Elf Café

Looks good. Trying out for the first time and the host, a dread sporting middle aged guy has a little too much ego and attitude, but food was great, service not to much.

The service was very friendly but the food wasn’t great. It was salty and a little oily. I ordered the tagine as recommended by other reviewers but it was terrible and thankfully they took it off the menu, thats why they get 2 stars. When I order something with vegetables, I assume they’ll be a medley but it was only potatoes and one piece of broccoli, that bite was great, the others not so much. Also way too expensive. My husband ordered a $ 21 mushroom dish that fell short as well. Ambiance is nice, tables were on top of each other though. I won’t go back.

The food and ambiance of this place is well done. Really appreciate the craft and effort that goes into each dish. Had a kale salad that came with a very awesome and fresh (like out of the garden fresh) vinaigrette. The portion to be was well enough to keep me full after a work out/​long drive. The only reason why I did not give this place a perfect score is because the hipster vibe was a little too much. Hipsters will kind of stare at you (or you’ll get different service then others) if you seem to be from out of the area. But, I guess that may be true for a lot of places in general.

This place is so small and intimate, and the menu is very unique. We had the beet and fennel salad, oyster mushrooms and a cauliflower purée treat. The selection of wine is also ‘natural’ or sustainably sourced like their food. Our waitress was also super friendly. I hope to definitely be back.

Dad is vegetarian and my brother suggested this place so we decided to try it. It’s LA, and it’s vegetarian. So the plates were smaller than what I’m used to, but not terribly small like a certain tapas place I went to in Pasadena that left me wanting.
Crispy Haloumi– I didn’t know what this was when I ordered it. But it ended up to be fried cheese, so basically a fancier mozzarella stick. It was okay.
Oyster mushroom– the mushroom was cooked so that texturally it was kind of flat. The Chinese vegetarian places in the SGV area make fried oyster mushrooms way tastier. But I liked the harissa sauce they used.
Mushroom risotto– they used maitake mushrooms, one of my favorites. It was quite fragrant, otherwise decent risotto.
Moroccan Tagine– I ordered this also and it turned out to be my favorite! Was kind of like a vegetable stew, but usually I hate it because of the tomatoey taste. This one I LOVED. There were raisins apparently and I also dislike raisins but it was stewed and the raisiney taste and texture were undetectable.
Fattayer– it’s kind of like a giant samosa, the kind they had on that day. I judge samosas on how dry they are, but the fattayer was not dry at all. The filling was like a potato pie. Tasty.
Saffron Pudding– I couldn’t really detect much saffron taste. But I liked the pudding and they had some sort of fragrant syrup and mint leaves.
Overall I thought the food was quite tasty, Despite the «American (New)» tag, there was a lot of North African/​Mediterranean incorporation. I discovered North African/​Mediterranean (not the Mediterranean you find often like falafels, gyros, etc) not too long ago at Bowery Bungalow and The Briks and it’s turning out to be one of my favorite kinds of food.

I came here with a good friend, and had the Elf Hippy Sandwich, being romesco, sumac tomato, sprouts, butter lettuce, cucumber, avocado, almond feta served on 12 grain bread. This was delicious, particularly when accompanied by the Mediterranean Potato with Smoked Paprika and Onion. Service was great, and I shook the owners’ hands and congratulated them for their fine restaurant. This is good, clean, wholesome food in a warm pleasant environment. What more can you ask for?

Amazing! One of the best vegetarian restaurants I have ever had. We were very impressed, pleased, and left feeling completely satisfied. Btw, we are big meat eaters, steak anyday. Can’t wait to come back and try the other items. Order The Hen of the Woods sandwich!!!

This place is excellent! It was our first time here and everything we had was so flavorful and delicious. We seriously can’t wait to come back and try other dishes. The service was fantastic and on point. I would give this place 10 stars if I could. Just go eat there! You won’t regret it.

I’m updating my review, as I have been back to Elf again several years after my first review, and it was so good. They take cards now, and the food is so tasty and well-​balanced that you could bring a non-​vegetarian here and they wouldn’t even notice there was no meat. I have learned to ask more questions at restaurants, if the descriptions are vague. I am looking forward to going back again. Maybe other restaurants have caught up pricewise, but the prices didn’t seem unusual for the LA, though it is a nicer night-​out dinner for me rather than a casual dinner.

