As new restaurants begin to bloom in Los Angeles, longtime staples for the city’s diasporic Jewish community are presenting to-go menus that fit the needs of family seder gatherings of any size. The holiday, which commemorates the Israelite exodus from ancient Egypt, spans over a week, starting this year at sundown on April 22 and running through April 30.

Most families gather on at least the first night for a traditional seder dinner, with the mostly-for-display seder plate and its parsley, egg, shank bone, charoset, and horseradish; juicy braised brisket; golden, schmaltzy matzo ball soup, and more matzo to represent the flat, unleavened bread the Israelites brought with them on their passage. Read on for where to order (or dine in) for Passover 2024 in Los Angeles.

Jim Sullivan

Rustic Canyon restaurants

The Rustic Canyon group, which runs a swathe of restaurants on the Westside of Los Angeles, has several Passover menus in play. At Huckleberry in Santa Monica, a seder menu with dishes (serving 8-10 people) that include a $25 seder plate as well as charoset, a spring kale salad, matzoh ball soup, and entree options like brisket, roasted salmon, and braised chicken legs and thighs. Requisite vegetable sides like cauliflower kugel are on order, and not-so-requisite sides, like potato pancakes (for those who want a Hanukkah feel to their seders). Desserts include a strawberries and cream pavlova, chocolate-covered matzoh, and plain or chocolate-dipped gluten-free coconut macaroons. Pre-orders for Huckleberry can be made 72 hours in advance.

Birdie G’s, also in Santa Monica, has a to-go menu with nontraditional takes on Passover staples: think whole roasted chicken with black lime and fenugreek, curried carrot “tzimmes” with pine nuts and raisin, creamed greens kugel, and the restaurant’s popular matzo ball soup with carrot miso and dill. For dessert, diners can order a whole flourless chocolate cake (available in 6-inch or 9-inch rounds). Pantry staples for sale include ready-made schmaltz, gribenes, and horseradish cream; kosher red and white wines are also available to order. Pre-orders can be made online through April 16 for pick-up or delivery from April 22 through April 30.

Mort & Betty’s

Mort & Betty’s

While the Passover pre-order window may be over for vegan Jewish pop-up Mort & Betty’s, some of its fun, irreverent, and fully plant-based dishes will be available in limited quantities at the Atwater Village Farmers’ Market on Sunday, April 21. Dishes Mort & Betty’s is slinging this year include gluten-free apple-walnut charoset, gefilte “mish,” gluten-free chopped cashew and mushroom pate, matzoh ball soup, gluten-free potato kugel, mushroom brisket, and, for dessert, matzo toffee or assorted gluten-free macaroons.

Akasha

This Culver City restaurant always comes correct for Jewish holidays, offering both to-go and dine-in specials. An in-person seder will be held on Monday, April 22, at 6:15 p.m., led by Merissa Gerson Nathan. Tables will feature traditional seder plates, regular and gluten-free matzoh, and charoset options that include “Curaçao charoset balls” made with dates, prunes, raisins, fig, and tamarind, as well as a “Venetian charoset” with mixed nuts and dried fruit. A first course of salmon gefilte fish terrine will be followed by mains like brisket, roasted chicken thighs, or eggplant casserole. The desserts, served family-style, will be pecan-lemon or hazelnut tortes. The cost is $160 for adults and $108 for children under 10.

For Akasha’s Passover to-go this year, the vegetarian-friendly menu includes half-pints of both its chicken chopped liver and vegan “mock” liver, matzo ball soup (chicken and vegetable-broth versions are offered), grass-fed beef brisket, double-lemon chicken, and eggplant Provençal. Pre-orders can be made through April 16 by 5 p.m. on Tock.

Anne Fishbein

Jar

Jar is offering both to-go and dine-in menus for its Passover 5784 this year. Passover dinner at the restaurant will be held on Monday, April 22, with tickets for $260 per person that can be reserved on OpenTable; an in-restaurant seder will be led by Rabbi Ellen Nemhouse. The menu includes dishes like “auntie’s” chopped liver and a puree of spring peas served with feta and radish; matzo ball soup with a lemongrass broth; jumbo asparagus with hard-boiled egg and pickled ramp vinaigrette; mains like pot roast with carrots, caramelized onions, and prunes or Alaskan halibut doused in scallion butter; and chocolate-covered matzoh for dessert. The takeout menu includes many of the same dishes from the dine-in menu but also offers sticky charoset with date, walnuts, and apple and roasted salmon with cranberry relish for those who don’t opt for Jar’s classic pot roast.

Maple Block Meat Co.

This Culver City barbecue restaurant is offering a peachwood-smoked brisket for Passover at $42 per pound (customers’ briskets will be sliced right before or during their pick-up windows, or they can request to do so themselves). Orders can be made over the phone or by email: [email protected]. Diners can also opt to add large-party format sides like a market vegetable chopped salad or mixed baby kale salad, grilled vegetables, ranch beans, potato salad, and more.

Joan’s on Third

This Fairfax restaurant and market is offering a Passover to-go menu with most items designed to feed groups of two to six. Starters include crudite with a springy spinach and leek dip along with a cheese plate that substitutes matzo for toasted bread. Entrees include beef brisket with add-on horseradish creme fraiche, herb-roasted chicken, or grilled salmon with basil cream. Charoset fused with walnuts, fig, and apricot; mashed potatoes; spring vegetables; and kugel round out the sides. Like many places offering Passover menus this year, the desserts steer toward traditional territory with flourless chocolate cake, coconut macaroons, and chocolate-dipped coconut macaroons; the outlier, a lemon berry pavlova, will brighten any seder table. Orders can be placed with the catering department with a 72-hour notice.

Wexler’s

For $295, the Passover spread at Wexler’s Deli feeds four to six people and includes a traditional braised brisket, a big farmer’s market salad, matzo ball soup, homemade gefilte fish, roasted heirloom carrots, potato kugel, and a box of matzo. The dinner is available from April 22 to April 30 for delivery and pick-up; orders can be placed by emailing [email protected] or by calling the restaurant.

Slab Barbecue

This Fairfax barbecue shop from Israeli chef Burt Bakman is offering a $280 Passover to-go menu that feeds four via Tock. The spread includes Slab’s classic brisket slices, traditional matzo ball soup, bitter greens and citrus salad, apple and walnut charoset, potato kugel, and chocolate and coconut macaroons.

Superba Food + Bread

Superba is offering two Passover to-go items from each of its four locations: Venice, Pasadena, Hollywood, and North Hollywood. Dishes available are its classic whole-roasted chicken with green goddess dressing and pepita romesco ($35) and matzoh ball soup for two ($21), featuring a quart of chicken broth packed with vegetables, chicken, and two large matzoh balls. Vegetable sides and salads can be ordered a la carte from the regular takeout menu should orderers want to round out their dinners without lifting a finger at home.

Clementine

Passover offerings at this sunny Westwood restaurant and cafe include a locked-and-loaded seder plate for $32, as well as dinners-for-two that feature matzo ball soup, charoset, a choice of two mains (braised beef brisket, roasted chicken with lemon and thyme, or poached wild king salmon with shallot creme fraiche), and sides like cucumber salad with dill and scallions, spring vegetables, tzimmes, fingerling potatoes with caramelized shallot and Tuscan kale, and beet and blood orange vinaigrette-spiked asparagus, among others. Orders can be placed on its website.