50 Best Restaurants in Los Angeles, California

For an extravagant dining adventure, step into Barton G and start with a tantalizing nitro-cocktail with a flaky lobster pop tart baking inside a bright yellow retro toaster. Drinks and dishes here are to be admired and appreciated in this fun and glamorous setting. A large carnival-style popcorn machine is delivered to various tables with Old Bay spiced popcorn and crispy shrimp with a sriracha aioli dipping sauce. Save room for a smoking treasure box with Valrhona 66% double chocolate bittersweet brownies and house-made Tahitian vanilla bean nitro ice cream, and a wig of pink cotton candy piled on a Marie Antoinette silver head.

Gracis Madre is known for its creative plant-based Mexican cuisine made from scratch. Everything is organic, non-GMO, and vegan, sourced from local and regenerative farmers. The large patio is popular on warm days and evenings. 

Sunday brunch at James Beard Award Finalist Wes Avila's MXO has churro French toast, yellow corn pancakes, and Puerto Nuevo lobster on the menu. Located in the heart of vibrant West Hollywood, the menu is a tribute to Chef Avila's Mexican roots and Los Angeles upbringing; the MXO stands for "Mexican Origins." The wood-fired preparations are at the heart of traditional Mexican cuisine infused with seasonal California ingredients. Try the sweet potato taquitos, grilled cabbage Caesar salad, and pork al pastor.

The Butcher's Daughter now has multiple locations due to its popular vibrant setting and plant-forward menu, café, and juice bar. Start your day with a Superfood smoothie or honey lavender latte; later enjoy mushroom "calamari," a quinoa bowl, or stone oven pizza. They also have a kid's menu. On Friday there is live music in the evening, and a live DJ set on Saturday starting at noon. 

As one of L.A.'s most celebrated Italian restaurants, chef-owner Gino Angelini's consistently prepares impressive classic dishes, like whole branzino, tagliolini al limone, veal chop alla Milanese, as well as lasagna oozing with besciamella (Italian béchamel sauce). Be sure to select one of the Italian wines to complement your meal.

The ultimate for steak and seafood, this scenic spot on the border of West Hollywood and Beverly Hills is an indoor/outdoor gem. Be sure to order the table-side Caesar salad, before perfectly prepared cuts of prime rib, signature 40-day aged steaks, or a grilled fish entrée. For starters, order the freshly baked Parker House rolls with two butters, and the signature goat cheese baklava topped with pistachios and honey. Elevated side dishes include a decadent truffle or lobster enhanced mac and cheese, and perfectly cooked grilled asparagus. The cheesecake is light and served with a scoop of salted caramel ice cream. A crowd favorite is the handmade giant cookies with vanilla ice cream.

This music-influenced doughnut shop has been credited for enlivening York Boulevard with fun vegan inventions. Donut Friend has evolved into a destination in its own right, touting both a signature and limited menu of purely vegan doughnuts inspired by the pop punk and emo music scene.

Open since 1931, this iconic spot is perfect for those craving a Mexican meal with a strong margarita. The colorful decor with string lights throughout add to a fiesta vibe. Servers wear traditional Mexican dresses and are friendly. The vibe is why locals return often. If it’s on the menu, make sure you get the ostrich tacos---they’re one of a kind.

Located in the lobby of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, this café is perfect for a quick coffee, snack, or lunch while visiting Museum Row. Or, splurge and sit down at Fanny's Restaurant for elevated contemporary cuisine in a sophisticated atmosphere. Its name is an homage to Fanny Brice—the legendary movie, vaudeville, theater, and radio star portrayed by Barbra Streisand in her 1968 Oscar-winning role in Funny Girl.

This French-style café, bakery, and market has a little bit of everything for those who dine-in or takeaway for picnics and meals at home. Inside there is a daily fresh deli and salad counter filled with imported cheeses, crispy baguettes, and appealing fresh pastries. People-watch on the outdoor patio while eating omelets and tuna melts. It's crowded on weekends; the key is to arrive early to secure your spot outside.

The award-winning Knowrealitypie, tucked away in a strip mall in Eagle Rock, is the passion project of Tracy Ann DeVore. Devoted to its artisanal touch, the pie shop is only open from Thursday through Saturday until it sells out (it often does). Indulge in its rotating menu of seasonal savories and sweet pies, turnovers, and other pastries in innovative flavors such as triple berry cabernet, summer peach macaroon, and caramel apple pecan.

