Everything to Know About Highland Park’s Ambitious New Vegan Biergarten

The vegan biergarten in Highland Park looks just about ready to open. With one more inspection to go, Hinterhof is in the midst of gathering staff, and according to the owners should open before the new year.

First-time restaurant owners Matthias Brandt and Eric Funk will serve food from morning until evening. With 12 German beers on tap, an espresso machine, and a spacious patio, Hinterhof will easily compete with the adjacent restaurants and bars on this hot strip of Highland Park.

Breakfast includes a vegan omelet, buckwheat pancakes, waffles, schnitzel, vegan cheese, potato pancakes, and a traditional German breakfast. Lunch and dinner are similar, but dinner will include some traditional German side dishes, along with bratwurst, currywurst, wienerschnitzel, and German salads. They’ll also serve bratling, an ancient German dish that happens to be vegan. Strudel, vegan ice cream, and more are on the dessert list. All vegan sausages will be made on site, as well as the bread.

German-born Brandt took inspiration from his country to design Hinterhof. “Back in Berlin, there is always a place to have a coffee and beer with tables on top of sand,” says Brandt. “The idea of doing sausages and beer turned into a bigger project than we had in mind. It turned out more beautiful and better than we thought.”

Brandt and Eric Funk knocked down Taco Treat in early 2017, and built the 2,350 square foot space from the ground up. They even took care to repurpose the old Taco Treat sign. Everything is brand new, along with massive black and white photos of German life adorning the walls. Which makes sense, as Brandt opened a San Francisco-based picture framing business in 2006. Both are longtime vegans.

Hinterhof. 4939 York Blvd.Los Angeles, CA

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