Sqirl Is Debuting Dinner. Here’s Everything You Need to Know
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Sqirl forever changed how Angelenos think about breakfast when it opened in Virgil Village in 2012. From latke tots to crispy rice salads, chef/owner Jessica Koslow pioneered an inventive, genre-defying style that inspired legions of all-day cafes and breakfast-forward menus for years to come.
And beginning on Feb. 19, a new chapter begins: Sqirl will launch its first-ever dinner service, marking a long-anticipated evolution for a restaurant that essentially created its own genre of California cuisine. Reservations are now live.
Here’s everything you need to know about dinner at Sqirl.
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This has been years in the making—and the liquor license changed everything.
Dinner at Sqirl isn’t a pivot so much as a delayed inevitability. “It’s always been something I wanted to do,” Koslow says. Trained in fine dining pastry, she’s long envisioned Sqirl beyond just breakfast and lunch. What held it all back was logistics, most notably the lack of a full liquor license.
Their sliver-sized, 800-square-foot space previously didn’t qualify, but a pandemic-era regulatory change via the Restaurant Beverage Program made it possible for Sqirl to finally apply. The license finally came through in December 2024—followed almost immediately by fires, ICE disruptions, and staffing delays. “It’s been a crazy year,” Koslow says. After months of preparation, hiring and recalibration, February 2026 finally felt right.
The timing also reflects intention. Koslow waited until the team, systems, and energy aligned. “This is the restaurant I opened when I was 30,” she says of Sqirl’s daytime identity. “This dinner part is the restaurant I want to eat at now.”
The dinner menu blends different influences in one distinctly L.A. bistro.
Much like its all-day offerings, Sqirl’s dinner menu exists in its own cuisine category. While Koslow describes the new nighttime vibe as bistro-like, its influences are myriad: everything from her own British/Jewish heritage to California seasonality to French technique to the various backgrounds of her kitchen team. “My grandmother is British, so I grew up on my mother’s side with deeply British roots, and it feels to me like Rochelle Canteen,” she adds. “But it’s still Sqirl. We are giving you things that are really familiar, like chicken liver, but doing it in a way that’s completely new.”
To start, enjoy bread service with fermented Nardello butter and Nardello jam, appetizers like shima aji crudo; wagyu beef tartare with burnt negi; Jidori chicken liver parfait with celery butter; and of course, a Sqirl take on a Caesar salad (think croissant croutons and parm).
The menu is also a true collaboration. Guillermo Mendez, Sqirl’s executive sous chef who is running dinner service, brings Mexican flavors to mains like pork collar with sikil p’ak, tamarindo, purslane, chicory, and Sonoran tortilla. The wagyu Denver with sauce vert, braised cipollini and a tabbouleh mignonette comes from “wizard” chef de cuisine Sandra Felix. “We have the framework of what Sqirl is—fermentation, California-forward—but my palate isn’t the only one that matters,” Koslow says.
Expect brand-new cocktails, fun service touches, and a total vibe shift at dinnertime.
A female-led team of hospitality experts including PM manager Vanessa Garcia will help take Sqirl from day to night, alongside seasoned beverage director Kayla Garcia (Bar 109, Chicago’s award-winning Kumiko). Look out for her exciting new beverage program, which centers around seasonality, small producers, and culinary crossover: think fruit- and herb-driven cocktails, teas and low-waste techniques. Expect clever takes on obscure classics like a Millionaire #2 (Kanjuku Umeshu, Black Seal rum, pom molasses, and lime); a Chrysanthemum (Antica Torino Dry Vermouth, Bresca Dorada Mitro Verde, Oloroso Sherry, St. George Absinthe); and a Kir Royale, plus a Bijou reimagined with a split of Beefeater 24 and Mizu Green Tea Shochu; a Grasshopper fizz; and a playful “Pink Sqirl” at dessert with chantilly cream, Alchermes, and amaretto. The menu also includes thoughtful zero-proof cocktails, including a Phony Negroni featuring a silky cara cara pectin.
At the table, you’ll find playful, old-school touches meant to slow things down: surprises designed to make guests feel extra special (Sqirl is keeping a lid on the details for now). In a city where going out to dinner feels like a bigger lift than ever, Koslow sees these gestures as increasingly rare—and increasingly important.
Dinner service begins on February 19th. Reservations will go live on January 29th for parties of up to six people.
