St Vincent Court

This gem of a place is located in downtown Los Angeles, in the jewelry district. It is home to several middle eastern restaurants and boutique cafes. It has a very European feel to it.
Although you can drive inside the court, it is best to park in a pay lot and walk inside. Here, you have many places to chose from. Out of these, I’ve tried Farid Restaurant and Le Café Bonjour. I will be returning to try out the other spots.
The patrons here are downtown locals and working professionals. You get a mix of demographics here, and no problems I’ve seen. Most of the business owners know each other, and know the clientele pretty well. Adjacent to the court are the jewelry stores, and a pay lot that you can access at the far end of the court.
The businesses here mostly open at 11:00 AM on Mondays through Saturdays, and are all closed on Sundays.

Hidden little gem of old Los Angeles. Tucked away in an alley setting right next to the jewelry mart.
Very nice little quaint stores and restaurants. A must see if your walking about.

It’s like stepping into a very different world. There’s some amazing Mediterranean (i.e. Greek and Turkish) restaurants and an awesome Armenian-​run grocery where I go to get coffee. The city has recently begun enforcing an ordinance that doesn’t allow outdoor seating, but the food and vibe is still fun and I nice break from the rest of Downtown.

Quite an interesting hidden gem of Downtown Los Angeles, I must say.
Like many people have probably stated, it’s like stepping into an early era of European history. As a history geek here, I thought this was pretty darn awesome to see.
On the other hand, the place comes off as a bit shady to me as well… and I think it’s due to how there are no longer tables and chairs out for each of the diners in this alleyway. It’s a shame the city (or whoever) no longer allows that. Judging from other photos I’ve seen of St. Vincent Court, the tables and chairs was that perfect final touch to this spot.
Now, without them, I kind of felt like walking down a random alleyway that I had no business being there *shrug*
It deserves some checking out though, especially the little restaurants there. I hear many of them are pretty delicious.

I’ve always been a huge fan of this block below the old bullock’s. The Mid-​eastern restaurants with the french facades on a cobble stone block that should be closed off to cars. I’ve been to at least 4 different places, all of which were solid, not spectacular but solid.
Went last week, only to learn from one of the restauranteurs that one of the last acts of the Mayor was to ban the sidewalk seating. He claimed it was to encourage shooting films. I can’t verify the why or how, but I can attest to the fact that there is no longer outdoor seating. Hopefully, our new mayor will correct this and ban cars on the block.
I’m keeping the star rating in the hopes that things change.

It’s been a bit lifeless the last few times I’ve been — no tables in the street, not many people hitting the restaurants, many more of the businesses boarded up, and the facades mostly unattended to and faded.
Reminds of me something you might run through in «Grand Theft Auto 3,» made to look like a charming European side street in the middle of downtown fallen into ruin.
I will say, though, that it offers an interesting and diverse array of international foods and drinks in one little block.
St. Vincent Court needs a renaissance, and hopefully the revitalization of downtown will pump some vigor into this alley.

A strange little street in the middle of downtown Los Angeles that you’ve probably walked by a thousand times without noticing. The phony European vibe of the restaurant facades is more Epcot Center than Rome or Athens but you can’t help but be charmed by how incongruous it all feels.
I’ve eaten at a couple of the restaurants and I haven’t been disappointed. I recommend buying an espresso and striking up a conversation with one of the many chain-​smoking older Greek men that seem to inhabit the little tables out front of each restaurant.
LA is a weird city.

This place is nice! Feels as if I’m in a town in the Mediterranean. The café and diners all offer Middle Eastern, Greek and Italian food. This place is simply wonderful although there are some smokers. Meh, this is L. A anyways

I was visiting a friend last week in DTLA when I stumbled upon this place on a walk I was having while he was at work. I was hungry and just meandering around the city when all of a sudden i spotted this cute little ally.
It really is truly a little gem in a very unexpected area. I was hungry too so I couldn’t have found it at a more perfect time. Its very adorable and does feel like a little piece of Europe or something. It’s composed of tiny little restaurants (mostly middle-​eastern, and a few coffee place). Each establishment has between 2 – 4 table sitting out front. The street is also filled with awnings above the stores most of which are decorated in small white lights. Overall the whole street had a slightly whimsical sense to it. I can’t wait to visit DTLA again to try another food spot here.

This is a great little gem in the middle of Downtown that not many people know about. I have been here many times for lunch #eatlunch and have always enjoyed the experience of sitting outside in an alley/​old school setting.
Most of the 10 plus food spots/​coffee shops have the same kind of food, deli and middle-​eastern food. I have been to about 4 different spots and have not been disappointed.
Some of the things that I have had here are various sandwiches, shawarma, and falafel.
This is a great place to step away from the office and have something different from the many typical food courts that are all over DTLA.

St. Vincent Court is a little slice of heaven located in the back alley of downtown LA’s seedy Jewlery District. It’s an actual alley lined with quaint shops and restaurants but it’s the nicest alley you’ll ever encounter. It’s accessed either from 7^th St or from the small parking lot just off of Hill. If you don’t know what you’re looking for it can be difficult to find because access is nondescript and there’s no indication this place even exists. You can see people casually walking by, not knowing what they are missing. All they have to do is take several extra steps from the street pop their head inside to find themselves transported into another world.
I found out about St Vincent from Huell Howser’s PBS show, «Visiting». Back then it used to be an enclave of Greek culture but now it’s a mixture of Meditterranean, European, and I believe there’s even a Chinese Restaurant there.
As soon as you step into this alleyway, the place seems surreal, like you’ve stepped on to a movie set. It looks too perfect, too clean to be a location here in Los Angeles. Disneyesque is what comes to mind. The Court is less than a block long and the alley is cobbled with beautiful brick work instead of unsightly asphalt, which is ubiquitous through out this city. This charming little alleyway was never meant for unsightly vehicles but meant for only pedestrian foot traffic. There are tables lining the sidewalks along various European style store fronts, usually occupied by older looking gentlemen smoking their cigarettes and drinking their expressos.
Really! This place doesn’t belong here.
Angelenos…we don’t deserve this place because heaven shouldn’t exist in the middle of hell aka my home town.
This place should remain a secret.
Update: in today’s Sundays LA Times 4÷7÷2013, it is suggesting that this alley may in for some changes. The al fresco seating isn’t allowed but the city looks the other way, but this maybe changing. Also the denizens aren’t allowing trucks to come on to brick cobbled alley to make deliveries.

