Pine & Crane’s Sophomore Restaurant Opens in Highland Park

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.

The doors are open and the sun shines bright on the new Joy in Highland Park. The sophomore effort from Pine & Crane owner Vivian Ku is open now, turning out Taiwanese staples that mirror her first restaurant, along with a few surprising flourishes.

Joy lands right along trendy York, across the street from Town Pizza and with a big, open look out onto the bustling boulevard. This is the former Ba, though last year Ku and her team also pushed into the neighboring Elsa Bakery space to make more room for dining in. Tall windows let in the new views while brushed floors and exposed brick show off the building’s old features, and the dark wooden bench seating comes with a pop of bright red color. There’s bar seating up at the ordering counter, and a handful of two- and four-tops running the length of one wall and into the open dining area.

As for the food, Ku expect to serve some of the greatest hits from the immensely popular Pine & Crane in Silver Lake, while also branching out into more cold appetizers and different dishes. There are soups, buns, and scallion bread sandwiches now, plus the requisite cooked greens, dessert, and loose leaf teas. The opening menu is below.