11 cozy things to do in L.A. to warm your soul

Los Angeles Times

01-03-2025

March 1, 2025 3 AM PT
L.A.'s mild winters may not call for much more than a light jacket but that doesn't mean Angelenos don't jump at any chance to get cozy — especially when the longer days ahead mean more activities and busier schedules.
Luckily, the city is brimming with places and experiences to help you slow your heart rate, embrace hygge and feel vibes that are as warm as a pair of mittens by the fire.
Whether you prefer to cuddle up with adoptable kittens at a cat cafe, read silently among others at a homey bookstore or lounge on cloudlike floor pillows at a late night tea house, these are some of L.A.'s coziest hangouts, perfect for any season.
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Arts District Teahouse
Tea at Shiloh is the epitome of hygge vibes. When you arrive at the place, which is tucked in an unassuming alley in the Arts District, you might think that you're about to step into a speakeasy. But what's actually hidden behind the doors is what the owner calls a 'tea meditation' space — the word meditation is up to your interpretation — that you'll want to stay at for hours. Or if you're like me, you'll wish that you could live here.
Filled with floor-level couches that look and feel like clouds, moody lighting and sculptural plants, it's a dreamy oasis of tranquility and a space to make meaningful connections or simply unwind. Tea at Shiloh offers daylight hours (imagine a quiet co-working space), various workshops (cooking and art classes), live jazz performances and late-night tea. During the evening tea, which costs $35 per person and runs from 7 to 11, you can snuggle up in a corner and do puzzles, paint, do tarot readings while you drink as much delicious tea as you'd like. Seriously, you can get unlimited refills — there's typically two herbal teas and one with caffeine — as you listen to relaxing music from such artists as Lauryn Hill, Sault and Steve Lacy. (Here's a playlist to help you get a feel for the vibe.) Shoes aren't allowed in the space, so make sure you wear nice socks and leave your footwear by the door. Reservations are required, parking in front of the venue, is free. The address for Tea at Shiloh is provided only after you book a reservation; walk-ins aren't available.
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Atwater Village Restaurant and lounge
Tam O'Shanter is the ultimate cozy restaurant in Los Angeles for several reasons. Housed in a Tudor-style roadhouse equipped with a thatched roof, arriving at the nearly 103-year-old Scottish-themed steakhouse feels like entering a charming cabin straight out of a storybook, rather than the bustling Atwater Village neighborhood, just steps away from a Costco. Outside, there's a red phone booth and various light posts. As you walk inside, you'll see a welcoming seating area equipped with snug leather chairs and a fireplace as well as a shelf packed with hundreds of whiskys. Tam O'Shanter is outfitted with loads of wooden booths and seating, oak-beamed ceilings, framed clan tartans and the friendly staff add to the neighborly vibe it holds. It's not uncommon for staff and regulars to hug each other and catch up on their personal lives. On top of all of that, the menu is loaded with hearty meals — prime rib, fish-and-chips, steak and burgers — that could cure any bad, rainy or chilly day. Happy hour is Monday through Friday from 2 to 5 p.m.
On your next visit, be sure to check out Table 31, which was Walt Disney's favorite booth at the storied eatery. It's now commemorated with a plaque and is decorated with sketches and mementos from his visits.
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West Adams Book Store
Founded by Jazzi McGilbert in 2019, this concept bookstore serves as a vital third space for the community, with inventory that is 'curated by Blackness,' as its slogan proclaims. Vibrant Black art hangs on the wooden checkerboard walls, and the shelves are stocked with books of all genres from prolific and rising authors of color. Reparations Club has an ongoing series of events, including a monthly book club led by rapper and poet Noname, film screenings and author talks. The shop also hosts 'Read the Room,' an introvert-friendly reading party where folks are welcomed to dive into a book in a quiet space — earplugs and snacks are included — in the company of other book lovers.
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Concert series
As a DJ and music aficionado, nothing sounds more relaxing to me than sitting on a blanket or floor cushion in a dimly lighted, intimate space filled with other music lovers as an artist performs live just steps away from me. This is what Sofar Sounds — short for Songs From a Room — has been doing since 2009 in London. Now in 400 cities around the world including L.A., the company hosts several live shows per week featuring artists at various stages in their careers at unexpected venues including living rooms, rooftops, art galleries and private backyards. Several artists have performed at Sofar Sounds events before they blew up including Billie Eilish, Jack Harlow, Andra Day, Yebba, Leon Bridges and Nai Palm (of Hiatus Kaiyote).
How it works: The shows typically feature about two to three performers with no headliner, and there's an intermission after each set. Attendees are asked to limit talking during the performances. It's wise to arrive early to these events as seating is first come, first serve. The address for the event is released 36 hours before the show. Website www.sofarsounds.com
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Mid-City Coffee Pastries
When the opportunity came for Carlos Nuñez to open his coffee shop, he passed up a street-facing location on busy Washington Boulevard for one that's tucked on a quiet residential street. But with meager craft coffee options in the neighborhood, word of Jurassic Magic quickly spread. The cafe features floor-to-ceiling windows that let in streams of morning light, a mirrored hallway that leads to an artsy, plant-filled patio that feels like you've been plopped into a tropical forest. The shop also has sidewalk seating under striped umbrellas, inviting locals to make it their home base for remote work sessions or quick catch-ups with friends. The coffee program stands out with concoctions such as Bright Eyes, a cold brew with mint, oat milk and agave, and Gentle Giant, a pistachio latte with pistachio milk, white chocolate and cardamom that can be ordered hot or cold. There's also a selection of hot and cold tea drinks and pastries from Sugar Bloom. Baristas are always ready with a recommendation.