This is the place to go for your jewelry needs, from wholesale to resale. There are so many shops within the building and the surroundings that it would take you the full day to visit each shop.
Parking closer to the area is more expensive. If you are willing to walk there is a parking lot on Olive between 8^th and 9^th Street for $ 5 all day. It is also walking distance from the 7^th/​Metro station. Sometimes they have movie or commercial filming outside. So if you’re lucky you may even see someone famous.

This place is so incredibly adorable! I’ve lived in Los Angeles my entire life and I had never seen this place before! It’s so cute! It has all these false facades and these cafes that look so cute and quaint, and it reminds me of cafes in Europe and being able to eat outside and it’s just so cute, they have a little bit of everything, Italian, a cute little French style Café, Middle Eastern Food, Greek… it all looked so amazing and such a wonderful little atmosphere. Definitely a hidden gem in Downtown LA.

A very cute alleyway that has a very different dynamic than the surrounding area. It has a European feel with outdoor seating in the alleyway. It’s very quaint and worth seeing once. However, it’s really just a small alleyway and if you’re just looking to look — it’ll take you less than 5 minutes to really take it all in.
The place can feel a little sketchy, especially if you look touristy — at least in my opinion. Restaurants serve great food with reasonable prices and can be a good stop during a busy shopping day.

I wandered over here a random Sunday to walk off my nickel diner breakfast. Everything in SVC was closed which was actually a good thing. I got to wander around and take pictures of all the cute buildings. I hate looking like a tourist but I can’t help it. I love my cameras too much :) Even if you have no desire to shop for jewelry totally drop by for the weird are we still in L.A. moment you’ll have.

Shopping in the Jewelry District in Downtown LA? Just walking around for a lunch break from work? Definitely a must visit is St. Vincent Court. It’s an alley full of Middle Eastern café’s one next to the other with great lunches, sandwiches, coffees, teas etc.
You can find everything from regular Italian hoagies to Middle Eastern sandwiches and plates of food.
The food is good. The deli is fresh. Very very reasonable prices and outdoor seating area. It’s a great place to get away from the hustle and bustle of Downtown LA.
I’ve been going to St. Vincent Court since I was 5 and it was an under developed café row with only but a few cafes. Now it looks beautiful and has a European feel to it.
Good atmosphere and Good Food!

The place has a great feel to it. It’s like stepping back into a European back alley with all the outdoor seating, cafes, smokers, and pigeons. Most of the stores are middle eastern sandwich deli shops.
I’ll definitely be back to try one a sandwich at one of these cafes.

There are a collection of Middle Eastern-​style cafes and delis present, but my favorite sandwich is at ARTURO’S THE ORIGINAL (directly across from St. Vincent Deli).
My wife and I were jewelry shopping in the adjacent St. Vincent Jewelry Center and came to the court for lunch while waiting for a ring to be set.
Arturo’s serves a hearty 10-​inch sandwich for $ 6.99. I opted for the roast beef and provolone cheese, heated up panini style. It comes very Middle East style, with a light mayonnaise, easy on the mustard, tomatoes, cucumber slices, dill pickle chips, lettuce all served on a baguette french bread roll sliced on half. Two people can split one of these filling delights. When my wife couldn’t finish her sandwich they were happy to wrap it up to go.
The order counter is small but very clean inside and the place smells wonderful. The LA. Health Dept gave it an «A» rating which is posted on the front. The girls that man the counter are very friendly and they bring your order outside to you in the café seating area. The owner came outside to make sure we were happy and when we raved about the food he sent out a complimentary baklava pastry for us. It was authentic and just delicious.
If you are in the neighborhood of Seventh and Hill, this is a delightful casual place.

I was out and about just walking around for lunch when I happened to run across a small alleyway right off of 7^th.
I decided to take a look in, to see what this place was all about. As I entered, I felt like I was walking down a small brick road in Europe somewhere. It was really interesting to find such a place in the middle of Downtown L. A…a bunch of mniddle eastern delis, restaurants, pizza places, and also a barber shop!
I decided to stop at one of the delis for a gyro… geez, its been a while since I had myself a gyro! The gyro was ok… nicely seasoned, but nothing too special…
All in all, I enjoy the ambiance of St Vincent’s…its a cool area in the middle of Downtown to walk to and hang out at, and they also have a selection of middle eastern restaurants to choose from.

I came here after reading about it in the downtown news… it made me feel like I was back in London, minus the Brits and plus lots of Persian looking people and Asians.
I too ate at the St. Vincent deli, and to my surprise, it was pretty tasty. I got a gyro sandwich, which didn’t look like much, and I had to ask for the cream sauce, which is more watery than creamy.
But the taste of the sandwich was solid, and it was worth it to see this little quaint alleyway, complete with pigeons that aren’t afraid to fly straight at your head. God I hate pigeons.
Oh yea, it said my sandwich cost $ 6.50, but they charged me $ 7. For sales tax or what? I have no clue.