Where to Eat and Drink Near Dodger Stadium

The Lakers have the glamour and the Rams are the shiny new toy, but the Dodgers are the most universally beloved team in LA. Even people who don’t follow baseball will casually throw on a Dodgers hat to run errands, perk up their ears for Kershaw starts, or take a minute out of their day to harass a stray Giants fan.

It helps that this year’s Dodgers team totally rips. They’re fun and talented and exciting, fueled by deep-pocketed owners who have taken an aggressive and intelligent approach to team building that has led to an incredible run of success over the last decade—it’s only brought us one title so far, but we’re right in the mix again.

A trip up to the stadium is a seasonal rite of passage in LA. One of the best ways to spend a warm evening is sitting outdoors with an overpriced beer and a Dodger Dog, and considering they’ve won about three-quarters of their home games this year, you’re probably going to get a happy crowd cheering with you.

It is also nice that the area right around the stadium, including Echo Park, Silver Lake, Chinatown, and Lincoln Heights, is chock full of outstanding places to eat and drink. You can do a rowdy pregame and then unwind with a quiet drink afterwards, or fill up on killer food before the game and then dance the night away after a Dodger win, or any permutation that you can imagine. You can even bring food into the stadium if you do it in a clear plastic bag (be sure to browse the additional information on what is and isn’t allowed in the stadium, including restrictions around purses and backpacks). Without further ado, here are the best places to eat and drink around Dodger Stadium:

Echo Park
When you walk up to a glowing truck in a dark parking lot in Echo Park, you’re conditioned to expect tacos. But in the parking lot of the Circle H on Sunset, there is a very different sort of truck—a pizza truck, with a big wood-burning oven and everything. Owner/pizzaiolo Elodoro Lopez’s mobile pizza operation sets up most evenings, knocking out wood-fired pizzas with an artfully blistered crust for a line of neighborhood regulars and eager Dodger fans. Traditional pizzas are probably the move, but there are also fun combinations on offer, and even a dessert pizza with nutella and fresh fruit.
How to book: Walk-up only.

Echo Park
After dark, the car wash at the corner of Sunset and Alvarado in Echo Park lights up anew with scrolling LED text atop the garish El Flamin’ Taco truck. But the more important glow is from the orange flame leaping out of their magnificent trompo, spinning with some of the neighborhood’s very best al pastor. The expert taquero deftly slices lines of pork from the spit and into freshly made tortillas, then tops them with a sliver of pineapple and hands them over for you to dress. The al pastor is perfect, alternatingly charred and tender with a powerful adobo that shines through salsa and pineapple. El Flamin’ has a long menu of wacky combinations, including a whole 4/20 menu, but it is the al pastor you really want.
How to book: Walk-up only.

Echo Park
Tsubaki is one of the best neighborhood restaurants in LA, but on your way to or from a Dodger game it’s Tsubaki’s younger sibling that you want—Ototo, a casual, intimate sake bar just next door, steps from Vin Scully Ave. Ototo is focused on its selection of fun and under-the-radar sakes, and they also do a simple but perfect menu of Japanese drinking snacks. There are izakaya favorites like Karaage and Okonomiyaki, as well as salads, fried tofu, and a couple of Japanese-style sandwiches. The atmosphere is fun and buzzy, and their bartenders are exceptionally good sake guides—it may not be your first thought, but it turns out funky sake is a killer summer afternoon beverage.
How to book: Walk in or order takeout through their website.

Lincoln Heights
Micheladas and baseball are an essential summer combination, and no one makes better micheladas around the stadium than La Chuperia #1, just across the LA River in Lincoln Heights. La Chuperia is just the right mix of rowdy, divey fun to be a perfect spot either before or after the game, and with their killer micheladas and solid Mexican-American bar snacks you can bookend your baseball with drinks and nachos on both sides.
How to book: Walk-ins only.

Echo Park
If you’d like to bring a grown-up, hipster sort of sophistication to your game day, Bar Bandini is your spot. The dark, quiet natural wine bar is the area’s premier first-date destination, and the same things that make it perfect for new couples getting to know each other keeps it a chill spot for game day drinking. Bandini always has an immaculate by-the-glass list and several fine craft ales on tap, and the volume tends to stay at a cool, manageable hush—quite the contrast to the bright lights and chaotic roar of the stadium. Whether you’re about to head to high-end seats in the vaunted Dugout Club or if you need to unwind after the intensity of the Outfield Pavilions, Bandini is a refuge.
How to book: Walk-ins only.

The iconic French Dip shop was there long before the stadium itself, and it is still an ideal stop for a quick and filling sandwich before the game. If you’re a Dodger fan heading to a Dodger game odds are you are already intimately familiar with the options, but just in case—the Beef Dip is great but the Lamb Dip is probably better, you should really get a pickle or three, and watch out for that damn hot mustard.
How to book: Order for takeout or delivery through DoorDash.

