Need an ethnic restaurant (any kind except Italian, fast food or bland/boring food) for dinner near Griffith Observatory

[CurryLover]

On my list of restaurants I have:

Cha Cha Cha on N. Virgil Ave
Tropicalia Brazilian Grill on Hillhurst Ave
Cafe Bravo on Griffith Park Bvd

Anyone have better suggestions for this area?

Had lunch at the House of Big Fish & Ice Cold Beer today in Laguna Beach...it was a little tricky b/c the main drag is closed due to the mudslides...we just came in from Ohio & weren't aware of the situation...but loved the food & beer there...thank you to Professor Salt & the rest of the CHer's for the recommendations.

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Cha Cha Cha
656 N Virgil Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90004

Tropicalia
1966 Hillhurst Ave, Los Angeles, CA

[mc michael]

Jitlada with its Southern Thai menu is not far away.

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Jitlada
5233 1/2 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027

[sushigirlie]

Good choice. I defy anyone to name me a less bland/boring restaurant than Jitlada.

[Jase]

Not sure what the timing is for the OP but Jitalda is closed 12/24-12/26

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Jitalda Restaurant
5233 1/2 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027

[reality check]

Thanks for that info. I thought about going to Jitalda on Sun.

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Jitalda Restaurant
5233 1/2 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027

[carter]

I also had plans for Jitlada on Sunday, but Jase is correct, closed for those 3 days - saw it on the window this morning.
Barbrix on Hyperion at Tracy is quite good, not too far away, and while some think it is Italian, I really feel it is so much more eclectic than just your standard Italian boredom. Nice wine and beer list as well.

[CurryLover]

Want to thank everyone for all their recommendations...believe me we did consider everyone's suggestions. We had to take in to account several factors. First of all the traffic has been horrid the past week - for example, all six lanes going on the freeways in the afternoons/evenings & backed up in both directions each way, even on Christmas Day - what the heck??? Anyways, we decided to visit Griffith Park/Observatory first thing in the morning with lunch in the area. We are glad we did that in order to avoid traffic/parking problems & mobs of people. We ended up eating lunch today at India Sweets & Spices after our morning Observatory visit - we were so pleased! Our second choice was Marouch if we weren't able to find parking at India Sweets & Spices. Jitlada was not open today so it was not an option. Thank you to everyone!

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Jitlada
5233 1/2 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027

Marouch Restaurant
4905 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90029, USA

[Jase]

Glad I saved you a fruitless trip.

[ipsedixit]

If you want Middle Easter, you go to Raffi's Place in nearby Glendale.

Also La Cubana for Cuban might be an option. http://www.lacubanarestaurant.com/

Raffi's Place
211 East Broadway
Glendale
[phone]

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Raffi's Place Restaurant
211 E Broadway, Glendale, CA 91205

La Cubana Restaurant
135 North Maryland Avenue, Glendale, CA

[film_score]

Or for Middle Eastern closer to Griffith Park, you can go with Marouch on Santa Monica or Carousel on Hollywood Blvd (the food is very good at Carousel but the atmosphere is a little sterile)...

For fast food Middle Eastern, you have got Zankou on Sunset and Normandie.

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Marouch Restaurant
4905 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90029, USA

[cant talk...eating]

+1 Marouch.

For Thai I often stop at Yai (Vermont @ Hollywood Blvd.) or Ruen Pair after working up in the park. Sort of generic atmosphere but definitely not bland food! I'm trying to visualize a good ethnic dinner place coming down Vermont or Hillhurst but can't think of anything.

[lil mikey]

+2 for Marouch. Closer is Olives, but it's not as good as Marouch.

Indian - Paru's on Sunset is outstanding vegetarian Indian.

Brazilian - Tropicalia, which you mentioned, is quite good. I especially like their Tropicalia salad with beef.

Thai - For general Thai, I second Ruen Pair which was already mentioned. For Thai noodles, I'll add Pa-Ord on Sunset and Hobart. It's a little Thai noodle place with good flavor and Thai news on TV. We particularly like the drunken noodles, noodle combination plate, pad thai, and the #1 soup, which name escapes me a the moment. Another good noodle restaurant is Wat Dong Moon Lek on Fountain. The crispy pork noodle dish is worth a trip from afar. But it's a small place like Pa-Ord.

Buffalo Wings - Ye Rustic Inn on Hillhurst and Melbourne. It's a bar, but the wings are thought by some to be the best around. They also have other bar food. I guess this is "ethnic" if you don't frequent bars.

Italian - Not ethnic per se, but still a winner in my book is Little Dom's. I still crave the spaghetti and meatball, and they give you delicious non-canned anchovies with the thin-crusted pizza. Breakfast is also good here.

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Paru's
5140 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027

Ruen Pair Restaurant
5257 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027

Marouch Restaurant
4905 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90029, USA

Ye Rustic Inn
1831 Hillhurst Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90027

Tropicalia
1966 Hillhurst Ave, Los Angeles, CA

Little Dom's
2128 Hillhurst Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90027

Wat Dong Moon Lek
4356 Fountain Ave, Los Angeles, CA

[sushigirlie]

India Sweets and Spices isn't too far from there.

[cls]

In the area there's Malo Mexicanon Sunset, Don Felix Peruvian (Virgil and one on Fountain), Tangier Korean BBQ on Hillhurst, nearby in Atwater is Viet, Gobi on Sunset in Silverlake and also in Silverlake Gingergrass.

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Malo
4326 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90029

Don Felix Restaurant
305 N Virgil Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90004

[susans]

Gingergrass is not the place to go unless you like really, really noisy restaurants. We've stopped going.