LAReview
photo credit: Jakob Layman
Cafe Birdie
This spot is Permanently Closed.
Included In
Life is hard sometimes. Work never ends, your roommate eats your leftovers and lies about it, and the person you steal HBOGo from just canceled their subscription. And that’s just today. Adulthood is a never-ending parade of trials and tribulations, and if you don’t find those outlets to get you through it all, you might never make it. So thank god for Cafe Birdie - the only place we want to be after a week from hell.
Just by walking into this Highland Park spot, you’re immediately put at ease. It’s not small, but the main dining room - with scattered marble tables and wooden beams overhead - feels like you’re visiting your rich aunt’s French provincial home for the holidays. (She might even have drugs for you, but you’ll have to wait a night before she tells you they’re above the fridge next to the Cliff bars.)
Anyways, you’re early and immediately notice the crowded bar off to the left and want a drink. Resist though, and instead head out the back, through the patio, and into a detached little building with a bar called Good Housekeeping inside. The tiny, brick-walled speakeasy feels like you stumbled into a private whiskey society, but trust us, you’re in the right place. Its low-key vibe and tremendous cocktails are the ideal pre-dinner experience. Plan accordingly.
photo credit: Jakob Layman
Back in the main restaurant and thoroughly buzzed from your cocktails, you open up the menu and find it a bit all over the place. Steak tartare toast? Fried Chicken? Pork ragu? Relax, you’ve had enough stress this week. Whatever Cafe Birdie’s menu seemingly lacks in cohesion, it makes up for in sweet, unadulterated comfort. This might not be the most refined cooking in town, but it’s COOKING. The kind you grew up with and ate a lot of at family gatherings until you passed out in the basement watching cartoons with your cousins. And until you’ve tasted it again, you’ve forgotten just how good that feels.
This isn’t to say Cafe Birdie is some sort of red sauce slop fest. We’d come here for a sexy date night any day of the week, then turn around and do it again. We’d round up our friends, drink some cocktails at the bar, and laugh hysterically about whether balancing your checkbook is a thing you should be doing or not. Whatever your circumstance (or life anxiety) might be, Cafe Birdie is simply here to make it all ok for an evening. No drugs necessary.
Food Rundown
photo credit: Jakob Layman
Forget Me Not
photo credit: Jakob Layman
Autumn Salad
photo credit: Jakob Layman
Moroccan-Spiced Fried Chicken
photo credit: Jakob Layman
Steak Tartare Toast
photo credit: Jakob Layman
Braised Meatballs
photo credit: Jakob Layman
Pork Cheek Ragu
photo credit: Jakob Layman