There are a lot of Thai restaurants in Los Angeles, but none have quite reached the level of cult status of Night + Market Song. Its flavorful (and properly spicy) Thai dishes are practically mandatory when you’re in the neighborhood. Tucked between a free clinic, a small clothing store, and a tax office, this second rendition of chef Kris Yenbamroong’s popular WeHo restaurant is hard to miss with its pink exterior.

Waiting in line at Porto's is as much a part of the experience as indulging in one of its roasted pork sandwiches, walnut raisin batards, or guava-and-cheese refugiados. This constantly humming Cuban bakery and café has been an L.A. staple since Rosa Porto founded it 65 years ago. Crowds constantly fill two lines, even on weekdays, but it gives patrons time to peruse the colorful cases filled with both savory and sweet treats and counter service is quick and efficient. Whether you choose to eat a Cubano or clam chowder in a bread bowl in the recently enlarged seating area, grab a honey latte and try the brand new strawberry cheese croissant, or fill a to-go box with potato balls, chicken croquettes, or other fan faves, your stomach will thank you. 

This is widely considered one of the best seafood restaurants in the country, and chef-owner Michael Cimarusti elevates sustainably driven fine dining to an art form. The elegant space is the perfect spot to sample exquisite seafood with the chef's signature application of French technique, traditional American themes, and Asian accents. Pastry chef Mac Daniel Dimla’s exquisite desserts are not to be missed. Obsessed with quality, Cimarusti maintains a network of purveyors who often tip him off to their catches in order to ensure that the fish on your plate is the freshest in the city. The drinks menu is equally elevated with a creative non-alcoholic beverages available that can be paired with each course.

This stunning expansive restaurant was originally built for Charlie Chaplin back in the 1920s. Now there is a line of fans waiting to enter and smell the enticing scent of handmade croissants by award-winning pastry chef and owner Margarita Manzke. In 2023, Chef Margarita won a James Beard Award for Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker for her work at République. Her French delicacies and baguettes are better than most in the city. Her husband and co-owner Walter is known for his Dover Sole A La Meunière, beef short ribs, and roasted Liberty duck. A full bar keeps things buzzing throughout the evening.

Yardbird is a colloquialism for a domestic chicken, and as the name suggests, fried chicken is one of the main attractions here. Crispy white and dark meat chicken is made in a 27-hour process of coating, brining, and dredging in Grandma Lewellyn’s secret herbs and spices before going in the fryer.

With its extensive and eclectic breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus, coupled with the fantastic cocktail menu and charming little marketplace, you can easily spend all day eating at Bon Vivant. Patrons at this Atwater Village staple tend to adopt a slow pace, staggering orders of coffee, luscious crepes, small plates, and delicious entrées, all while embracing the laissez-faire attitude that is encouraged here. It’s a good thing they’ve got plenty of seating. There's live music on Sunday afternoon.

This family-owned iconic L.A. delicatessen opened in 1931, and is a local and celebrity favorite. The chefs continue to make their own corned beef and pastrami, plus bakery items and delectable desserts. Besides a variety of classic sandwiches, locals love the omelets and flavorful hot soups. The dining space is huge, so wait times are short.

Brewing caffeinated concoctions using Sightglass Coffee and Art of Tea products since 2018, this woman-owned café and breakfast/pastry pit stop is at its best when adding Latin flair to classics to create drinks like dulce canela chai, tamarind cold brew, or horchata (oatchata for the dairy intolerant) lattes. The vibe is a little mid-century mod, a little boho between the orb light fixture, angular couch, and displays selling crystals, handmade soap, and fresh flowers. Enjoy breakfast burritos and café de lola's alongside your pooch on the sunny patio or frijoles on toast with a flat white at the communal table up front.

Those who normally skip vanilla ice cream because it's so—well—vanilla should shelve their preconceptions and order a scoop of Carmela's beloved brown sugar vanilla bean. But this local fave also encourages a dive into more complex flavor profiles like carrot orange ginger sorbet. The toothsome ice cream sandwich will make you feel like a kid again.

In 1956, Ray Vega, who grew up in his parents' lauded Olvera Street café, headed to the Valley to make a name for himself by serving Cal-Mex hits—burritos, tacos, enchiladas, fajitas, and tamales. Regulars appreciate the cuisine consistency, the big portions, plethora of apps, killer mole, and the staff that treats you like family whether you come in every Sunday, you're visiting from Wisconsin, or you are Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio shooting scenes in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (Quentin Tarantino has a drink named after him). Apparently, the folks behind the James Beard Awards concur as they designated Casa Vega, now run by Vega's daughter who has smartly modernized it only subtly, as an American classic.

