SQIRL

The Verdict

Sqirl survived the food story that should have ended it. In 2020 the moldy-jam exposé turned Jessica Koslow's East Hollywood breakfast counter into a cautionary tale, and the internet wrote the obituary early. Six years on the queue is back on North Virgil Avenue, the sorrel pesto rice bowl still runs about $22, and — the part the takedown missed — it is still the best version of a dish a thousand cafés now sell badly. Koslow opened here in 2012. She is still cooking circles around her imitators.

The Kitchen

Jessica Koslow opened Sqirl in 2012 in a cramped storefront at 720 North Virgil Avenue, building first on a jam business and then on a breakfast menu that read like nobody else's. The sorrel pesto rice bowl — brown rice, that grassy green sauce, lacto-fermented hot sauce, a poached egg and French sheep feta — runs about $22 and is the dish that launched a genre; every all-day café opened in the decade since owes it royalties. The brioche toast, a $9 slab under house jam (the Seascape strawberry and rose geranium is the one) and fresh ricotta, is the other thing to order.

Koslow was a James Beard Best Chef: West finalist in 2018, which tells you the cooking was never the problem. In February 2026 she finally added dinner, with British, Jewish, Californian and French threads on one menu — the first real expansion in fourteen years. The space is tiny. The technique is not.

The Room

There is barely a room. Sqirl is a counter-order operation in a narrow Virgil Village storefront with a sliver of patio out back: you queue on the sidewalk, order at the till, and find a seat where you can. The noise is street-level and cheerful, the light is flat California daytime, and the dress code is whatever you wore to walk the dog. Seating is tight, a handful of indoor stools and shared outdoor tables, so this was never built for two-hour brunches. The new dinner service softens the edges, but the daytime room is fast, bright and unceremonious by design.

Best for Solo Dining

Turn up alone for breakfast, because Sqirl is built for the party of one. Counter ordering means no awkward wait for a host, the rice bowl is a complete meal that needs no sharing, and a stool with a coffee and a slab of jam toast is one of the better ways to spend a weekday morning in Los Angeles. Three reasons it works solo: the menu rewards ordering exactly what you want, the turnover is quick so you never feel parked, and the crowd is heads-down food people rather than a bottomless-mimosa scene. Come on a Tuesday at opening and you will skip the worst of the line.

Frequently Asked

Is Sqirl worth it?

Yes, if you order well and ignore the hype cycle. The 2020 moldy-jam scandal turned Sqirl into a punchline, but Jessica Koslow's cooking was never the problem. The $22 sorrel pesto rice bowl remains the original that a thousand all-day cafés have failed to match, and the $9 ricotta jam toast is worth the trip on its own. Come for the food, not the legend.

How hard is it to get into Sqirl?

Daytime is walk-in only, and the weekend queue on North Virgil Avenue can run forty minutes before you reach the till. There are no breakfast reservations, so arrive at opening on a weekday to skip the worst of it. Dinner is the exception: since February 2026 Koslow takes evening reservations online, and those are the easiest seat in the house to book.

What should I order at Sqirl?

Start with the sorrel pesto rice bowl — brown rice, that grassy green sauce, lacto-fermented hot sauce, French sheep feta and a poached egg, about $22 and the dish that built the room. Add the brioche toast, a $9 slab under house jam (the Seascape strawberry and rose geranium) and fresh ricotta. Between the two you have the whole argument for the place.

What does a meal at Sqirl cost?

Budget roughly $25 to $40 a head at breakfast or lunch: the signature rice bowl is about $22, the jam toast $9, coffee on top. It is counter-service pricing for genuinely original cooking, which is the trade — you queue and carry your own tray, but you pay café money for food most sit-down kitchens cannot produce. Dinner runs higher.

Is Sqirl good for solo dining?

It is one of the best solo breakfasts in Los Angeles. You order at the counter, so there is no awkward table-for-one wait; the rice bowl is a complete meal that needs no sharing; and the crowd is heads-down food people rather than a bottomless-mimosa brunch scene. Grab a stool with a coffee on a Tuesday morning and you have nailed it.

Also in Los Angeles

Explore the full Los Angeles restaurant guide, or compare nearby with Horses in Silver Lake and République in Mid-Wilshire. For occasion picks, see best for solo dining and best for a first date.