Sqirl

Sqirl is a small daytime café on North Virgil Avenue, in the area between Silver Lake and East Hollywood sometimes called Virgil Village. It began as a preserving operation, making jams from local produce, and it has been experimenting with preservation for well over a decade. That focus on fruit and seasonal ingredients still runs through everything it serves.

The menu covers breakfast and lunch, with plates built around grains, vegetables, eggs and good bread, and the house jams and preserves turn up on toast and pastries. A pastry team makes custom baked goods, and the jams, butters and marmalades, such as pear and passion fruit butter or Seville orange marmalade, are sold to take away. If you only have time for one thing, toast with house jam and a coffee gives a good sense of what Sqirl does.

The café is open every day from 8am to 4pm. Weekend mornings are the busiest time, and the queue can spill out onto the pavement, so arriving soon after opening or coming on a weekday morning makes for a calmer visit. Orders can also be placed for pick-up through the café's online ordering, and delivery is available through Postmates.

Sqirl suits food-focused travellers, brunch fans and anyone staying on the east side of the city. The space is modest, so it is better for small groups than large parties. Children are welcome, and the sweet jams and pastries tend to go down well. Reservations for some services and private events can be made via Resy, according to the café's website.

The jams make a good edible souvenir and can be bought in the shop or online, and Sqirl also offers custom catering. For enquiries, it lists a phone number and the email [email protected]. The café's devotion to preserving means the flavours on offer shift through the year as different fruits come into season, so a return visit rarely looks quite the same as the last. Look at the jam selection by the counter before you order, as the current flavours often inspire what to pair with your toast or pastry.

Virgil Avenue is a short drive from Silver Lake's Sunset Junction, Los Feliz and Griffith Park, so a late breakfast here combines well with an afternoon at Griffith Observatory. The Vermont/Santa Monica station on the Metro B Line is about a fifteen-minute walk away.