Mediterranean-inspired Casaléna, a bi-level maze of large luxe dining rooms, pretty patios and rooftop spaces decked out with dramatic chandeliers, modern art, potted trees, and fireplaces, is another example of the second generation successfully breathing new life into the family business. Befitting the space, the menu is also big, plucking ideas from Italy, Spain, and Greece and putting them through a California filter which results in mostly pasta, pizza, seafood, share-sized salads, and pricey cuts of beef. With a strong bar program, weekend brunch, and special occasion pricing, it's quite popular for date nights and big-group celebrations and, given the scope of the restaurant, it can get pretty busy and then noisy. Never enough however to keep you from the beet salad, the whole branzino in chimichurri, or fried squash blossoms.

This mid-century modern coffee shop serves today’s culinary hits along with tasty fresh baked goods. Classic diner decor is found in the 1960s-details like the lava rock wall, vinyl booths, counter seating, colorful wall tiles and terrazzo floors. Expertly prepared breakfast items are served all day: eggs and coffee are hot and pancakes are fluffy. Owned by Clark Street Bakery, the diner's artisanal bread and pastries are made daily. The avocado toast on organic sourdough is a satisfying start; hot sandwiches, like the patty melt and grilled smash burger, are paired with a choice of hand-cut fries or the best potato salad in town. Look for Hollywood creative types packed into the booths weekdays and families on weekends. Dinner Wednesday through Sunday nights features hearty plates, salads, pastas and breakfast choices including the popular diner breakfast and those fluffy pancakes.

Stop at this two-story locals' favorite for coffee and pastries, or choose from a long list of sandwiches for something more substantial. Sit out front and watch the crowds drifting in off the beach, or get cozy upstairs in one of the comfortable reading chairs.

Started by former music producer and Donut Friend creator Mark Trombino, Creamo is to Silver Lake ice cream as In-N-Out is to burgers. Everything is vegan in the shop; nonetheless, non-vegans will love its 16 soy-based flavors, many of which are named after pop-punk and emo bands. Crowd-favorites stay year-round, but two to three flavors rotate seasonally in addition to a new flavor every season. Not an ice cream fan? Vegan shakes like the Paramoreo, named after Paramore, might just change your life.

Come for chilled nosh items to share with family and friends, such as royal oysters, and warm noms that include veal meatballs and lobster escargot. They also have a variety of Melrose Pizzas, including a vegan version. A signature dish is Vin Scully loaded fries topped with sea salt, smoked cheddar, jalapeño, bacon, and ranch dressing.

This family-owned gelato shop has its roots in Italy and offers loads of flavors to cool shoppers off on hot Beverly Hills days.

Big hotel restaurants are rarely great, let alone adventurous with their dishes, but the Front Yard is an exception with its '70s living room look, excellent tunes, and star snacks including fried squash and waffles, 24-hour smoked carnitas in birria broth, and Rockefeller-style scallops. It has the kind of patio that makes you want to linger all day sipping the house rosé and throwing back fluffy cheese biscuits. It's quite a popular brunch spot as well. There are several oversized mains made to be shared including a whole branzino with chocolate mole and a fried chicken with a sweet and spicy chili sauce and mac 'n' cheese.

Its walls may be heavy with framed photographs of stars, and folks from the biz might regularly grace its tables for breakfast burritos and craft-your-own omelet, but this Cahuenga Pass diner is every bit as down-to-earth as your next-door neighbor, even after 40-some years. It gets pretty busy, but a plateful of that comfort cooking is worth the wait. If you’re in a rush, grab something caffeinated or a fruit smoothie from the Neighbarista.

A classic L.A. Mexican eatery, Guelaguetza serves the complex but not overpoweringly spicy cooking of Oaxaca, one of Mexico's most renowned culinary capitals. Inside, you'll find a largely Spanish-speaking clientele bobbing their heads to nightly jazz, marimba, and rock while wolfing down the restaurant's specialty: the moles. The intense flavors come from intricate combinations of nuts, seeds, spices, chilis, and bitter chocolate. Be sure to check out the pizza-like tlayudas topped with white cheese and tasajo (dried beef) or cecina (chili-marinated pork) and chorizo.