The Alcove Café and Bakery – A Local Favorite in Los Feliz

Alcove Café and Bakery front patio
Alcove Café and Bakery front patio

The South Bay is a great place to call home and while there are a lot of great restaurants to choose from, I like to wander away from my familiar surroundings to enjoy the diverse nature of LA. In doing so, I have experienced many exciting finds outside of the South Bay.

Alcove Café and Bakery entrance
Alcove Café and Bakery entrance

I was recently invited to attend Alcove Café and Bakery during their 10th Anniversary celebration. I purposely planned ahead and didn’t experience any serious traffic getting to the restaurant’s location in Los Feliz. Set against the beautiful backdrop of the eastern edge of Santa Monica Mountains, the area is quite appealing due to the number of mature trees and classically maintained homes.

Mo Chi Chi - Coconut infused vodka with pineapple, lime, amontillado sherry and toasted coconut
Mo Chi Chi – Coconut infused vodka with pineapple, lime, amontillado sherry and toasted coconut
Mini bluefin crab cake with chipotle aioli
Mini bluefin crab cake with chipotle aioli
Thorn in my side - rye whisky, bianco, ginger, lime, dry english cider
Thorn in my side – rye whisky, bianco, ginger, lime, dry English cider with black tiger shrimp tempura with ginger soy glaze
Spiced lamb skewers with chimichurri mashed potatoes
Spiced lamb skewers with chimichurri mashed potatoes
St. Anne's Helper - Eagle Rare 10 yr bourbon, carpano antica, meletti, forbidden bitters
St. Anne’s Helper – Eagle Rare 10 yr bourbon, carpano antica, meletti, forbidden bitters

Appetizers and craft cocktails were served prior to dinner. The Alcove Café and Bakery takes great care about sourcing their ingredients from quality suppliers as both the meat and seafood were extremely fresh and the vegetables were of the quality you can expect from your local farmers market.

Alcove Cottage - the oldest building in Los Feliz
Alcove Cottage – the oldest building in Los Feliz

Owner Tom Trellis restored two bungalows and designed the restaurant with the eye of old Europe in a So Cal format. Italian iron light fixtures are hung from the ceiling; along with the use of wood, it provides a nice feng shui feel inside. Along with the front patio, one almost feels like they are dining in someone’s home.

Grilled Atlantic salmon with six grain salad
Grilled Atlantic salmon with six grain salad
Nicoise-ish salad with ahi tuna, haricot vert, olives, egg, tomato, red onion, and lemon vinaigrette
Nicoise-ish salad with ahi tuna, haricot vert, olives, egg, tomato, red onion, and lemon vinaigrette
Hearty poutine with cheese curds topped with green onions
Hearty poutine with cheese curds topped with green onions
Blackened chicken salad with strawberries, dried cranberries, feta, pine nuts, argula and strawberry vinaigrette
Blackened chicken salad with strawberries, dried cranberries, feta, pine nuts, argula and strawberry vinaigrette
Spiced lamb skewers with chimichurri mashed potatoes
Spiced lamb skewers with chimichurri mashed potatoes
mini cupcakes & macarons
mini cupcakes & macarons

Trellis’ philosophy has been to “prepare simple food well” and I’d have to agree with him. The produce was farmers market quality: the cherry tomatoes tasted like tomatoes should taste and the green beans were crisp and tender. I also thought the seafood was extremely fresh, moist and tender. In particular the blue fin crab cake had coarse breading on the outside and was filled with crab on the inside.

I’m really happy that I discovered The Alcove Café and Bakery as I definitely would like to return. If you don’t want to deal with traffic, you can take the Metro to the Vermont / Sunset red line Metro stop. It’s about a 15 minute walk from that station. Given its proximity, it’s also ideal for dining before a concert at the Greek Theatre.

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