All Time

We’re deep into the age of the LA mega-restaurant. Massive spots are taking over entire blocks of downtown, and famous chefs from other cities have finally realized we have the best produce in the country and want to know what serving a fresh eggplant in January feels like. The more restaurants they bring in, the more LA seems like it’s on the fast track to becoming the Vegas strip—a sprawling museum of the best restaurants from everywhere else.

Take a deep inhale and unclench your crystals. Because as long as places like All Time keep dotting the landscape, we have nothing to worry about. This Los Feliz cafe is the completely original version of LA dining.

Located on Hillhurst a few blocks south of Griffith Park, All Time looks like it’s just a coffee shop when you walk in. That’s because it is a coffee shop. Come any day before 2:30pm and you’ll find people hanging out in the mostly-outdoor space, getting work done on laptops, and eating pastries and egg dishes that are way better than they need be.

But we aren’t giving a place an 8.0 because they have a nice patio and a good breakfast burrito. All Time’s rating is earned because of their full-service dinner that transforms the place from a neighborhood cafe to a restaurant you should consider driving across the city to experience.

photo credit: Jakob Layman

All Time is fine dining on the concrete front patio of a Los Feliz coffee shop. The dinner menu changes semi-frequently, but know that whatever is scrawled on the brown piece of paper that night will be very good. Expect some version of their “good ass” salad, maybe a lamb ragu, a few giant pieces of meat, and if you’re lucky, a burrata-and-tomato-covered focaccia that deserves to be its own religion.

To be clear, All Time is not just a coffee shop—and their food doesn’t come at coffee shop prices. Most big dishes fall in the $30-$40 range, so you’re definitely going to spend some money here, but that’s what makes All Time different. Dinner here feels somewhat fancy, without all the annoying things that come with a fancy night out. No valet, no whispering sommelier—you can even wear shorts if you want. And if that’s not the platonic ideal of LA dining, we don’t know what is.

Famous chefs and their mega-restaurants will keep coming to LA—and many of them will be good. But when you need a reminder of what a real LA restaurant is, go to All Time.

Food Rundown

photo credit: Jakob Layman

Grandma’s Foccacia

If there is gas in your car and you have even a half hour to spare tonight, go to All Time and eat this. It’s thick, house-made focaccia smothered in fresh burrata and topped with sungold tomatoes. It tastes like grilled cheese and tomato soup with supernatural powers.

photo credit: Jakob Layman

Good Ass Salad

All Time has their own garden, so this salad changes every day based on the things that were ripe for picking. $19 might seem a little steep for a starter salad, but once you see the size of this thing, it’ll all make sense.

photo credit: Jakob Layman

Cavatelli

With a menu mostly comprised of meats and vegetables, the cavatelli certainly sticks out at All Time. And you should certainly order it. The pasta itself is well-made, but it’s the crunch from zucchini and bite of the chard and sausage that complete it.

photo credit: Jakob Layman

Breakfast Sandwich

This is our favorite dish off their daytime menu. The house-made Greek sausage combined with the whipped feta is rich and slightly spicy, but not so heavy that you have to go in late to work.

Big Steak Event

If you’re with four or more people, this is dish you want on your table. It’s a massive bone-in ribeye served with crispy potatoes, onions, peppers, and chimichurri. The $175 price tag can admittedly be tough to stomach, but split between friends, it becomes much more doable.

photo credit: Jakob Layman

Betsy’s Cobbler

This is one of our favorite cobblers we’ve ever had, and we’re not even sure if it’s technically a cobbler. Regardless of what flavor it is tonight, order it.