Somehow while in LA, I managed to stumble across the Los Angeles equivalent of Notting Hill. A neighbourhood where there’s a local market on certain days that brings together food, local jewellery designers, antique buyers, fresh fruit and veg growers and vintage clothing stalls, there’s cute brunch places abound, bookshops, coffee shops – and even a cheese store!
With it’s wide sprawling roads and lack of being able to walk anywhere, LA feels like a strange sort of City. Unlike European weekend hotspots such as Paris, Berlin and Budapest or other favourite cities such as London or NYC, you cannot walk anywhere in LA – a car or a good knowledge of the (not so great) public transport system is essential. So to find a part with a real ‘village’ quality like my beloved home borough I thought would be tricky to come by – until I found Silverlake.
Slightly east of the hubs of West Hollywood and Beverly Hills (about 20 minutes drive), you’ll find this neighbourhood – based around, unsurprisingly, a pretty lake.
We had driven down for a spot of brunch at Cafe Stella, which I had read great things about from some of the LA-based bloggers I follow, and found ourselves spending a great few hours in this charming local pocket of the city…
After a snoop around the Cheese Store and ooh-ing and aah-ing over the gorgeous flower shop, we’d built up an appetite for brunch so walked over to Cafe Stella. The Cafe is an authentic French restaurant that looks just as pretty in the sunshine as it would be romantic in the evening. A firm favourite amongst the locals it’s always busy with all sorts of people – we were sat next to a family with a newborn baby, a couple discussing the production of a new film and the lead singer of The Killers, Brandon Flowers – no doubt a typical LA variety of locals!
A varied menu with everything from burgers, onion soups and croque monsieur’s, the food was delicious – my avocado on toast was wolfed down and those little crispy breakfast potatoes were heaven in a teeny tiny frying pan.
Walking off brunch we strolled around the farmers market and brought some fresh peaches for the drive back, before setting off back west for a night out in West Hollywood. I found myself being easily able to imagine us doing that every single Saturday morning, just as we stroll down Portobello after a brunch on the Golborne Road.
One final thought if you’re ever visiting LA – look up and look down. Everywhere I went, I saw little sayings on the pavements that made me laugh or made me think, little signs and doodles hanging from buildings and traffic lights; absolutely brilliant.
LMNH x