Chinatown
Chef/owner Johnny Lee’s Cantonese-ish comfort food has become an essential Chinatown stop over the last couple years, and it is a perfect game day meal—fortifying and hearty, perfectly executed and totally fun. The restaurant won some fame for its Hainan Chicken Rice, and it is marvelous, but it’s a weekend-only thing and tends to sell out fast. Never fear, though, because the rest of the menu is every bit as good. The Macau Pork Chop Bun is one highlight of many, rich and crispy and thoroughly filling, the perfect base to support one too many overpriced stadium drinks.
How to book: Walk in or order ahead through the website.

Lincoln Heights
When your name is the “Corn Man,” you sort of have to be the best. Timoteo, the elote street cart owner, definitely lives up to his name and the proof is in the long line of people who wait for him every night. He has been serving corn piled high with cheese, mayo, and chili in the same location for the last 30 years. You can find him on Workman and Broadway in Lincoln Heights from 11 pm–3 am, 7 days a week. Note: the Corn Man is a cash-only man.

Echo Park
If you need some games before the game, the recently reopened vintage-focused barcade Button Mash is just a couple blocks away from the stadium. You can rack up some wins at their new skee-ball section or crush some kids on old-school arcade games, then take a break with some carne asada or mushroom tacos from Tacos 1986, who have taken over the Button Mash kitchen. And thankfully Button Mash also has one of the very best and most consistent craft beer tap lists around, with plenty of funky natural wines to boot.
How to book: Walk-ins only.

Echo Park
This inviting indoor/outdoor bar is mere blocks from the stadium. Their burgers are exceptional, they have draught beers, and their cocktails are killer. Try the Mezalin, their version of a Penicillin with mezcal, homemade ginger syrup, honey, lemon, and a homemade elote tincture, with an order of their In-n-Out-inspired Gator Fries with griddled onions, housemade pickles and special sauce, and melted American cheese.

Echo Park
If enjoying a sit-down meal before the game is more your speed, try El Compadre. You will most likely see fellow Dodgers fans there and the game playing. The restaurant serves hearty portions of Mexican-American classics, housemade tortilla chips and salsa, and some of the best beans and rice in town. Toast to a Dodgers win with their signature flaming margarita. 

Silver Lake
Silver Lake’s new-ish Indian sports bar is one of the best places to eat (and drink) right now for any occasion, and a trip up to Chavez Ravine is a perfect excuse to stop in. Owner Avish Naran’s mixed menu of Indian-influenced bar foods, like the Green Chutney Pijja (their version of a pizza) with chutney, mozzarella, and masala, is something truly new for this neighborhood, and when you mix it with big screen TVs, inventive drinks, and fun energy you may find yourself lingering well after first pitch.
How to book: Reservations via Resy.

The home base of Highland Park Brewery is actually on the North edge of Chinatown, a short hike from the stadium. They make some of the city’s very best beers, from crisp light lagers and punchy IPAs to funky sours and big stouts, and their kitchen cranks out solid comfort food classics like burgers, salads, tater tots, and wings. They’ve expanded their outdoor space to spill out onto the blacktop next door, so it’s the perfect place to host a larger group for pregame beverages that are half the cost and twice as good as anything you’ll be able to legally drink during the game.
How to book: Walk in or order takeout through their website.

One of the best cocktail bars on this side of town—and in North America—is just a short stumble over the 101 from the stadium. Thunderbolt’s creative, summery cocktails are a perfect pair with a warm evening of baseball, and their Southern-influenced food menu is a hearty match for all that booze. Knock back a Tequila Tepache Highball and a Fried Chicken Biscuit then walk up the hill. Thankfully the Dodgers’ offense is good enough to keep you awake through the whole game.
How to book: Walk-ins only.

Esdras Ochoa’s Northern Mexican-style taqueria was one of the first stands around to bring legitimate carne asada and flour tortillas to the streets of LA more than a decade ago. Now they’ve settled into their brick-and-mortar location, but they haven’t lost any of the fire or flair that made their stand a sensation. Garlic-stuffed Vampiros and crispy Cachetadas are the move here, if you want to look beyond the classic flour-wrapped tacos.
How to book: Order online through ChowNow or call ahead at 213-613-0416.

The Short Stop has oscillated back and forth between cool and uncool for decades now, from dive bar to cop bar, sketchy to hipster, low-key to played-out and everywhere in between. But it has always been a top tier Dodger bar, the affordable antidote to the wildly overpriced stadium drinks. It’s a great place to start your evening, and an even better place to return to after a Dodger win.
How to book: Walk in.

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