Silver Lake’s Beloved Happy Foot/Sad Foot Space Is Taking a Wild Restaurant Turn

Demolition is underway at the former Happy Foot/Sad Foot clinic on Sunset Boulevard in Silver Lake, ending a long run for one of the neighborhood’s most enduring quirky landmarks. The address is being flipped to Pijja Palace, an Indian sports bar that will lean heavily on pizza and retro favorites from Napa Valley-trained chef, Avish Naran.

Chef Avish Naran says the new restaurant is all about American bar food, but with a whimsical Indian twist. That means options as far-flung as Kashmiri chili Spaghettios and a spiced darjeeling egg cream, and as common-to-Los Angeles as pizza. Which will be topped with lamb, according to What Now Los Angeles.

The switcheroo is a massive undertaking for Naran, as the former foot clinic was not a restaurant space. The build started in early fall, and Pijja Palace is Naran’s first restaurant after training at Napa Valley Cooking School and staging at restaurants like San Francisco’s Michelin starred Campton Place. Naran describes the future restaurant thusly:

“Pijja Palace is going to be a refined Indian sports bar with a heavy emphasis on pizza. I wanted to keep it fun and casual, hence the silly name. In addition to pizza, you’ll find things like tandoori wings and Indian takes on some of my childhood favorites. We’re looking to open some time in the summer.”

The building’s bottom floor is shaping up to be a slice of South Asian food. Once open, Pijji Palace will sit directly next door to Khun Mae Ploy, the second location for Silver Lake’s longstanding shuttered Thai restaurant, Mae Ploy. Mae Ploy operated for 26 years before closing in early 2018, and moved to the current location in March.

Piija Palace. 2703 W. Sunset Blvd, Silver Lake, CA

• Pijja Palace To Serve Kashmiri Spaghettios, Indian-Style Slurpees in Silver Lake Early-2020 [ELA]
• 16 Essential Indian and South Asian Restaurants in Los Angeles [ELA]