inhaled, it's clear why this little corner taqueria, with its prominent yellow signage, has recently established a strong reputation for itself.
Jade Wok (Chinatown) Jade Wok , a compact restaurant on a quiet stretch of College Avenue, may be easy to miss with its unassuming exterior, reminiscent of many older, family-owned Chinese restaurants. However, the interior tells a different story. The dining room is clean, well-lit, and inviting, hinting at the delicious menu.
Offering take-out or dine-in, Jade Wok is a great place to grab a leisurely meal before or after a game. Their moderately priced menu of family-style dishes is excellent for three or four people ordering a couple of dishes. I chose their tea-smoked duck ($17.
25), which comes halved and is enough to feed an entire group. The tender duck meat with crispy skin was perfectly cooked, making it an excellent value. For my second entree, I ordered the appropriately named “Home Made Best Tofu in Town” ($13.
50), a dish unlike anything I’ve had recently. The large block of tofu, which is made in-house every day, comes covered in brown, almost gravy-like sauce, containing a combination of ground pork and preserved vegetables, which has a similar consistency to mapo tofu, minus the spice. LaSorted's Pizza (Chinatown and Silver Lake) Whether at their Silver Lake location along Sunset or the newer Chinatown location on Broadway, La Sorted's Pizza is the place to celebrate all things Dodgers, especially since it’s name is an homage to the famed Dodgers coach.
A good place to start is their pizza. My favorite is the Upside Down Mamba ($5 a slice, $20 for a whole pie), their signature cheese slice, flipped upside down with the cheese melted directly onto the crust and then topped with a thick layer of tomato sauce. As part of the 2025 Dodger season, LaSorted’s is offering a special at its Chinatown location called Visitor Dog.
Owner Tommy Brockert and his crew will create a hot dog inspired by a famous dish from the region of every opposing team. They’ve already done Chicago dogs when the Dodgers played the Cubs. During this recent series with the Colorado Rockies, they offered a Chile Verde dog, an all-beef frank topped with a housemade pork chile verde, grated cheddar cheese and crema.
The heavily loaded dog checked all the boxes, especially when enjoyed with a cold beer, channeling the best of the game day vibes..
