Winsome (Los Angeles, CA) – Upon suggestion from my cousins, we made a reservation at Winsome for Sunday brunch. I’ve never been to Silverlake, so I was excited to explore the area! Except, Winsome is right next to Siverlake, since it’s actually in Echo Park. More accurately, it’s in the Forgotten Edge of Echo Park – apparently Google Maps once forgot to include it on their maps! Don’t worry Winsome, I won’t ever forget you.
Winsome is settled up on a hill in a corner of Echo Park. The building that the restaurant occupies is actually designed by the same architect that designed LACMA, so it’s pretty minimalist with some solid lines. While walking down the hill to the entrance, you can see the big outside space Winsome has to enjoy brunch. At least if you’re in LA, it’s safe to sit outside and enjoy the sunshine with good food.
We walked past the front of the house, where you can just stop by for coffee and pastries without having to sit down in the restaurant. They have matcha pastries and creme brulee donuts, to name a few.
We got seated at the back of the restaurant, which was actually perfect because I got a great look at the mural painted there. It was painted by watercolor artist Phil Dike, who’s done work for Disney films such as Fantasia and Snow White. He wanted to paint Echo Park Lake, which resulted in the painting that is now the mural in the restaurant, Sunshine in Echo Park. It makes me think of Impressionist paintings with all the people chilling in the park.
ALSO, shortly after we were seated, Reggie Watts walked in to meet a friend for brunch. Apparently he’s a regular because he was hugging some of the staff and they seemed like homies. AND THEN, halfway through our meal, Eric Andre showed up to meet someone (who WASN’T Rosario Dawson btw), and he looked like he rolled out of bed and came here – he was wearing slippers with socks. I guess this is where hipster comedians come through for breakfast; I assume they live in Silverlake.
Okay, onto the good stuff: brunch. First and foremost, I had to order coffee. I opted out of drinking some in the morning since I knew I would want it with my food (and for the photo, let’s be honest). Winsome serves La Colombe Coffee and my latte was really good. It was nice and smooth and paired well with my meal. Though I wanted to order a lot of food (everything looked really good), I kept it smart and ordered two smaller things. I ordered the Avocado Toast and a Potato Rosti, which I pretty much finished, I’m proud to say.
The Avocado Toast had corn, ricotta salata, lime, cilantro, and red onion. It was loaded creamy, chunky avocado and had generous portions of the ricotta. Everything paired so well with the tanginess of the ricotta and lime and punched up with the cilantro and red onion. Also, that thick bread was really good too.
I also had the Potato Rosti, which to me is a cross between a hash brown and a latkes. It’s a Swiss breakfast side dish, mainly,consisting of grated potatoes and generally fried. This was also really delicious because I love potatoes (who doesn’t?). It was all perfectly fried and crunchy without being too greasy and had some seasoning, giving the rosti flavor. I did get full off of my avocado toast, so I was finding it difficult to finish this.
I didn’t get to try this because of the poached egg, but my sister ordered the Potato Rosti with Sunny Side Up Eggs, and chose the bloomsdale spinach, asparagus, and basil tahini. I would’ve been all over that if I could eat it!
Overall, it was a great experience. I’ve read articles from food publications that have said that the service isn’t the most attentive, but our waitress was great. I do agree with articles that all of the staff looks really cool and boho. While Republique was probably the best thing I ate that weekend, Winsome comes in at a very close second!
bay-food.com 