I am having a discussion with my friend who wants to know which are the top-rated restaurants in LA. I am able to name a few--Campanile, L'Orangerie, AOC.........

What are your favs?

Some other good ones in the general LA area: Water Grill in downtown, Mélisse in Santa Monica, JiRaffe in SM, Capo in SM, Joe's in Venice, La Cachette in West LA, the new Providence in east Hollywood, Opus by the Wiltern in Hollywood....

It may be a cliche, but it's hard to leave out Spago.

Tops for food, according to Zagat's, in addition to the already mentioned Melisse and Water Grill, are Sushi Nozawa and Matsuhisa.

Campanile is wonderful. L'orangerie is very stuffy and VERY expensive, though the food is delicious. Spago is also expensive and good, but lots of fun.
I agree that Water Grill downtown is amazing-the best seafood in town. Here are some other favorites:
Sushi -- Mori Sushi or Takao in West LA
Italian -- Osteria Angelini in Hancock Park area
French-- Lili's in Venice is lots of fun
Steak -- Boa in Santa Monica
Mexican -- Border Grill in Santa Monica

I like Lily's over Joe's next door in Venice, Opus is great; and we really enjoyed Kay & Dave's which just opened up on Pico across from Rancho Park.

We love Ocean on Ocean in Santa Monica. As the name implies, it is seafood. Wonderful place. Lovely service, selection, and location. We have dined and enjoyed the evening there many times. We are usually staying nearby so we walk around the 3rd Street Promenade after.

Last time we were there we met friends at the Viceroy down the street for a drink. It is a long walk, but do-able. Lovely evening.