The food and service were excellent, but I felt that the portion sizes were small for what you were getting. Most of the entrées were around $ 20, and my friend and I left the restaurant still feeling like we could’ve eaten twice as much food. The food was very pretty and tasty, although I personally felt like the menu relied too heavily on potato as filler. The best part about the restaurant was the atmosphere — — small, quiet, perfect for a date or an evening out with friends. The servers did a great job, and I left satisfied, although I would probably not go back, as I prefer to get more bang for my buck – if I’m going to spend over $ 50 for a glass of wine and an entrée (I also shared an appetizer), I want to leave feeling full.

Loved everything here! My only complaint is some stuff was a bit on the salty side and pretty oily. But if you’re open to hearty food and don’t focus on calories much, it’s great! I have never seen half the dishes here and I eat out a lot. This place is so unique and delicious. I did a review on my VLog:
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Food was great!
We ordered the Moussaka and the Mushroom Risotto and had nothing negative to say about the food. My favorite was the potatoes that came with the moussaka. Their wine selection was great too. Really enjoyed the bottle we had.
Ambiance
Tables are small and a bit cramped together but still cozy & romantic.
Service
Our server, the lady with the funky hair (forgot her name) gave us a dirty look when we told her we’re skipping dessert. WHAT’S UP WITH THE ATTITUDE? We figured she probably had a bad night. But rolling her eyes and treating us like we’re no longer welcomed just because we decide to skip dessert? This clearly wasn’t a pleasant way to end dinner and we left with a bad taste.
Would I be back?
Probably not. I have nothing against the food, but no one wants to dine at a restaurant and leave feeling crappy. A big chunk of a dining experience is the service.
And frankly, there are enough other options in LA.
I hope the owner of this restaurant addresses this.

We were driving around looking for a quick bite before hitting the bars when we stumbled upon elf café. Showed up around 10:00 pm with no reservations. The place looked pretty packed but they were able to accommodate us quickly. Hipsters paradise, we felt a little out of place, but no matter we wanted some good eats.
The staff is very pleasant and friendly. We sat down and immediately ordered some sparkling water. CRISP. We ordered a beat and fennel salad and a house risotto to share. The food was good but I was definitely still hungry after we finished. The portions were a little on the small side, I won’t be sharing it next time. Overall It’s a cute little spot. I’ll be back for more.

This restaurant embodies what is wrong in the hospitality industry in Los Angeles. They have forgotten that they are in the hospitality industry and instead decide they think it would be a really big power move to treat people like they are of little value and should be so lucky to come spend money in their business. Due to poor communication we decided to take a reservation at a different restaurant. I replied «no thank you» to a presumptuous email sent by the reservationist confirming a reservation that I did not make but had only inquired about. The manger I guess he was then felt the need to call and harass me about my email «what does np thank you mean?!» he asked me and proceeded to bully me into an argument after I had asked to call back at a later time to explain my decision, which I didn’t even need to do because… oh wait… I AM THE GUEST.
When he called I was in a car with my boyfriends family during our first meeting and had to have this conversation in front of them because he would not let me off the phone for the sake of his pride. He argued with me until I told him I wouldn’t be coming back to which he sharply said «that was great with them» and hung up on me. Not only did he bully me in an uncomfortable situation after I had asked him not too, but he felt the need to insult someone he never met and didn’t even try to understand. The truly sad part is that I have been a consultant in several amazing restaurants in Los Angeles and worked at some of the finest establishments in New Orleans, NYC and around the country. I love making people happy, and diffusing bad situations so that people can enjoy THEIR special night and not get caught up in petty unpleasantness. I am writing this so hopefully he can learn from his mistake and become better at his job which is to make his business money by taking care of people not alienating them. I have recommended this restaurant to quite a few friends and guests in the past but I will no longer do so because of this interaction. My advice would be to remember what your position is and if you aren’t happy with that then go work somewhere that makes you happy man.

