The Best Date Spots in Echo Park in Los Angeles

Pedal a swan boat across Echo Park Lake with the Downtown skyline ahead and lotus blooms around the water in summer. After 5pm, the boats light up for the evening.

Arrive early with a picnic and settle on the lawn before your boat time.

Donna's pairs vinyl booths, a checkerboard floor and a long wooden bar with an Italian American menu built around updated classics. Gold curtains and warm lighting give the room a polished, old-school feel.

Start with the sourdough garlic bread and the fusilli alla vodka, then share the lasagna rollatini or the chicken parm. A big share of the room is saved for walk-ins who arrive when the doors open at 5:30pm.

A Tí reworks familiar Mexican flavors with unexpected ingredients, including tacos with Japanese sweet potato and salsa negra. Cocktails round out the menu.

Dinner runs Sunday through Thursday from 5pm to 10pm and Friday and Saturday from 5pm to 11pm, with Sunday lunch from 11:30am to 3pm.

Henrietta runs as a market-minded sandwich spot by day and turns into a California bistro at night.

At lunch, order at the deli counter and look to the mushroom dip sandwich on house-baked ciabatta or the crispy chicken milanese. The restaurant is open seven days, with lunch from 11:30am to 3pm and dinner from 5pm to 9:30pm.

Enter Dada Echo Park through an unmarked door in the alley behind Little Fish and Dada Market. Inside, one room is bright and skylit while the listening bar next door hosts weekend DJs spinning records.

Order wine or juice-infused cocktails, then share a short menu of simple dishes that lean Mediterranean and use herbs and flowers. Start with the cannellini bean spread, the green risotto, or the branzino. Dinner can take about an hour, start to finish.

Head upstairs to Bar Flores, a Latin cocktail bar with a back deck and arched wood ceilings. The mezcal margarita is a standout, alongside a pistachio and pandan daiquiri, and live music plays on Tuesday nights.

The Flores Negroni is among the cocktails, and a mushroom taco is on the menu. The bar is open Monday through Friday from 4pm to 2am and Saturday and Sunday from 12pm to 2am.

Thunderbolt is a low-lit neighborhood cocktail bar with leather couches, dark green walls, Southern-inspired snacks and a deep Madeira collection. Cocktails feature ingredients like mango, tamarind and cocoa nib bourbon, with wine and beer available too.

Snacks come from the sister restaurant next door. The cheesy grits and the pimiento cheeseburger are the ones to look for. The bar is closed Tuesdays.

El Prado keeps things dark and cozy with soft yellow light, exposed brick, a wooden bar and a record player spinning a changing vinyl collection. A small wood patio sits out back.

Weekdays are mellow, while weekends bring a DJ and a crowd on the sidewalk. A hot dog from the rotisserie behind the bar makes an easy snack.

Butchr Bar combines a wine bar and butcher shop in a room with pink-toned walls and dry-aging chambers behind the counter. The first-come, first-served cement bar is a favorite seat, with more tables in the airy dining room.

Share a house-dry-aged charcuterie board with boar salami and lamb speck, and add the fermented tomato. The menu includes a grass-fed wagyu striploin and a burger. The bar is open Tuesday through Thursday from 5pm to 10pm and Friday and Saturday from 5pm to 10:30pm.

Watch Nikkei-style seafood come together at The Hummingbird, a Peruvian ceviche bar from chef Ricardo Zarate. Cement floors, handwritten notes on tile walls, a neon sign and a piano and mic in back give the room a loose, informal feel.

Start with the hefty temaki handrolls, the salmon tiradito, or the yellowtail ceviche tostada. The restaurant is open Tuesday through Sunday from 5pm to 10pm and closed Mondays.