The Best Takeout Windows in Los Angeles

Brothers Fred and Max Guerrero come by burgers honestly, since father Andre Guerrero founded The Oinkster. They started with art, running the nearby Slow Culture art gallery when they’re not at Burgerlords. Their casual grab-and-go burger window launched in Chinatown’s Central Plaza in 2015. The younger Guerreros are both vegetarian, which means they make a stellar veggie burger, but the primary burger is still meat-based. Their double cheeseburger features thin, griddled patties crafted from chuck, brisket, and short rib. Each order comes with a melted American cheese blanket, lettuce, tomato, onion, and Thousand Island dressing on a sponge bun. Kennebec shoestring fries and classic sodas round out the focused menu.

Yes, Los Angeles houses other businesses that go by California Donuts, but the 24/7 Koreatown location has distinct family-run ownership and a ravenous social media following. At last check, 450,000 Instagrammers tune in to “like” racks on racks of creative donuts, including matcha, Samoa based on the famed Girl Scout cookies, and panda donuts with faces crafted from Oreo shards. California Donuts is also a popular source for lifestyle bloggers looking to create custom donuts. At night, lines wrap around a club-style stanchion to reach the window, though these donuts are more easily attainable at non-peak times.

Gareth Kantner built on the success of Silver Lake’s Café Stella by serving comfort food, baked goods, and Intelligentsia coffee from a window in Echo Park. Order at a stainless steel counter and retreat to a worn metal table under an awning. In the morning, people swarm the window for espresso drinks served in longtime barista Phill Kiho Kim’s custom ceramic mugs. Breakfast pizza and syrup-soaked waffles with poached eggs and smoked bacon are popular, as is spaghetti and meatballs. Each order arrives on a metal tray lined with butcher paper that smartly sports Dinette branding that shows up in social media posts.

Chef Matthew Dickson and his partners from nearby Habitat Coffee give people a reason to stop before reaching Mount Washington. Division 3 is a wood-paneled building with blackboard menus. Everything is packed to go, though you will find a fenced in back patio with a few tables. For breakfast, buttery biscuit sandwiches are popular, including a version with fennel-cured salmon, soft scrambled egg, chive creme fraiche. Lunch brings sandwiches like the stellar corned beef hoagie with fresh kraut, Jack cheese, mayo and mustard. They’ve also got City Bean coffee and a healthy stock of baked goods in bins behind the register.

Jason and Trish McVearry made sure Poke-Poke was one of the first businesses to deliver this classic raw Hawaiian raw fish preparation to L.A. They now feed beachgoers, Muscle Beach weightlifters and basketball players. The couple fell for poke on Oahu’s North Shore and serve poke from a strip of windows that also includes Malaka Brothers gyros and Espresso Yo Self coffee and bread pudding. Build custom ahi poke bowls or opt for prescribed recipes. Original Hawaiian Poke incorporates shoyu, sesame oil, sesame seeds, scallions and white onions. Spicy Tuna incorporates Sriracha, Wasabi packs sinus clearing heat, and New Aloha is a lighter take with aloha shoyu, rice wine vinegar, and crushed red pepper. Veggie poke revolves around kale and diced avocado. Acai bowl piles hemp granola, coconut shavings, sliced bananas and a drizzle of honey on frozen acai berry paste starring an Amazonian fruit that’s high in antioxidants.

Two couples that work in the music industry – Leah Pringle and husband Dan, Leah Haywood and Daniel James – debuted a brick kiosk with red-framed window in a parking lot next to the Court Yard Hotel, beneath towering palm trees. The owners don’t have much room, but they take their coffee seriously, using a two-group La Marzocco espresso machine to brew Four Barrel Coffee. Clover juice and Iroha Sushi or Tokyo’s rolls help to round out culinary offerings.

Restaurateur George Abou-Daoud practically owns the whole block near Sunset Gower Studios, and Twins Sliders is the central business in his Hollywood compound. His slider, milkshake and fries stand features an aqua and orange façade and small window. Most people grab and go, though they do have two tiny orange tables at a wood bench. Mix and match twin sliders with each order. Choose from spicy fried chicken with remoulade and sweet pickle, a cheeseburger with onions, Thousand Island, and pickles; or bacon, egg, and cheese. Milkshakes are pretty minimalist unless you opt for The Big One, a massive shake that could feed a family that includes Oreos, M&Ms, Reese’s peanut butter cup, Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal, blended Butterfinger, and an entire Twinkie.

This New York pizza import honors the two "boots" (Italy and Louisiana) now has over a dozen branches in cities like Nashville and Baltimore. The Downtown L.A. branch is located by The Orpheum in the historic Broadway Theatre District, making it easy for concertgoers to load up before a show, or to just grab a slice during the day. Two Boots Pizza sports colorful murals and red glass bubble walls. Order at a stainless steel counter and either grab or go or eat at a stainless steel railing with seven metal stools. Two Boots offers vegan-friendly and gluten-free crust options, or you can go full-force with pizzas like the Bayou Beast, which is loaded with spiced shrimp, swampy crawfish, andouille, jalapenos and mozzarella on crispy cornmeal crust. They also sell garlic knots and meatball sliders, which await you in the window.