I love this restaurant! I’m vegan and it has sooooooo many opinions (almost the whole menu). The food is to dye for! Small and quaint :)

Salty, Expensive, nice enough folks serving, but poor service.
Ok, so party of four and we sat by the door on a slightly chilly LA night, so that blew because servers and folks going in and out, not much you can do but deal with it, it’s a small place.
So the big issues outside of you need to be a wealthy Vegan and I’m not wealthy or a vegan was the Salt in all the dishes, I had to send back the soup because it was crazy salty, they were cool about that and took it off the bill. So we got 3 Risottos, two came, one for my friends to share and one for me. My wife risotto came 10 min later, kinda sucked to not eat together and time it properly, but shit happens. In general the food came out very slowly, but it was a busy Sat night. Overall it can get pricey, it can be salty and slow. Bummer, not the worst experience but no need to go back. Sorry Elf

Always love coming here. The food never disappoints and they are extremely accommodating for vegan diets. We recently came here for my birthday, and the staff provided service that was above and beyond. Definitely make a reservation, it’s a small space and can get packed fast!

Happened upon this Silver Lake gem with the help of Unilocal since I was in the area. Ummmm, yes, yes, and Yes!
Risotto, Avocado Purée, and Butter Lettuce & Frisee salad. I think Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed, and all there kin blessed these amazing chefs!
Wonderful staff, front row seats to the kitchen, and the best food I’ve had out in quite a while. I’ll be back fo sho.

Very very tasty food! I had the avacado purée with Brussel Sprouts and it was really really good… two very tasty and two really goods ;) I would have given this place 5 stars if we weren’t left waiting for our check for so long. I think they kind of forgot about us but in all fairness we were talking up a storm and they were very accommodating. The dishes I saw coming out all looked really amazing amd everyone I was with seemed to love their food. Parking was a chore… but this is LA so what can anyone expect? My family isn’t vegetarian, but I am and they loved this place so that should tell you something. To top it all off, they had a perfect espresso to offer at the end.

Definitely one of my favorite neighborhood jaunts. Had a fantastic meal last night. Thanks team for keeping up the consistency of excellence.

I’ll never say no to elf. I am consistently impressed with the creations of Chef Dave. The flavors of his dishes are so robust and they use the best ingredients. The food at elf is truly a work of art and the prices aren’t sky high. Fantastic date place or dinner/​brunch with friends.

This Los Angeles café became an instant favorite after my first visit, but most importantly, after many and many visits remained in its position. This place is awesome, but it’s kind of small, so be sure not to miss it. It is run by former rock band mates, and serves dinner only. It is a vegetarian restaurant, but a good portion of menu options are vegan and/​or gluten free.
Since the room is small, it gets packed quickly… but it is very cozy. Not sure if I was ever disappointed with anything on the menu, but my particular favorites are the olive and dates appetizer, the lebne plate; the vegetarian fondu and the baked sheep feta served inside roast tomato.
The great thing is you can bring your bottle of wine with you if it adds to a better dining experience. I usually never have room for desert, but I have tried one of their tarts and it was delicious!

We ordered 2 starters a main and a side. One lemonade and 2 beers the bill was about $ 90+ after tax and tip and we still had to go eat somewhere else after because we were still hungry…
The food was just ok, kind of greasy for being vegetarian food. I can’t believe this has 4.5 stars really weird I was expecting to like it a lot more.

How did I forget to review this place?! Also, how did it take me over a year after stumbling upon their first Tuesday night tapas night to return?! Probably because shortly after my first visit, I moved from Downtown to Brentwood. Ugh.
Ok, Elf is this super cute little space full of energy and deliciousness next to Mohawk Bend. About a year ago my friend and I were planning to go to Mohawk Bend for dinner and drinks, as we were walking past Elf we saw it was open and decided to take a peek. My friend knew I was veg and thought I might like it, but didn’t think they were open on Tuesdays (they usually aren’t) So we stepped in a didn’t step out for a few hours. They were doing REAL tapas. Yeassss, real tapas in Spain are where as long as you buy drinks, you keep getting food. Now, I don’t know if they still do this ever or not, but I will now be following them on Instagram to find out.
They have only natural and organic wines and beers, all of which are delicious. Last night I went for dinner and it was a little pricey for the starters, though all were really tasty. The main course was really really great and I didn’t feel it was overpriced by much.
I love the vibe of this place and the food and the wine. I will return sooner than a year from now, I promise!

I went here on a date a little while ago and thoroughly enjoyed this spot. I have been a vegetarian for 12 years and eaten at many, many vegetarian restaurants. What I really love about this place is how unique their dishes are. Everything we had was inventive, interesting, and seemed made with love. The staff was really friendly– the whole place had an upscale hippie vibe and I loved it.
One thing that my date was worried about was that we got there for dinner a bit before sunset and this spot is not as romantic with the lights up. Once the sun sets, the vibe is much more romantic because of the candles/​lanterns/​etc. That didn’t bother me at all but I thought I’d give my fellow Unilocalers a heads up: if you want maximum romance, make sure to schedule your reservation after sunset.

