Dining Guide · Los Angeles

Pijja Palace

An Indian sports bar on Sunset where pizzas, pastas, and wings carry Desi seasoning, and the room feels more mid-century lounge than sticky floor dive.

IndianfusionIndian-American$$$

Silver Lake · 2711 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026

Restaurant website

Overview

Pijja Palace sits on Sunset Boulevard in Silver Lake, in the strip-mall space that once held the Sunset Foot Clinic and its spinning Happy Foot / Sad Foot sign. Owner Avish Naran opened the room as an Indian sports bar: dozens of screens for Lakers, Dodgers, cricket, and whatever else is on, with pastel banquettes and mid-century furniture instead of the usual dive-bar set. Executive chef Miles Shorey and Naran built a menu around wings, sliders, pastas, and “pijja” (pizza) dressed with Indian flavors rather than a standard curry-house list.

Los Angeles Times critic Bill Addison called it a summer game-changer in 2022 for that mix of irreverence and a coherent kitchen logic. The Infatuation and Eater LA have kept it on the city’s must-try maps since. This is not regional fine dining and not Artesia corridor cooking; it is a packed neighborhood bar that treats Indian seasoning as the house language for American sports-bar food.

What diners say

Critics consistently praise the concept and the pasta program. The Infatuation rates it 8.3 and pushes diners to start with pasta (a portion per person, plus one for the table), then add a pijja and fried sides. Bill Addison at the Los Angeles Times centered the meal on malai rigatoni, tomato masala and cream cut with coriander, as the clearest expression of Naran’s cooking. Eater LA’s 2026 dining report still highlights dosa onion rings, the Pepperoni Playboy pijja, malai rigatoni, and cookies-and-cardamom soft serve.

Across critic write-ups and public review chatter, the same themes repeat: the room is loud and fun when a game is on; reservations were once near-impossible and are easier now but still tight on Dodgers, Lakers, or Rams nights; vegetarian options (cauliflower wings, green chutney pijja, pastas) keep mixed groups happy. Growth edges show up too. Addison noted the occasional gummy rigatoni early on, and delivery or takeout square pies get more mixed love than the dining-room plates.

What to know

  • Book on the restaurant site (SevenRooms / DoorDash reservations). The Infatuation reports slots release seven days out at midnight and can vanish quickly; Eater notes the bar holds walk-ins for smaller groups.
  • Opening walk-in tip from The Infatuation: show up at 5 p.m. when doors open if you do not want to chase a reservation. Skip that move on major game nights.
  • Standout plates across reviews: malai rigatoni; green chutney pijja (often dusted with garam masala); dosa onion rings with mango chutney; color-coded wings (red, yellow, green) with cauliflower as a veg option; chaas dumplings (Addison’s sleeper hit).
  • Drinks run draft beer, natural wine, and cocktails such as a chai whiskey sour; there is also a vintage soda fountain program (tamarind / Rooh Afza sodas, cream sodas).
  • Parking is tight in the strip-mall lot. Addison described circling for street parking on Sunset or side streets once the lot fills.
  • Expect noise: cement floors, many TVs, a full room by early evening. Good for groups and out-of-towners; less ideal if you want a quiet conversation.
  • Price sits in $$$ territory for LA: shared pizzas and pastas commonly land in the mid-$20s per plate on published menus, before drinks.
  • Confirm hours and the current menu on the restaurant website before you go. This is desk orientation from published reviews, not a Tadka Table tasting visit.

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