Insecure gave us plenty to obsess over: Issa’s painfully relatable inner monologues, Molly’s enviable wardrobe, the friendships, the relationships and, of course, Los Angeles itself.
But one of the things the HBO series did particularly well was make Black Los Angeles feel like a character in its own right.
Rather than keeping its characters inside anonymous restaurants and generic coffee shops, Insecure regularly took viewers into real businesses across South LA. That included a number of Black-owned eateries that you can actually visit.
So, if you’re planning an Insecure-inspired trip to Los Angeles, why not eat your way through some of the places seen on screen?
Welcome to Eat the Screen.
1. Merkato Ethiopian Restaurant & Market
Where Issa and Molly’s story begins
If you’re going to start an Insecure food tour anywhere, Merkato Ethiopian Restaurant & Market feels particularly appropriate.
The Little Ethiopia institution appears right at the beginning of the series, with Issa and Molly dining there in Season 1. It later becomes significant again as their friendship starts to unravel.
And that’s what makes Merkato such a good stop for Insecure fans. It isn’t simply a restaurant that happened to appear in the background, it forms part of the visual history of Issa and Molly’s friendship.
Located in LA’s Little Ethiopia neighbourhood, Merkato serves traditional Ethiopian food designed for sharing, making it a great place to visit with friends.
Expect injera accompanied by dishes such as lentils, vegetables and richly spiced meat stews.
2. Hilltop Coffee + Kitchen
Coffee with an Issa Rae connection
There are filming locations — and then there are places where the connection to Insecure goes beyond the screen.
Hilltop Coffee + Kitchen falls firmly into the second category.
The Black-owned coffee shop was founded by Ajay Relan and Yonnie Hagos, with Insecure creator and star Issa Rae later becoming a co-owner.
That alone makes Hilltop a worthwhile stop for fans.
Its Inglewood location has also appeared in Insecure, further connecting the real-life business with the world created in the show.
Hilltop isn’t just somewhere to grab a quick coffee, either. Alongside its drinks menu you’ll find breakfast and lunch options, making it an easy brunch stop on an Insecure-inspired day around South LA.
Make it a screen stop: Start your morning here before spending the day exploring Inglewood and other Insecure filming locations.
3. Brolly Hut
Old-school Inglewood
Not every Insecure location needs white tablecloths and cocktails. Sometimes you just want a burger.
Enter Brolly Hut.
The long-standing Inglewood burger joint has been serving the community since 1970 and is instantly recognisable thanks to its distinctive umbrella-shaped building.
It also appeared in Insecure.
Brolly Hut represents something the show did particularly well: putting everyday neighbourhood businesses on screen alongside LA’s more polished restaurants and bars.
Rather than presenting South LA as a backdrop, Insecure showed its characters actually living within these neighbourhoods — eating, drinking, working and socialising in places locals recognise.
Stop here for a casual bite while exploring Inglewood.
Make it a screen stop: Pair Brolly Hut with other Inglewood filming locations rather than making it a standalone journey.
4. Simply Wholesome
A South LA institution
Simply Wholesome isn’t just somewhere Insecure happened to film — it’s the kind of neighbourhood business the series was so good at putting centre stage.
The Black-owned health food restaurant and market has been part of the South LA community since the 1980s.
You’ll spot it in Season 3, Episode 2, “Familiar-Like,” when Issa joins her We Got Y’all colleagues for a lunch meeting.
And in true Insecure fashion, it’s not exactly a relaxing lunch.
The conversation turns to race and Issa finds herself being treated as the unofficial spokesperson for Black people in the office — one of those painfully awkward workplace moments the show did so well.
Meanwhile, Simply Wholesome provides the backdrop.
The restaurant is known for healthier takes on Caribbean and soul-food-inspired dishes, alongside smoothies and juices, and there’s also a health store selling products including herbs, teas and vitamins.
Its appearance on Insecure reportedly brought a noticeable wave of new customers, with staff saying people specifically mentioned discovering the restaurant through the show.
Make it a screen stop: Simply Wholesome sits in View Park-Windsor Hills, an area with strong connections to Insecure and Issa Rae herself.
5. Worldwide Tacos
The taco that started an impromptu date
If you’re recreating Issa Dee’s LA through food, Worldwide Tacos has to be on the list.
The Leimert Park taco spot gets its moment in Season 3, Episode 4, “Fresh-Like,” when Issa stops by for one of her favourites: a BBQ salmon taco.
Just as she’s about to enjoy it, she unexpectedly runs into Nathan — the handsome passenger she’d previously met while driving Lyft — and promptly drops her taco.
Nathan offers to replace it, but there’s one small problem: the wait.
Worldwide Tacos is famous for making its food fresh and its rather unpredictable waiting times. With time to kill before their order is ready, Issa takes Nathan around Leimert Park, introducing him to the Black businesses, food and culture of the neighbourhood.
What begins with a dropped taco essentially turns into their first impromptu date.
And Worldwide Tacos isn’t a fictional creation for the show. It’s a real South LA institution known for an enormous selection of unconventional taco fillings, including everything from BBQ salmon and jerk chicken to shrimp and lamb.
What to try: If you want the full Insecure experience, the BBQ salmon taco is the obvious choice.
Make it a screen stop: Don’t just collect your tacos and leave. Use Worldwide Tacos as the starting point for exploring Leimert Park, just as Issa and Nathan do in the episode.
Melavate Me tip Order the salmon taco. Just try not to drop yours when your Nathan walks by.
Make a Day of It: An Insecure-Inspired LA Food Crawl
If you’re visiting Los Angeles, you don’t necessarily need to tackle all five restaurants in one day.
In fact, don’t.
Instead, use them as anchors for exploring the neighbourhoods that gave Insecure its distinctive identity.
You could start the morning with coffee and breakfast at Hilltop, explore Inglewood, stop somewhere casual like Brolly Hut. Then visit Merkato and Little Ethiopia on another day.
That way you’re not simply driving across LA collecting filming locations. You’re actually spending time in the neighbourhoods the show introduced to millions of viewers.
Why Insecure’s Restaurants Mattered
There’s a bigger reason these locations are worth talking about.
Insecure didn’t simply film in Los Angeles. It celebrated Black Los Angeles.
Throughout the series, Black-owned restaurants, coffee shops and neighbourhood businesses were woven naturally into Issa and her friends’ everyday lives, introducing many of them to an international audience in the process.
There didn’t need to be a storyline explaining why Issa was eating at an Ethiopian restaurant, grabbing tacos in South LA or meeting friends at a Black-owned coffee shop. These places were simply part of their world — just as they are part of the real communities the show represented.
That authenticity is one of the reasons Los Angeles felt like another character in Insecure. The restaurants weren’t just backdrops; they helped show a vibrant, contemporary side of Black LA that television audiences didn’t always get to see.
Years later, fans can still visit many of the places where Issa, Molly, Kelli, Lawrence and the rest of the gang ate, laughed, dated and occasionally fell out.
So, if you find yourself in Los Angeles, add a few of these spots to your itinerary. You’ll be supporting Black-owned businesses while experiencing a little piece of the LA that made Insecure feel so real.
