LAReview
photo credit: Andrea D'Agosto
L&E Oyster Bar
Included In
You’ll find L&E on a particularly charming stretch in Silver Lake, on a crowded block that looks ripped from a Thomas Kinkade painting. The low-key seafood bistro is a neighborhood hang in every sense of the word: a reliable place to chill, a cafe right on the sidewalk, perfect for slurping oysters and sipping champagne. It’s a restaurant for Silver Lake people, where you’ll see couples on dates, groups of friends gossiping over oyster towers, and mysterious solo diners reading something Sally Rooney.
photo credit: Andrea D'Agosto
Since it’s in a part of LA that feels like its own tiny town and not the probiotic social club you’ll find everywhere else in the neighborhood, eating at L&E is like escaping the city. Its location a few blocks down from the reservoir seems off the beaten path (even though it’s not) and is the kind of relaxing and low-key romantic setting you always imagine in your head, but rarely ever find.
The namesake oysters here are excellent–creamy and briny in a way that makes you think they were hand-delivered from the ocean that morning. Make sure to order a shrimp cocktail, a large and meaty dish where crustaceans come rolled in Old Bay seasoning and last for four or five bites. We love L&E best for simple, well-executed dishes: burgers weigh close to half a pound and come dripping in caramelized onions; the wedge salad is properly smothered in bacon and blue cheese dressing. And although we prefer to order a bunch of small plates to share with the table, L&E also offers a few heftier seafood dishes–like a grilled whole branzino over citrusy rice pilaf, and the “bouillabasic,” a rather robust stew filled with black cod, clams, and tomato saffron broth that’s big enough for two.
photo credit: Andrea D'Agosto
Nothing here will leave you speechless, or make you rethink everything you thought you knew about seafood, but that’s not the point of L&E Oyster. Plain and simple, it’s a wonderful neighborhood spot—a place for people who live in Silver Lake that’s not the Trader Joe’s or that scary, desolate dog park at the reservoir. It’s a spot where lines are never too long and the oysters are always fresh. Although, whether someone actually hand-carried them from the ocean is a completely separate discussion.
Food Rundown
photo credit: Jakob Layman
Oysters
photo credit: Andrea D'Agosto
Shrimp Cocktail
photo credit: Andrea D'Agosto
Wedge Salad
photo credit: Andrea D'Agosto
Burger
photo credit: Andrea D'Agosto