Wow this place was amazing! We made dinner reservations for 8:30pm on a Saturday & we were seated right on time.
We started our meal with a bottle of red wine which was a mix of Cabernet/​Merlot/​Syrah which was delicious!
For appetizers we ordered the Batatas which was sweet potato topped with the most flavorful sauces. We also ordered the avocado purée which was a personal favorite! I want to recreate this dish at home! It was made with tahini, lemon, cumin & other spices I could not figure out!
We ordered the kale sale next which was okay, not much flavor & tasted a little dry for my preference.
For the main dish we got the mushroom risotto and socca. The socca was way too bland & lacked spices… also a little bitter! However the risotto definitely made up for it! So flavorful & creamy!
Service was slightly slow & it took way to long for each dish to come out, however they offered us complimentary chips & dip for the delay. Staff is friendly & the place itself is clean. Ambience is definitely intimate with its dim lighting!

I ordered for pick up, but I can tell this place is a fancy restaurant for vegans. The guy I placed my order with was very patient in explaining the dishes, so 5 stars for over-​the-​phone service. I decided to order the kofta with saffron cous cous, which had king oyster mushrooms, yogurt, and my favorite, the crispy chickpeas. This dish was very flavorful and tasty — a little bit of tartness with the richness of the mushrooms, with a hint of freshness from the cilantro. I don’t even like chickpeas but the way they put the dish together just worked very well. The only thing I did not like was the amount of food I received for $ 21. I had a good number of sliced king mushrooms, probably 8 slices-​ish (which was probably like, 2 mushrooms), but everything else, including the cous cous, was just foofy fillers. I literally had less than 3 spoonfuls of granular cous cous, and I was left seriously hungry. I had been a vegetarian for 10 years, so I’m used to vegetarian/​vegan foods, but I don’t think I’ve ever been charged 21 bucks for a dish with such an insufficient amount of cous cous!
I am still rating it 4 stars because I think the concept of the restaurant is wonderful, and am always a supporter of tasty and creative vegan/​vegetarian food. But please don’t skimp on the cous cous!

You don’t need to be veg to love this place. You won’t even realize the meat is missing! I always go with my friend who is a wine reviewer and they have an incredible wine list here.
Things to love:
Tiny and intimate
Trendy crowd
Healthy feelings
The pastas…
Beautiful wine list
Avoid the heavy breaded stuff, not a lot of flavor. All about the pasta and veggies here!

This place is so Freaking delicious! Order whatever! Order more than you think you can consume. This is my favorite place to take myself on a date as a single lady in Los Angeles, really.
Besides just genuinely loving this place and their food, I also happen to be a vegetarian and this place hits the spot! I’ve also taken meat eaters here and they’re soo impressed! Most veggie places don’t hit that savory pallet that I hope they will. As someone who cooks a lot, I really enjoy the FRESH Simplicity this restaurant has consistently. I’ve been a fan since months after the opening of Elf.
Spices are on point.
Butter lettuce and Moroccan carrot salad is something I’d never tried until tonight. Was super good.
(Menu does change as they use the freshest ingredients and use seasonal veggies.)
Cute chefs. Cute servers. Friendly service.
Really love this place and i cannot believe it took me so long to review it.
Coming back all the time.
I hate to put a shining light on a delicious place and possibly ruin my chances on getting that last seat.
But this place really deserves all the business.
Absolutely LOVE Elf Café.

Best inventive vegetarian cuisine on the East side (on par with Crossroads in Weho). Ordered two mains and dessert from warm, quirky staff. Great, quiet, beautiful but non-​foofy environment.
Kurlu kurlu (I think) ($ 19)
Described as ‘stew’. Tasted like tagine. I’m not a fan of sauces usually — it can be devilishly used to disguise bad produce — but this tasted like meticulous care and spice precision. Beans and tomatoes in the stew was wonderfully charred. The ‘meatballs’ were so soft, ‘real’ tasting. On the salty side but I like my salt so it was perfect.
Mushroom and walnut ‘bread’ main ($ 19)
I’m OCD with texture and this hit the spot. A mouthful of walnut ‘bread’, mushroom and soft egg = textural orgasm. The bread was surprisingly sweet but I am also into sweet… and nuts… need I say more.
Citrus curd ($ 10)
If you are a textural and tang fan this is again a must. Perfect curd (sticks to spoon when you turn the spoon upside down) with fresh mint leaf (a garnish, but I eat it with a mouthful of curd) and a crunchy walnut crumble.
The above make me seem easily pleased but when it comes to food I am most definitely discriminatingly judgemental so seriously, do yourself a favour and come here quick and even if you eat meat, my sources say you will be pleased.

