Virgil Village’s Newest Restaurant Is a Mellow, Moody Neighborhood Hang

New Silver Lake-adjacent dinnertime restaurant Tanka is up and running in Virgil Village. The corner strip mall operator opened for business on Monday night, working an eclectic menu of tacos, sandwiches, salads, risotto, and more.

Tanka comes to Los Angeles by way of chef Tatanka Guerrero and the Continental Development Group. Guerrero has previously worked in cities like Miami, and he owns and still operates a restaurant in Marfa, Texas as well. Tanka is slated to be the first of several restaurants Guerrero and company hope to own in Los Angeles, with a particular focus on the Virgil Village, Silver Lake, Echo Park, and Historic Filipinotown areas.

As of now, Tanka is open for dinner only, though staff on site is telling customers that a more compact lunch menu is coming down the line in the next few months. The restaurant also opened with beer and wine only, and is awaiting approval on a full liquor license. Hours are 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. daily at the expansive space, which features a parking lot patio, long bar, open kitchen, and lots of wood two- and four-top tables.

Farley Elliott

Meanwhile, the whole of Virgil Village continues to change, especially where restaurants are concerned. An upcoming wine bar is still planned up the street from Tanka, and Sqirl’s expansion and takeaway space is nearly completed as well. Nearly across the street from Tanka, the former site of the longstanding Cha Cha Cha restaurant has been fully converted into new condos, with the developers co-opting the name of the closed eatery for their own sales purposes — without asking the Cha Cha Cha owners at all.

Tanka. 611 N. Virgil Ave., Los Angeles, CA.

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