Bridgetown Roti Brings the Flavors of Trinidad and Barbados to East Hollywood
One of L.A.’s biggest pandemic pop-up success stories finally has a brick-and-mortar location to call home.
Chef Rashida Holmes started Bridgetown Roti (named for the capital of Barbados) in 2019, after struggling to find the rotis and patties her Bajan mother made back home. Holmes, who grew up in Baltimore, came to L.A. to cook at Botanica in Silver Lake, and later Firehouse in the Arts District. When the latter closed in February of 2020, Holmes figured it was good timing for a long-planned family trip to Barbados. “I was like, cool, I’ll go do some R&D. Then the pandemic hit two days before our flight.”
Stuck in L.A. and needing a source of income, she decided to make Bridgetown happen out of her front door in Boyle Heights. “A lot of people were selling food out of their house at the time,” she recalls. But Bridgetown struck a cord — Holmes was selling out nearly every day. “Then they published us in the L.A. Times, highlighting Black-owned businesses during the Black Lives Matter protests. And then a lot more people started showing up at my house. It kind of snowballed from there,” Holmes says.
The explosive growth and popularity hasn’t stopped. The pop-up outgrew Holmes’s home kitchen, and moved to Smorgasburg L.A. and a commissary kitchen in the Arts District. Bridgetown was named one of Eater’s Best New Restaurants in 2021, was a popular dinner option at 2022’s Coachella, and had a glowing national write-up in the New York Times. This year, Holmes was nominated for a James Beard Best New Chef award — all without having an actual restaurant storefront.
It’s easy to see why Bridgetown Roti has gotten so much attention so fast: it’s delicious. Plain and simple. Holmes has mastered a menu of dishes with intense flavors that still feel approachable and warm. For example, Bridgetown’s fan favorite is Mom’s Curry Chicken Roti (which is, in fact, based on Holmes’s mother’s recipe): succulent chicken smothered in a bright, spicy curry sauce, wrapped in the most buttery, supple housemade roti. A close second is the oxtail and peppers patty — slow-cooked oxtail with plenty of kick from the pepper sofrito, tucked inside flaky, fried dough.
Now, Bridgetown has finally moved into a permanent location in East Hollywood, along the bustling Vermont Avenue corridor. We caught up with Holmes to get the inside scoop on six things you need to know before you go.
MORE FROM RESY
1. The Menu Isn’t Changing Much
“We built this business on eight staple items — patties and rotis and a couple of sides — and we’re not changing a ton,” explains Holmes. All your favorite items from the pop-up are still available, and now all day. The new location does give Holmes the kitchen space and staff to play around with the menu, meaning there will be some new dishes, like honey jerk wings, the traditional Trinidadian greens dish callaloo, and seasonal cocobread sandwiches served on custom-baked bread from Cafe Tropical in Silver Lake.
“We’ll also have [curry channa] doubles two days a week, which I’m super excited about because we were only doing those occasionally at the pop-up,” Holmes says. Other dishes on include the incredibly fragrant pumpkin choka roti punched up with turmeric-spiced slaw and fried cauliflower, Aunt Vie’s cod fish cakes with garlic aioli, and the vegan curried yam and mango with coconut patty. “It’s really about the staples,” Holmes stresses. “It’s about bringing the original vision to life.”
2. It’s Designed For a Quick Drop-In
You won’t find many seats inside Bridgetown Roti’s new shop — just 16, peppered around the first-come, first-serve small dining room. But Holmes strategically chose the location based on its prominence along Vermont Avenue and its proximity to Los Angeles City College and the B subway line (both across the street). “You’re walking in, you’re ordering at the counter, if you’re sitting, you’ll get a number and we’ll bring it to you,” she says. But the business is primarily built around to-go orders. “That’s the vibe of eating a roti, anyway. The whole idea of it is to take our curries and bring them to the field,” she says. “We want you to take your roti and get on with your day.”
3. The Colors Are As Bright As the Spices
From the bright yellow tables to the multi-colored shutters around the counter, Bridgetown feels warm and vibrant. “The Caribbean is bright,” Holmes says. She was inspired by the palette of Barbados, where many houses are painted in bright pastels. Murals referencing the culture of the islands continues the theme. “Our whole thing is joy and love and flavor and community. I feel like bright colors embrace that, plus it makes me happy when I’m in here,” Holmes says.
4. What About Drinks?
Don’t worry: beer and wine are on the way. Bridgetown is in the process of acquiring a liquor license in coming months. Once it’s cleared, Holmes is planning on stocking Caribbean beers as well as wine from Black-owned vineyards. “When we can get the Caribbean beers in here, I’ll be really excited,” Holmes says. “I just want to serve Banks and Carib, and some other stuff you can only get down there.” In the meantime, stay hydrated with housemade non-alcoholic drinks including coconut limeade, sorrel juice, and a passionfruit and guava tea, plus ginger beer from New York-based Uncle Waithley’s.
5. Don’t Forget Dessert
An expanded kitchen means the ability to introduce desserts to the menu — something that has Holmes excited. “Desserts are going to start a little later, but I’m planning on doing seasonal upside-down cakes,” she says. “Pineapple upside-down, mango upside-down, and we’ll do some stone fruit-upside down.” Holmes is also planning on making flaky, fruit-packed currant rolls, a Trinidadian staple.
6. Balancing Comfort With Novelty
The ethos of Bridgetown hasn’t changed since day one. “I want people to feel like they’re eating something they’ve never had before, but have it taste really familiar; that’s the goal of every single dish,” she explains. She strikes that balance by combining comforting dishes like curries, patties, and stews with new flavors. “So you get that ‘oh, my mom made this for me,’ moment, but maybe not with this combination of flavors, this spice profile, or these types of ingredients,” Holmes says.
The strategy has worked well so far. “We’ve been at this for four years now,” Holmes says. “We’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback from Caribbean people.” What’s there to argue over? As Holmes says: “You can monkey with tradition so long as you’re doing it tasty.”
Oren Peleg is a journalist and screenwriter. He currently contributes to Eater LA, Los Angeles, The Infatuation, and hosts the Not Billable podcast. You can follow him here. While you’re at it, follow Resy, too.
