Pijja Palace

Pijja Palace runs at 2711 W Sunset Blvd in Silver Lake, Avish Naran's collision of an Indian kitchen and a neighbourhood sports bar. The Infatuation calls it a thoroughly delicious and awesomely chaotic Indian sports bar, and the description has stuck as the genre name.

The menu is the argument: malai rigatoni in a creamy tomato masala that reads like an Indian spicy vodka pasta, saag pijja with sharp cheddar and Goan sausage, dosa onion rings, and green chile pickle crusted wings, per The Infatuation and Time Out's sports bar guide.

The room earned a national profile fast, including a James Beard nomination run, and the reservation book behaves like it: tables release seven days out and disappear in seconds, per The Infatuation's review.

Mid century modern furniture, R and B on the speakers, and framed athletes on the walls, per The Infatuation. The screens carry every LA broadcast, but the room reads more like a Silver Lake restaurant that happens to take the Dodgers seriously.

The draft list leans local California beer with pitchers built for game windows, plus a short cocktail and wine list and a salted lassi that does real work against the chile heat. Order a pitcher for the table and the malai rigatoni before the kitchen queue builds. Most plates run 14 to 24 dollars; drinks sit LA standard.

Reservations vanish within seconds of the seven day release, but walk ins at the 5pm open get seated, per The Infatuation. Game nights for the Dodgers, Lakers, and Rams pack the room hardest; reviewers advise avoiding those windows unless the game is the point.

What regulars say:

• The Infatuation calls it thoroughly delicious and awesomely chaotic, and recommends walking in at 5pm.
• Time Out ranks it among LA's best sports bars for the food alone.
• Yelp reviewers, across more than a thousand reviews, converge on the malai rigatoni and dosa onion rings as mandatory.

Who it is for:

• Eaters who want the game without sports bar food
• Groups of three or four splitting pastas and a pijja
• Avoid on Dodgers, Lakers, or Rams nights unless you are there for the game

The most original sports bar in America's most copied food city. Walk in at 5pm on a non game night, order the rigatoni and the rings, and stay for whatever is on.

Getting there: 2711 W Sunset Blvd, Silver Lake. Street parking thins on game nights; ride apps beat circling.

Timing: Nightly from 5pm. Walk in at open or sprint the reservation release seven days out.

Cost: Plates 14 to 24 dollars, pitchers at LA standard. Cards accepted; the queue is the only real cost.