Private Dining Pods Are One Local Restaurant’s Solution to Social Distancing

While experts continue to debate if Los Angeles has been too hasty in its rush to return to dine-in restaurants, one Echo Park eatery has rolled out a clever compromise. Guests ordering a meal on the expansive patio of Lady Byrd Cafe can eat a tables that aren’t just placed a few feet from other customers–each is actually enclosed in its own greenhouse-like shelter.

The individual pods recall the long-Instagram-famous domes that dot the Thames-side patio at London’s Coppa Club, but Lady Byrd owner Misty Mansouri told Eater L.A. that she took direct inspiration from Mediamatic, a restaurant in Amsterdam that installed similar dining greenhouses in May.

Lady Byrd Cafe just opened in April in the space formerly known as Pollen (and, for many years before the short-lived Pollen, was known as Fix Coffee). One of the location’s greatest assets is a long outdoor dining patio–and a large private parking lot, where Mansouri has now installed the pods.

“Even though we have a huge patio space, I wanted to go the extra step for people who wanted safety,” Mansouri told Eater.

For those who want to try the cafe’s menu of coffees, juices, sandwiches, and other light, all-day fare but still aren’t ready to dine out, even inside a private pod, Lady Byrd is also still offering pick-up and delivery service. Call 323-922-1006 or email [email protected] to arrange.

Photo: Ali Buck

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