Walk the stretch of Sunset Boulevard between Sanborn and Manzanita on a Tuesday night this month and you will pass a restaurant that did not exist a week and a half ago, another that opened in March and already has a waitlist, and a storefront that has changed its name more than once in recent memory. Together, these openings offer a snapshot of recent restaurant activity along Sunset Junction.
This summer's most talked-about arrivals reflect several business models: some are backed by companies with operations elsewhere, while others are independent projects. Those distinctions are visible in the businesses now opening along the corridor.
Two Storefronts, A History of Restaurant Changes
At two adjacent storefronts near 3705 Sunset Boulevard, several restaurants have come and gone over the years. One space ran through Kettle Black, then Bar Moruno, which the neighborhood newsletter The Eastside Rag noted lasted less than two years despite a flood of positive reviews. Kettle Black, before it, lasted three. Next door, a separate storefront cycled through Sawyer and then Causita, chef Ricardo Zarate's short-lived follow-up project, before going dark again.
| Storefront | Recent tenants | Current occupant |
|---|---|---|
| Former Bar Moruno space, 3705 Sunset Blvd | Kettle Black, then Bar Moruno | BOBO Thai (opened August 2, 2026) |
| Adjacent former Causita space | Sawyer, then Causita | Shann Shann Rice Bar (opening date not yet announced) |
That is six separate restaurant concepts across two adjacent storefronts, a notable amount of turnover. The corner sits at one of the most trafficked intersections on the Eastside and continues to attract new operators.
The Same Group Signs Both Leases This Time
What is different in 2026 is who took the shot. Both spaces are now controlled by TTFB Group, a Taiwan-based restaurant company that already operates Century City's Very Thai and brought its BOBO Thai concept to the United States for the first time at the old Bar Moruno address on August 2. The concept is built entirely around pad Thai, with twelve distinct versions on the menu, from a pork belly preparation called The 1938 to a tom yum-inflected riff called Two Kings. Founder Charles Hsu has framed the idea around a simple observation: most Americans know pad Thai as one dish, when in Thailand it varies block to block, as LA Mag reported at the opening.
TTFB is also slated to open Shann Shann Rice Bar next door in the former Causita space, though no timeline has been confirmed publicly. Having the same international group open restaurants in both spaces is a shift from the earlier independent concepts. The company already operates in Taiwan.
Three Blocks West, a Different Kind of Bet
A few blocks away, a different financing model tells a related story. Sunset Row, the Neman family's mixed-use development at 3300 Sunset Boulevard, opened Bar di Bello this spring, a Milanese aperitivo bar from Alex Wilmot, Michael Kassar, Kristin Olszewski, and Mike Moonves. The team built a red travertine bar, sourced Vico Magistretti chairs, and commissioned a 40-seat outdoor patio from landscape architect Sarita Jaccard that is scheduled to open later this year, according to Resy's coverage of the opening.
The planned patio is a second phase of construction at Bar di Bello, which opened this spring inside a development rather than a standalone storefront. Sunset Row is also home to the first U.S. outpost of Noma Projects and to Loquat Coffee, bringing several restaurant and retail tenants together on the same block.
Compare that to the Bar Moruno corner, where each new tenant starts over from a bare storefront and a lease that runs on its own clock. Developer-anchored retail and freestanding storefronts are playing different games on the same street, and the newest arrivals are sorting themselves into one camp or the other.
An Independent Opening
Amiguita offers another model among the recent openings. Chef Alejandro Eusebio's Afro-Caribbean restaurant opened March 11 in the old Ruby Fruit space at 3510 West Sunset Boulevard. There is no international group behind it and no developer amortizing the risk. Eusebio, who has logged more than two decades in Los Angeles kitchens and appeared on Season 5 of Top Chef, built the menu around dishes from the Cibao region of the Dominican Republic, cooked over a Mibrasa charcoal oven, and called it his most personal project yet.
This year's openings include restaurants backed by established companies as well as independent projects such as Amiguita.
The Infatuation's review placed Amiguita between Seco and Bar di Bello and called it one of the few real hideaways left on a stretch increasingly known for crowded sidewalks. The review offers another perspective on the restaurant mix along this stretch.
What Changes on Your Walk Tonight
None of this requires a spreadsheet to notice once you know where to look.
- If you want to follow the development-backed model, Bar di Bello and the first U.S. outpost of Noma Projects are among the Sunset Row tenants, alongside Loquat Coffee.
- If you want to follow the new concepts as they develop, BOBO Thai and the still-unopened Shann Shann are worth watching. The two concepts bring TTFB Group's Taiwan-based restaurant business to the Eastside.
- If you just want the best plate of food regardless of who is behind it, Amiguita's charcoal-grilled mussels and yaniqueque stracciatella are worth the reservation on their own merits.
Restaurant openings and closures on this stretch extend beyond the two storefronts discussed above. Heavy Handed, a burger spot barely a year into its Silver Lake location, was already showing signs of closing this spring, while Café Tropical has poured cortaditos from the same Sunset Boulevard storefront since 1975. These examples illustrate different business tenures along the corridor.
The neighborhood's restaurant scene still has its string lights, a farmers market, and someone's screenplay getting workshopped over natural wine. This year's openings also show a range of business models, from established restaurant groups to independent projects. For anyone who already calls this stretch of Silver Lake home, those openings add to the area's evolving dining scene.
For a closer look at what else defines daily life around the reservoir and Sunset Junction, our guide to the Silver Lake Reservoir covers the walking routes and neighborhood routines that don't show up in a restaurant review. And if you're weighing a move into this corner of the Eastside and want a read on what a specific block or building is really like to live near, RSR Real Estate knows this neighborhood down to the lease turnover. Reach out to request a private consultation.
