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photo credit: Yasara Gunawardena
Pijja Palace
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Pijja Palace is an Indian sports bar in Silver Lake that looks nothing like the image that just popped into your head. A genre-bending fusion of saag-smeared pizzas, mid-century modern furniture, R&B music, and framed photos of Serena smacking a forehand, it's one of the most memorable Silver Lake restaurants to open in a very long time.
But first, some context. The strip mall that houses Pijja Palace was previously home to Sunset Foot Clinic, a beloved local landmark known for its iconic rotating Happy Foot/Sad Foot sign. The clinic relocated in 2020, the sign came down, and Pijja Palace moved in soon after. This restaurant, in other words, had some *ahem* big shoes to fill.
And damn, did they fill them.
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The dining room at Pijja Palace feels both hectic and harmonious, like a CBD drink laced with amphetamines. Tables are painted in soft pastels, and a dozen flatscreen TVs plaster the walls playing Formula One races, cricket matches, and (of course) the Lakers. Families crowd into booths, their tables stacked with malted chai soft serve and house-made cream sodas. Couples split plates of tandoori spaghetti. Aunties gossip over chicken wings. And pretty much everyone is watching the game, praying to a higher power that Mookie Betts smashes another homer.
photo credit: Yasara Gunawardena
The menu is laid out as you might expect at a sports bar—wings, sliders, fried stuff, build-your-own pizzas—with a few outstanding pastas thrown in. But that’s about where the similarities end. Unconventional Desi twists are found in every dish, sometimes subtly (as with the garlic bread daubed with garlic-chile paste) and other times emphatically bold, like juicy lamb sliders slapped with Amul cheese, a salty-tangy spread that’s the Indian equivalent of Kraft singles. Unless you arrive with a dozen friends, you won’t be able to try everything that grabs your attention. So start with the pastas and build from there. A good rule of thumb is a pasta per person, plus one for the table. Then a pizza as well. And probably some okra fries and wings, too.
photo credit: Yasara Gunawardena
If we haven’t said it plainly enough, Pijja Palace is no ordinary sports bar, and that extends to its drink menu, too. Besides draft beers and funky natural wines, you will also find inventive cocktails—try the chai whiskey sour flavored with Darjeeling tea—and a vintage soda machine in the back, a relic from the 1940s, which spurts out colorful fountain-style treats. Dr. Patel’s Prescription Sarsaparilla comes with a scoop of sweet caramel ice cream, while a tamarind soda balances the tropical fruit’s tart bite with floral Rooh Afza syrup and a shot of seltzer. Shirley Temple could never.
Game days warrant a visit to Pijja Palace, of course. But it’s also suited for casual date nights, catch-ups with friends, and evenings when the group chat needs something to do. This is a place where boredom isn't allowed. You will eat Indian-ish fusion comfort food, feel visually overstimulated, and stare deeply into LeBron James' eyes on an HD screen. Trying to explain Pijja Palace's jovial mish-mash to someone—a friend, an alien from Mars, your cousin from Iowa—will leave you exasperated. There's just too much fun stuff. Our advice? Don’t overthink why or how it all fits together. Just enjoy it.
Food Rundown
photo credit: Yasara Gunawardena
Yellow Wings
Green Chutney Pijja
Kesar Shells & Cheese
photo credit: Yasara Gunawardena
Malai Rigatoni
photo credit: Pijja Palace
Tandoori Spaghetti
photo credit: Pijja Palace
Chaas Dumplings
Dosa Onion Rings
photo credit: Yasara Gunawardena