You’ve probably passed this restaurant and didn’t even know it.

Might have been parked at a red light and never looked through your window to see it. If that’s your scenario when it comes to Tribal Café that sits just outside of Downtown LA, then you’re not alone since that was me too. I drove past the restaurant every single day on my morning route to work and during the rush to get into the office before my boss, I never had a chance to glance over at Tribal Café.

I didn’t notice the restaurant until the day I was invited. An invitation was the interruption in my hectic life that took me out of my car and into the restaurant. The polite offer to visit Tribal Café came from the sociable and gracious Phoebe who does a wonderful job at getting people into to the restaurant to adore it as much as she does. Approaching Tribal Café it was clear that the restaurant is out of place. Or could it be from another place? It looks like it belongs on a tropical island where the sun is hot, the water at the beach is blue, and the locals take siestas like it’s a job. Tribal Café feels that way thanks to the plentiful greenery surrounding its patio, the colorful interior welcoming you to linger, and the relaxed nature of the employees behind the counter. It simply feels good.

After meeting Phoebe, she showed me the menu and stepped outside while I looked for a few things to order. I stood there alone staring the expansive menu. Page after page of dishes covered a wall above the cashier window almost like wallpaper. Going from section to section between a multitude of dishes was a bit overwhelming. While I appreciated such a large menu with a great degree of options, it was hard to go through it while standing. Having a printed menu to flip through in hand would have been easier, especially while at a table, but to read it upright sheet by sheet was a bit difficult. A few minutes later, I finally found a few things to order and made my way to the patio to sit with Phoebe.

During our conversation the plates arrived. The first was the 2 Degrees for Earth ($10.50). A beautiful name for a dish another restaurant would call a chicken Caesar club wrap. Placed within the wrap were a handful of grilled chicken and bits of bacon, feta cheese, and the restaurant’s power greens and super veggies. Topping the wrap was a Caesar dressing, mustard horseradish sauce, and a balsamic vinaigrette. Biting into the wrap and tasting the warm slices of all-natural chicken covered in the variety of sauces gave me a plate that was shockingly filling. The sprinkle of sharp feta cheese that followed with a creamy smoothness was the most agreeable balance to the salted bacon. The super veggies, a friendly title for the lettuce, cucumbers, carrots, and tomatoes were crisp and fresh making the wrap complete and the most ideal plate to have for lunch. That was until I tried the next dish that arrived.

The Thai Quinoa Buddha Bowl ($6.95) was just as filling as the dish that preceded it, but in a completely different way. The tribal bowl was comprised of the obvious, quinoa. Mixed with the protein based grain were helpings of sweet potatoes, peanuts, sesame seeds, red onions, cilantro and red pepper flakes accompanied with a Thai coconut peanut sauce. What made this such a delicious bowl was that it was packed with so many hearty and healthy ingredients. I loved that there was a great deal of rich quinoa that was cooked just right so it wasn’t dry and tough. Grabbing a spoonful with the sweet potatoes, nuts, and drizzling the deep and tangy coconut sauce was tremendously flavorful. So much so that I found myself taking spoon after spoon begging for more until the bowl was, unfortunately but not surprisingly, gone.

The final plate was the most refreshing of the three and could have passed as dessert if it wanted to. The Matcha Green Smoothie Bowl ($8.45) took matcha tea and combined it with almond coconut milk, and a host of fruits. Blueberries, pineapples, raisins, and bananas were placed alongside kale and spinach that was then topped with granola, coconut shavings, mint leaves, and honey. Even though this was really Phoebe’s order she let me take a spoon and try it out. The small amounts that I had weren’t enough. The green tea and almond milk that made the smoothie that rested at the bottom of the bowl was so delightfully delicious and sweet that it was hard to stop eating it. The abundance of fruits and vegetables and the hearty granola on top of it only made the bowl feel like such a healthy decision without leaving me with a weighted and heavy feeling.

Prior to this day where I finally sat and dined on delicious bowls at Tribal Café I never took a second to look around the city that surrounded my route to work. Being too busy with day-to-day obligations that became systematic made it difficult to see anything outside of my routine. Thankfully, there was a break in my habits that got me into the restaurant. If it wasn’t for that, for Phoebe, I probably would have continued driving past the covered location without taking a second thought at what was around me. You may have passed Tribal Café too busy with the standard sequence of events in your day too have seen it. But just like I had Phoebe, you have me. Allow me to interrupt and encourage you to slow down your day and get into Tribal Café. It’ll probably be the best change you’ve done in quite some time.

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Address: 1651 West Temple St, Los Angeles, CA 90026
Phone: (213) 483-4458
Hours: Monday to Thursday – 6:00am to 10:00pm, Friday – 6:00am to 11:00pm, and Saturday – 8:30am to 11:00pm, and Sunday 8:30am to 10:00pm
Social: Website, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.