Silver Lake’s New Strip Mall Gem Feels Like a Delightful Neighborhood Hangout

There’s a quiet glow to the new Eszett in Silver Lake. The inviting strip mall restaurant sits just off Sunset Boulevard, fronted by a parking lot and exuding none of the brashness of other splashy new openings in the neighborhood. Instead eyes draw only to a solid pink neon version of the restaurant’s namesake eszett, the German grapheme that sits somewhere between an S and a Z.

Rather than make a show of things, owners Spencer and Sabrina Bezaire are content to let their hospitality and their cooking (plus a few well-placed houseplants) do the conversing for them. Eszett’s strength is in its quiet assuredness, offering diners simple takes on staple dishes like beef tartare and grilled chicken wings with salsa macha. The subtle dishes find heart in chef Spencer Bezaire’s heavy use of a charcoal oven he found in Spain, and of Sabrina’s kind smile as she works the Brendan Ravenhill—designed room, pouring pet nat and gruner and ciders all night long. Eszett only opened last night, and there’s already a happy hour that runs weekdays from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. It’s just that kind of place.

For now, expect dinner hours only at Eszett, running 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. most nights, with an extension to 11 p.m. on busier Friday and Saturday evenings (closed Tuesdays). Expect, too, to find the Bezaires breezing in between the kitchen and the front of house, treating diners like house guests and exuding that same glow that can be seen from the street.

Eszett. 3510 Sunset Blvd., Silver Lake.

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