California Sun

Came here to meet a friend for lunch and was blown away by the customer service provided by Ruben! He was incredibly helpful when it came to suggestions for both food and beer and went above and beyond what one would expect! Someone give that guy a raise!!! I ordered the Mediterranean sandwich and it did not disappoint! The bread was soft yet firm if that makes sense? My friend was very happy with her vegan meatball sub as well! She ordered the vegan buffalo wings as well, super happy they were soy free, but plus!

We originally came here because we heard of some connection with Mohawk Bend, to what degree we cannot remember now but none the less just as amazing as our experiences there! Highly recommended for ambiance, good, beer, and definitely service!

First timer! I've seen California Sun driving down Sunset Blvd before and had mentally added it to my list of places to visit. There are quite a few establishments offering craft beer that I'm interested.

Finally had the opportunity to visit last night for a collab run with LA Craft Runners and Mikkeller Running Club LA. LA Craft Runners has had California Sun in their rotation of pubs for run meet up/after party locations. Impressive discounted menu and beers after specifically for the run club. Who doesn't love a discount?!

Cute space, friendly staff, tasty eats, and a great beer selection. I will be back for a longer visit..maybe when I'm not so sweaty from a run. Thanks for the hospitality California Sun!

Note: The small parking lot fills quickly but there is some street parking available on Hyperion.

I've been coming to the California Sun location on Howe for years. Sometimes the team is helpful but most the time they are not ... like today. This California sun is all about "gotcha" hidden fees. California sun will always try to get you in the end. I drove over here after being promised a certain price for one month... then they threw in some hidden fees it doubled. The staff at the Howe location can't explain why I won't get prorated for this month either. I called the office and got the snarky response thats typical of California sun. Glo Tan has better beds for far less money....which is what I'm going to do. I came today to sign up after I was told the membership was a certain price and they pull the old bait and switch on me ...and they can't explain why they're double charging me. This is an unethical organization in my opinion.

We came here for lunch during a work retreat. We ordered two pizzas and three orders of fries with vegan ranch. Omg the ranch was the best I've ever had! And the fries were great too. We ordered two vegan pizzas. I'm not sure which ones but one of them was similar to a Margherita. The other one had a bean base, mangos, jalapeños, vegan chorizo or sausage, onions, and some sort of sauce on top. Both were great! But the bean one was especially delicious! I was prepared to hate it, honestly. Haha I don't usually like unusual combinations or toppings on pizza. But this was delicious! Be sure to grab some of their complimentary pickled veg too! Everything came out pretty quickly which was also impressive. I would definitely come back next time I'm in LA!

(Dined 02/11/19 MO @ 3:00pm): It's another sunny day in California with this latest opening in Silver Lake!

I was a Tony Yanow and Artisanal Beer Collective fanboy and had the grand opening of his latest project - California Sun - on my calendar. This eatery was walking distance from my crib where I could roll down the street and then crawl back up! Located in the recently-closed Mixed Co. building in the "famed" Sunset Junction, I've seen many changes during a short wrinkle of time. One thing I felt the neighborhood lacked was a really good pizza place (sorry "Garbage" Pizza and "Wouldn't"). With high expectations, would their sun set or rise!?

PURCHASE
Brasserie Dieu du Ciel! Solstice D'ete Aux Framboises Berliner Weisse Beer 5.9% ABV ($8.00): This 12 fl oz draft had a effervescent raspberry color, mildly sour fruity aroma, sweet and sour raspberry flavor, and a refreshing fruity finish - I'd order it again https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=a6FaGkwdtEm0BkuxRqBoNQ&userid=8jVT2inwc8GIQ6sH2UG9Vw.

Green Cheek Beer Co. mine IPA Beer 6.4% ABV ($8.00): This 16 fl oz draft had a dark amber color, medium hoppy aroma/flavor/finish - an all-around good IPA https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=7SLMagHQN1iaAftzCxnaSw&userid=8jVT2inwc8GIQ6sH2UG9Vw.

Vegan Taco Truck Pie Slice ($8.00): This mega New York-style slice was topped with nearly everything you expected in a taco except the meat! It looked more glorious before it was covered by a pile of shredded iceberg lettuce, but once you folded this bad boy and shoved it into your piehole, all you tasted was a taco https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=2I5UjTeigzUtkCDu51KXPA&userid=8jVT2inwc8GIQ6sH2UG9Vw!

River Garden 20" Whole Pie ($19.00): A potpourri of cherry tomatoes, kale, red onion, black olive, roasted carrot, caulifower, and non-vegan mozzarella, this was one healthy hearty pizza! I scratched my head as I ate my first pizza with carrots on it, but it all worked as I smiled after every bite. But next time..maybe just a slice instead of a whole pie https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=a5XUa79kWVRkMpgoN2L76A&userid=8jVT2inwc8GIQ6sH2UG9Vw!

