The Cool Kids Will Love The Friend in Silver Lake

Farley Elliott is the Senior Editor at Eater LA and the author of Los Angeles Street Food: A History From Tamaleros to Taco Trucks. He covers restaurants in every form, from breaking news to the culture, people, and history that surrounds LA's dining landscape.

Step inside the saccharine-sweet brilliance of The Friend, a charming new bar for locals (and anyone else who happens to drop past) in Silver Lake.

With its cotton candy exterior and art-focused insides, The Friend looks to be a beacon for artists and misfits across the Eastside and beyond. It helps of course that owners Andre Saraiva, Mickey Madden, and Jared Meisler have collected a group of talented folks to run the place, including William Cutting on beverage duty.

What’s more, Eric Greenspan (of soon-to-open Maré next door) is handling the bar food, from $12 shrimp cocktails to $18 charcuterie plates, $9 avocado toast, and $11 couscous bowls meant to act as a meal for one, especially with a poached egg on top. The full opening menu is below.

As for the space, expect a rosy attention to artistic detail, from the pink floor to the open ceiling that doesn’t quite hide a shimmering disco ball. There’s a painted-up pinball machine in one corner, room to sit at two-tops, heavy booths, and at the bar, and enough hidden bits of ephemera from artists like Kenny Sharf, Aaron Rose, Andre, and Tofer Chin to keep drinkers engaged for hours.

The Friend looks to officially open on New Years Eve, keeping evening-only hours in 2017.

The Friend
2611 Hyperion Ave.
Los Angeles, CA