LAReview
Poltergeist
If a cross-cultural fusion restaurant that plays punk tracks inside a barcade sounds like fun, that's because well, it is, and its name is Poltergeist. Located in Echo Park's Button Mash, this oddball dinner spot serves in-your-face riffs on classics, like a caesar salad punched up with lemongrass and smoked anchovies and miso honey parker house rolls, plus dishes you didn't know you needed, like battered honey walnut prawns paired with a silky horchata panna cotta and tingly mapo tofu cabbage rolls. The chef previously worked at Bestia, so don't overlook the thick bucatino pasta in a tangy green curry with scallion confit and crunchy pistachio gremolata, either. Poltergeist is open late (until midnight on weekends), so if you're waiting for a table to open up without a reservation, just show up early for draft beers and a few rounds of pinball.
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