Next door, Nuñez and his partners just opened the superette Convi, where they're using a small kitchen to test food items. There you can also stock up on tinned fish, cured meats, cheese and other pantry items.
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Beverly Grove Vietnamese Cuisine
What's more comforting than a big bowl of pho? For a low-key lunch on Fairfax, visit this family-owned Vietnamese restaurant with a striped awning and dangling lights blinking in the street-facing window. For food, pho is the obvious choice, and within that category, the tender bone-in oxtail pho is the way to go, but street snacks like fried chicken wings in a garlic fish and chili sauce, plus spring and egg rolls, fried rice, banh mi, and rice and noodle bowls, are not to be overlooked.
Chef Bernard Hoang also experiments with influences from other cuisines that dominate L.A.'s restaurant scene, such as a Vietnamese take on Peruvian lomo saltado and tacos with grilled meat or tofu, a fistful of pickled vegetables, hoisin and sriracha. Beverages include a selection of lemonades, coffee drinks, milk and bubble teas, beer, wine and cocktails, including mimosas with $5 refills on weekends.
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Hollywood Cocktails
By Jordan Michelman
Though it was widely reported as such at the start of the pandemic, the Marmont is not today functioning as a private members club, and is very much open to the public for both hotel stays and visits to the lobby bar and patio restaurant. The bar and restaurant are available to the public with a reservation — walk-ins and looky-loos are discouraged. The outdoor patio has its devotees, but I really enjoy the Marmont's small, cozy lobby bar. They project old films on the wall here each night (I caught the California classic 'The Maltese Falcon' on my last visit), and though the bar itself offers just a handful of seats, it's a pleasant little nook to enjoy the house Vesper, the icy cold spirits pairing neatly with a little cone of good French fries.
I do wonder if the hubbub around the Marmont has been a bit defanged here: This place used to really swing, for better or worse. Today it more gently rocks.
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Eagle Rock African restaurant
There's something inherently cozy about sharing a massive Ethiopian platter and eating with your hands among loved ones.
Despite the fact that an entire corridor in Mid-City brims with Ethiopian restaurants, no two L.A. establishments are the same. You can't interchange Lalibela's flavorful Veggie Utopia with Messob's something-for-everyone special combination platter. And Merkato's visibility (thanks in part to its striking primary-colored signage and frequent name-drops in Issa Rae's 'Insecure') might be what lures you in, but its wide selection of tibs is what'll turn you into a repeat customer. Aunt Yvette's Kitchen, situated inside an Eagle Rock strip mall, combines the best parts of all of these restaurants while bringing its own distinctive kick — the vegan platter offers a broad flavor palette with added hints of sweetness alongside the spice. Pescatarian? The salmon tibs are terrific as an add-on or on their own. Just be sure to save room for the Basque cheesecake made with burnt caramel sauce, which is nothing short of divine.
For those looking to impress, the intimate and dark but elegantly decorated space is perfect for date night. The restaurant is open for dinner four nights a week (Wednesday through Saturday) and from noon until 5 p.m. on Sundays.
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Pasadena Sewing and Craft Studio
I don't know about you, but nothing makes me feel cozier than being surrounded by rolls and rolls of vintage fabric.This nonprofit organization and secondhand fabric store started out in 2016 in a 400-square-foot garage. Today, Remainders operates out of a 3,200-square-foot store in Pasadena, where patrons can browse hundreds of different kinds of fabrics all donated by individuals, film studios and small businesses, among others.'We saw the need for a textile store that could positively impact environmental awareness, offer repurposed materials and create a much-needed affordable resource to the community,' said Executive Director Robin Cox.The business model helps to divert untold amounts of craft supplies and fabric from ending up in landfills. 'By promoting creative reuse, Remainders helps people contribute to the healing of the environment and raises awareness about the benefit of upcycling raw materials and repurposing usable goods, as opposed to buying materials new,' said Cox.
Few stores rival Remainders in terms of price and selection: The store offers fabric scraps and remnants for $5 per pound or $15 for a grocery bag's worth. Fabrics sold by the yard may be leftover from contemporary fashion houses or vintage. Prices range from $1 to $6 per yard.
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Pasadena Teahouse $$
Hands down, Edmund and Mary Fry deliver the most personal tea experience in all of California. Growing up near Windsor Castle, Edmund was born during World War II and might share his earliest memories of the blackouts and bombings if you strike up a conversation during tea. While the actual cottage is filled with British goods, old-world tchotchkes and all manner of English paraphernalia, most of the tea service ($65 per person) is hosted outdoors, in a rose garden adorned with posters of 'Downton Abbey,' Union Jack flags and colorful decor. Even with the astroturf and mismatched lawn chairs, there is an air of gentle elegance, heightened by Fry in his tails, escorting guests to their seats and offering tips on proper etiquette, if desired.
The hosts at Rose Tree Cottage pour the tea for you so it remains hot throughout, serving a single proprietary English Village Tea blend of Ceylon, Indian and Kenyan teas, and the most authentic British treats, hot from the specialty Aga oven. Warmed savory pastries include beef Wellington, jubilee chicken and toad-in-the-hole or Welsh rarebit. Scones, sweets, fresh fruit and a sparkling, nonalcoholic elderflower cordial round out the courses. This is also where Meghan Markle learned to take tea with the late queen, and fans of the Duchess will get a kick out of imagining her holding court at one of the tables in the back.
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