LAGuide
Where To Eat & Drink Near Dodger Stadium
Once you get past the gridlock, the maze of hilly roads with “LOCAL TRAFFIC ONLY” signs, and the high probability of spending a few hours next to a drunk man yelling about how "our boys need bullpen help," a game at Dodger Stadium is a classic LA experience.
But what to eat? Now that fans can officially bring outside food into Dodger Stadium during a game (as long as it fits in a clear plastic bag), the takeout options are endless. Or, instead of spending too much on a meal you’ll probably end up dropping on the ground while trying to balance it on your lap, just go somewhere close to the stadium pre- or post-game. In either case, these are our favorite dive bars, beer spots, and restaurants near Dodger Stadium.
THE SPOTS
Legend has it that Philippe The Original invented the French dip sandwich. While we can’t prove that, we can prove that this handheld meal is much more filling than some overpriced hot dog. On weekends or during Dodger games, you’ll have to stand in a fast-moving line for one of their hot sandwiches loaded with pastrami, roast beef, or turkey on a crusty French roll. We always order ours with a slice of Swiss cheese, which helps the sandwich stick together even after a long jus soak (ordering your sandwich "wet" is non-negotiable).
photo credit: Jakob Layman
This truck in front of the Walgreens on Sunset Blvd. serves Sonoran-style tacos that deserve a spot in any conversation about the best versions in LA. Each warm, handmade flour tortilla is topped with things like beef birria, smoky, spicy chicharron en salsa roja, and smoky, chopped carne asada. El Ruso’s tacos range from $3.75 to $5 depending on what you order, and we’re usually sufficiently full after three tacos (especially after adding guacamole, cabbage, and diced onion). Eat these right on the curb or wrap your styrofoam plate in foil and bring it with you into the stadium.
Located in a converted warehouse across the street from LA State Historic Park, Highland Park Brewery Chinatown is twice the size as its original space, with plenty of tables for big groups, a dog-friendly front patio, and a dedicated tasting room inside. Their bar snacks are pretty limited, but way more delicious than they need to be (get the cheese curds). If you love beer or just have a few hours to spare, this is where you should be drinking before a Dodger game.
photo credit: Jakob Layman
Angel’s Echo Park operation is just two minutes from the stadium entrance, so even if there’s a line around 5pm, you’ll still make it inside before the first pitch. Hop in line for pressed-to-order corn tortillas, trompos of juicy al pastor, and salsas that make your lips tingle. Both the braised cabeza and ultra-crispy asada are excellent. Just be sure to order at least one of them inside a crispy, gooey quesotaco quickly kissed on the griddle. Then head up the hill to make everyone in your section jealous of the marinated pork smells coming from your to-go container.
Bar Flores is one of the best Eastside spots to people-watch and drink elaborate mezcal cocktails, both of which might be nice before an afternoon in the stadium sunshine. Located above Lowboy in Echo Park, the Mexican cantina-esque space works for blending into the background and observing the usual Echo Park crowd of NPR shirts and upsold vintage overalls, but it's also a truly excellent cocktail bar with an outdoor patio we'd happily rent as our home.
There's no official Dodgers bar in LA, but The Short Stop is as close as you're going to get. This dark spot on Sunset is loosely baseball-themed and slowly transitions into a club after 10pm. Nightly DJ sets spin everything from Latin to R&B and Motown on the dancefloor, so come here to celebrate a W with a dance or maybe just forget the final score with a rowdy night out. The crowd, similar to the music lineup, will be eclectic, but expect to find Dodger fans in full force on game days before the first pitch, specifically to take advantage of the Happy Hour specials and pool table.
The Eastside Market feels like a secret, kind of like the time capsule supposedly hidden in Dodger Stadium (it's rumored to have been buried a few years after their World Series win in 1959). Located on a side street off the 110, this deli is where to get huge, saucy, meatball-stuffed sandwiches before the game. It’ll likely be filled with neighborhood locals and off-duty first-responders grabbing a bite, so pre-order your sub for a quick pick-up or sit down to consume all the carbs you'll need to scream your heart out in the nosebleeds. Cold and hot subs are on the menu, but the version with warm Italian sausage, grilled peppers, melted cheese, and ladles of sauce is hard to pass up.
photo credit: Benji Dell
Although we love dining at The Park's Finest's Echo Park location, our favorite pre-game tradition is grabbing Park's Worker Wednesday box (only available on Wednesdays) and enjoying it in the Dodger Stadium parking lot. The Filipino/Southern BBQ box is filled with rice, pulled pork, barbecue chicken, hot links, veggies, cornbread, and their heavenly coconut beef (all for only $17.50), meaning that even if the Dodgers lose, you still win.
A pan-style pizza slice, with its inch-high edges and sturdy cheese layer, is the perfect on-the-go option (especially if you're running late to the game.) Quarter Sheets in Echo Park is one pizzeria that is doing this style justice, with its focaccia-like crust and soft, pillowy interior that soaks up all that sweet red sauce. The dining space has tables in case you need alone time with your corner slice (or slice of cake).
Resting in the shadows of Dodger Stadium, The Douglas is the perfect place to pre-game, post-game, or just hang out whenever the weather's nice. This dive bar doesn't have much space—mostly just a few tables inside and on the sidewalk—but the energy is always relaxed, draft beers are just $4, and there's a surprisingly varied food menu for when game-day drinks turn into a craving for fried things. There's vegan falafel, a buttermilk fried chicken sandwich as big as your head, baskets of chicharrones, and a weekly rotating sweet treat. Get the weekly rotating sweet treat.
Lowboy is a dark, wide-open space on Sunset that also happens to be one of the coolest bars in Echo Park (that serves food). Part of Lowboy's cool factor is that there's always something going on here, whether it's a cool DJ set, a live jazz band, or rotating drink specials with fun themes, like this one that's served in a boot. Pre-game Dodger Stadium with good music, a cocktail list that includes some particularly lethal tequila drinks, Jello-O shots, and one banging smashburger smothered in garlic mayo.
After consuming more coconut beef at the Park's Finest than we probably should, we like to stop by Thunderbolt next door for some pre-game drinks. But be warned: the cocktails here exist in the dangerous, highly coveted Venn diagram of very strong yet genuinely tasty, so maybe save this spot for a post-game if you're hoping to make it to the first pitch. Our favorites are the La Frutera, with tequila, mango, and tamarind (order it spicy), and the Tropipop, which is sweet and tropical like a piña colada, but filled with so much rum you'll forget how upset you were about the score at the bottom of the ninth. This Echo Park spot also just feels like a warm, lived-in neighborhood bar with comfy leather couches, dark green walls, and plenty of old-school hip-hop to dance to with your exhausted, semi-delusional gameday posse.
Amboy's fries (fried in tallow, for the record) are not the sole reason why you should visit this Chinatown butcher counter. For a delicious, portable, and incredibly satisfying pre-game bite, stop by for a quick burger. The Classic Double is the undisputed star here—a simple, old-school burger featuring double-decker smash patties (made of ground short rib, brisket, and rib-eye trim), American cheese, and caramelized onions. Scarf it down on the car ride to Chavez Ravine, or maybe pop a squat at a table in Far East Plaza to fully appreciate the patties' crispy edges. Anyway, baseball can wait because these fries are best enjoyed hot.