I really want to know why a restaurant that has such lofty culinary aims only has a B Health rating.
Besides my other nervousness, the meal we had here was enjoyable but if only a bit too expensive. I feel like I’ve had better vegetarian meals eating more casual fare next door at Mohawk Bend.
They’ve since changed the menu since I was last here so I’d be willing to give it another shot, though that B Heath rating still looms large over my decision to return once more.

Délicieux. Un sanctuaire de la nourriture végétarienne. Service impeccable. Cela vaut vraiment le coup. Facile de se garer dans les rues avoisinantes. Attention, il vaut mieux réserver. Ça manqué un peu de lumière mais je chipote.

I took my vegetarian girlfriend here for our anniversary! We had a nice time. The food was interesting and very well made. Simply looking at it as a place to get some veggie delights, I’d say it’s almost a 5 star. Funny enough I have more complaints than I do compliments, but it still has 4 stars because my expectations were super high.
This place wasn’t as fancy as I was hoping. It’s all a bit TOO earthy. Meaning the floor looked dirty and the walls looked old. Also there was a plant in my face. I had to switch seats with my date because I’m too tall apparently to sit without being harassed by a vine. As soon as the sun went down though, and we got to see those pretty lights lining the outside of the place, it wasn’t so bad. So I guess I’m saying if you’re going for the romance, it’s more of a 3 star. We both agreed we had good food and a good time, but neither of us plan on going back on a date… At least I hope she isn’t… You know… Like… Without me.
The service was just alright. The waiters seemed preoccupied with their thoughts and they got a couple of my drink orders wrong. But they were knowledgable at least. And polite on the outside. What made me wanna give this 3 stars was the fact our waitress set the bill down so my date could see… Not cool.
The food was a lot of fun. Everything we got tasted great and had a nice presentation. I thought it was a bit too pricey. Sure for a date I was glad to look good spending a bit of gold coin from my magic pouch, but for what I spent we were both left hungry, and we didn’t want to do dessert there.
So… 4 stars for a vegetarian’s delight! I’d say 3 stars for a date night! And 1 star if it was my dad. My dad is not a restaurant. Or a phone.

Samedi 24 août
A force de passer devant ce petit restaurant qui a l’air sympa et vu la moyenne sur Unilocal,nous étions curieux de pouvoir expérimenter l’endroit !
Une réservation quelques heures plus tôt, l’hôtesse, charmante, nous indique que nous serons au comptoir. Arrivez à l’heure nous sommes aux premières loges pour observer les deux cuisiniers en action.
On commande deux verres de vins: un blanc et un rouge californiens… Arghhhh ! Décidément c’est la deuxième fois en moins d’une semaine qu’on a droit à des choses imbuvables. On nous apporte des petites chips mexicaines à grignoter en attendant notre commande: un plat de pâtes et une tarte façon méditerranéenne en chausson. On en a profiter pour commander un blanc français et un nouveau rouge californien… Idem… Enfin moins pire mais vraiment affreux. A croire qu’il faille éviter le vin ici. On patiente en lapant les breuvages, nos chips sont terminées. On attend en regardant les plats se préparer. On patiente encore un peu… Encore… Enfin !
Ma tarte est plutôt de belle composition et les produits sont frais. Mais j’ai encore faim. Le plat de pâtes est plutôt pas mal, et elles sont fraîches tous comme les légumes les accompagnant. Par contre, la portion est quelque peu insignifiante. Mon copain a encore faim.
On essaye le crumble à la pêche pas mal du tout. J’avais commande un expresso en même temps mais il est arrivé bien avant et on a donc du… Patienter encore. Mais content du dessert avec pleins de saveur.
Au final, le vin semble à éviter, il faut peut être devoir prendre une entrée et/​ou un dessert, et être patient. Et puis 70 $ pour l’ensemble… Sic !
C’était à essayer, au moins une fois.