République

République occupies a handsome historic building on South La Brea Avenue, just north of Wilshire Boulevard, and it does double duty as one of the city's favourite daytime bakery cafés and as an evening restaurant. The restaurant describes the building as a unique historic space; the room is part of the appeal and fills with a cheerful crowd from the moment the doors open.

The bakery is the draw for most daytime visitors. Pastry chef Margarita Manzke won the James Beard Foundation award for Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker in 2024, and her counter is stacked with croissants, viennoiserie, tarts, cakes and breads. From 11am the café adds a lunch menu, and breakfast dishes are served from the morning, so you can make a full meal of it or just grab a coffee and pastry.

The café and bakery are open every day from 8am to 2pm. In the evenings the room becomes a full-service restaurant, serving dinner from Tuesday to Friday between 5.30pm and 10pm and on Saturday from 5pm. The bar team mixes cocktails, and the wine list is overseen by sommelier Sarah Clarke, so dinner here is a more polished experience than the relaxed daytime service.

Weekend mornings are very busy and queues for the counter can be long, so arriving close to opening time is the easiest way to get a seat. On weekdays the pace is gentler and it is a pleasant place to linger. It suits couples, friends meeting for brunch and pastry lovers, and children usually enjoy choosing something from the bakery cases.

Practical points: dinner reservations are recommended, especially at weekends, while the daytime café works on a first-come basis at the counter. Private events can also be arranged, and the restaurant lists a phone number for enquiries. Street parking on La Brea is metered and can be competitive at peak times. Pastry lovers should not leave without trying something from the viennoiserie, which is baked fresh each morning, and a loaf of bread to take away makes a good picnic base for later in the day.

République is well placed for a day in Mid-City. LACMA and the Academy Museum are a short drive west along Wilshire Boulevard, and Pink's Hot Dogs is a few minutes north on La Brea. The Original Farmers Market and The Grove are also close by, making it easy to pair a morning pastry here with sightseeing.