In mid-June, a spirited crowd settled in for dinner at Linden on Sunset Boulevard. In one corner, 10 educators who assist California youth shared stories and passed around plates accompanied by waves of laughter impossible to miss in the 50-person dining room. A party of eight casually well-dressed men adjacent to the windows facing Tamarind Avenue shared chef Jonathan Harris’s oxtail pie and rounds of Linden’s L.I.R.R. cocktail (short for the Long Island Rail Road) while deeply immersed in conversation. One woman in a sleek black dress sat with a companion and immediately ordered a drink as if its name had been waiting on her tongue all day. Three men in their late 20s and early 30s (including notable photographer, Royal Binion) celebrated a birthday.

A night like this is not uncommon for any restaurant in Los Angeles. But here’s where context matters in a county with a 9 percent Black population: at this Hollywood restaurant, on this Thursday night, the crowd is 100 percent Black. Members of Los Angeles’s Black community often congregate in areas like View Park/Windsor Hills, Leimert Park, Inglewood, the Antelope Valley, or one of the over two dozen neighborhoods that comprise South LA. But here, at Linden, on Sunset Boulevard, the room is resoundingly filled with the faces, voices, and laughter of people of the African diaspora.

Its owners, model and influencer Alahna Jade, Ridiculousness producer Sterling “Steelo” Brim, with New York’s Las’ Lap co-founders Vincent Bryant and Scott Williams, are Black entrepreneurs, as is Linden’s general manager Genesis Bernard. Though not the only Black-owned restaurant in Hollywood, Linden’s sleekly modern dining room; thoughtful cocktails (some named after community in-jokes, like the Lemon Ting); and chef Harris’s menu, which takes its influences from the Caribbean diaspora in New York, Italian joints on Long Island, Jewish culture, and African foodways embedded in the Southern U.S., make the restaurant stand out. One might find a mostly Black congregation at places like Inglewood’s the Wood BBQ, 1010 Wine, the Inglewood or View Park outlets for Hilltop Coffee + Kitchen, or Pip’s on La Brea. If anything, Linden is similar to the District by GS, a frequently busy, popular Black-owned spot on Crenshaw serving mostly soulful comfort dishes.

This burgeoning group of entrepreneurs took over a Hollywood corner to open New York’s Chopped Cheese in May 2023, and Linden with chef Harris two months later. “It chose us,” says Williams when talking about the space.

Here was the scene at Linden on this particular night.

The logistics: Planning is key when heading into or around Hollywood, so rideshare or prepare for valet. The room seats 50 people, and reservations are recommended.

The vibe: This is the longtime corner structure on Sunset Boulevard and Tamarind Avenue that previously housed Ronnie’s Kitchen + Cocktails, and, before that, Delancey. It’s fully transformed with heavy design touches by Jade: patterned wallpaper, distressed mirrors, and playful bathrooms with ample framed mirrors. It feels a bit bougie, but comfortable.

It’s also a hangout spot with familiar faces that return, again and again, with friends. The room is outwardly, unapologetically, and joyfully Black. Here, elements of Black culture come through without trying: White tablecloths with individual lamps emitting warm light help set a relaxed mood. Williams’s playlist veers into R&B, hip-hop, 1970s soul, and contemporary Black artists. Frequent table stirrings occur when separate tables recognize old friends dining on the same night. One might take a bite of cornmeal-dusted snapper and realize that the Houston Rockets’ Jalen Green, recording artist Miguel, or comedian and Saturday Night Live writer Sam Jay are having dinner directly across from them.

This matters. Black formal dining and nightlife spaces made by Black entrepreneurs and catering to a majority Black clientele is a rare sight in Hollywood, let alone in Los Angeles. Any visit or a look down a timeline of tagged Instagram posts shows that Linden’s crowd is attractive, young, and distinctly Black. The group also owns the 75-seat guest list-only bar next door, Dot Dot LA, which has a similar vibration and is where Linden guests might migrate to after dinner.

The menu: Harris hails from Long Island and grew up in a Caribbean, Jewish, and Italian neighborhood. The bread course features cornbread, herbed focaccia, and an everything bagel flavored with fried chicken butter — made even richer when slathered with the schmaltzy cream cheese that comes alongside it. Small plates range from the favorite oxtail wagyu pie with puff pastry and plantain chutney to smoked jerk jackfruit and calamari with a banana pepper aioli, the latter both ripe for vegan, pescatarian, or vegetarian diners. Sharing is the way to go with Linden’s cornmeal-encrusted snapper, fried chicken with caviar, or the burger with scallion slaw, onions, and melted white American cheese.

The drinks: Linden’s drinks are visually arresting. They’ve got vibrant colors down, while some standards like the Linden Spritz and the Old Fashioned — called the Cherry Street — take a rename. The Smoke Water is made with mezcal, watermelon, lime, ginger, and agave, while a bright Lemon Ting adds Citron vodka, Grand Marnier, lemon, orange, and soda water.

The verdict: A table of three regulars mentioned that they’ve followed Williams and Bryant since they opened Las’ Lap, a hip bar on the Lower East Side, and knew he would bring that same energy to Linden. Thanks to the avid following of Linden’s notable owners, diners place ample trust in this crew, especially transplants seeking out a slice of the East Coast. On a busy night, Linden is a restaurant full of friendly faces happy to be in the same room. Just settle in and order another drink while the kitchen carefully prepares each dish; sitting at the bar can be ideal for people-watching while drinking and eating. And while it’s a spot that speaks to the Black community, it’s welcoming to all.