SERVICE
Grand opening brought all the boys (even Tony himself!) and girls to the yard as they put their best foot forward and did quite well. I was greeted immediately by a young female with a myriad selection of empty seats to choose from. Once I was ready, I approached the order counter, there was a slight delay with the computer, collected my slice at the pick up counter, and the same female who greeted me filled my beer order and brought it to me. Shortly before I finished my lunch, my dinner whole pie was delivered to me which meant it was time to get back to work. I hoped they continued with the lovely personal service...

PARKING (Varied; N/A this instance)
It was a short five-minute walk for me. I believed they had their own medium parking lot. Otherwise, parking in Silver Lake was a bitch, so either you found metered street parking along the main drag of Sunset Blvd., a random paid parking lot, or pressed your luck with residential street parking throughout the neighborhood (CAREFULLY read all posted signs).

ATMOSPHERE, DÉCOR, AMBIENCE
The rustic worn wood paneling and diner swivel chairs gave it a comfortable throwback feel that was only missing the faux rock walls https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=HCt9GzSvFisOVcr4oJzGBg&userid=8jVT2inwc8GIQ6sH2UG9Vw. Generally a spacious layout, you dined/drank indoors at a zigzag wooden plank or an inviting outdoor patio. A beer cooler https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=UrZPIei8oRxlTddkmgg-UA&userid=8jVT2inwc8GIQ6sH2UG9Vw was on the other end of the restaurant with the order counter https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=OD69xXVbWGTje8LrkutPiw&userid=8jVT2inwc8GIQ6sH2UG9Vw, kitchen ovens, and beer tabs to the left. Plenty of natural lighting came though the large front and side glass wall windows while an assortment of electric ceiling lights filled in the rest. There were several muted TVs while sweet Alternative music played in the background.

ATTIRE
Totally casual, so I would normally be in a t-shirt, boardshorts, and flip-flops.

OVERALL
I basked in the warm rays of California Sun and felt this was another bright achievement for Tony and his ABC group. The pizzas I tried were incredibly healthy, the beers eclectic enough https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=dbhqdaAA-xvJvFUdYM5UUw&userid=8jVT2inwc8GIQ6sH2UG9Vw, and the service was spot on...grand opening withstanding. However, the prices were on the higher end, the TVs lacked subtitles, and the food options were a tad limited https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=-FKf2SZ1yuQjR0ugCAxoug&userid=8jVT2inwc8GIQ6sH2UG9Vw. I found very good value based on the prices, service, and experience noted above (TOTAL paid experience was around $46.00 BEFORE any discounts and/or tip). And, they accepted my credit card of choice...AMEX! 4.0 STARS

Location: It is walking distance from the intersection of W Sunset Blvd and Hyperion Ave. Free parking is available in the street and in their mini parking space.


The People: Great vibe.


The Food:
- Woodwork (Detroit-style): I love this slice.

- The Vegan Veggie: This is by far my favorite vegan slice in Silver Lake. It has so much flavor.

The Venue: Great location. It is a perfect spot to come do some work/study in the daytime with a slice of pizza, great happy hour deals.


Extras: One can bring their laptop anytime and do work. Probably better in the daytime but people do work in the nighttime too.

Upshot: This venue provides three valuable things for me: (1) has good pizza; (2) I can do work/study; and (3) I can come grab drinks here with friends. All things being considered, this is probably my favorite spot to go to in Silver Lake.

We went opening day and it was a bit confusing to navigate. We weren't sure if we were doing anything right, but then again, it was day one.

The pizza was pretty good. We actually both prefer the pizza at Mohawk. The Detroit was good and a nice change.

The beer selection is great. Always good to see this much Russian River.

I look forward to coming back and I'm sure this place will only get better.

I was doing some construction in the area which led to the discovery of this gem.

Excellent in every aspect.
The food was not only amazingly delicious, but came in more than decent proportions. And was perfectly priced.

The employees were informative and very nice. Always checking in to make sure everything was fine or if we needed anything else.

Even the bathrooms are worthy of praise. Every time I would use them they were SPOTLESS

I am no longer working near California Sun and I live 25 miles away but will definitely be coming back very soon

Interesting pizza joint with a lovely California vibe. Slices so giant that only 1 or 2 will be plenty, and a beer selection (though pricey) is extensive!
Only critique is that need a better pizza box design!

Overpriced pizza with decor that panders to millennials - the panderiest panderer that ever pandered, pandering all the way to Panderlake on their pander-scooter.

Aliens in the bathrooms, pictures from Home Alone on the wall - and the "Kevin McCallister" pizza made from mozzarella and provolone? Everyone knows the original Home Alone pizza was only mozzarella, so get your artisan provolone out of here.

Take your pizza joint out of Silverlake and pander to someone else. Gen Z is ripe for the picking, they're younger and less discerning. Decorate your restaurant with Taylor Swift, hashtags, memes and host Minecraft and Fortnite "flashback game nights" and you'll make a killing.