From the outside, Bowery Bungalow may scream beachy clothing boutique or quaint coffee shop, but enter this Silver Lake eatery and you'll find a homey restaurant serving modern Mediterranean food. Owner George Abou-Daoud, who already has an impressive roster of restaurants under his belt (Bowery, Delancey, Rosewood Tavern, Urban Garden and more), designed every aspect of the space, from the outdoor patio (ideal for when Sunday brunch service starts) to the mounted spice racks. And, of course, the menu.
Reinterpreted classics arrive in the form of grape leave dolmas ($8) stuffed with a chickpea filling; a heaping bowl of couscous royale ($22) that boasts okra and figs alongside dried nuts and chickpeas; and a chicken musakhan ($18) that sits next to an airy, buttery Yorkshire pudding—not quite Mediterranean, but fantastic nonetheless. Fall-off-the-bone baby back ribs ($13) are rubbed in a Mideast spice and Turkish coffee mixture, while skewers of seasoned shish kebobs are cooked over hardwood Binchotan coals and served Yakitori-style—hence the name of the dish, shishkatori.
Perhaps some of the best dishes are the desserts, like a creamy cardamom rice pudding ($7) with chunks of persimmon and drizzles of local honey, and the exotic konafah, whose light and stringy texture distinguishes it from the similary composed baklava. The spices in Bowery Bungalow's food are strong, present and expertly managed, and we can't wait to see what Sunday brunch will look like—an experience that Abou-Daoud promises to be "epic."