Tilda

From the wall filled with bottles of California wines to the beautifully designed space and Swinton-y name, Tilda is a wine bar in Echo Park where you go to impress someone infinitely cooler than you. Cozy and compact, they make the most of their tight quarters, featuring a sprawling list of natural wines, as well as plates made for sharing (naturally), like cheese boards, charcuterie plates, and a tinned fish platter that is, by far, the best thing on the menu. Served with a baguette, butter, and salsa verde, this straightforward dish may seem overly simple at first, but the crusty French loaf serves as the perfect vehicle for huge swathes of butter and thick, oily sardines, and tearing into it will immediately erase any sort of imposter syndrome you’ve been feeling in a room full of people who look like extras in Suspiria.