48 Best Restaurants in Los Angeles, California

This enchanting French brasserie offers a charming library, a bar with a fireplace lounge, a private dining room, a beautiful covered outdoor dining patio, and a large interior dining room. The talented chefs prepare traditional French fare that includes the best French onion soup, sliced baguette with Normandy butter, garlicky escargot, steaks, duck, fish, and pasta. Select from an appealing range of California and French wines to pair with your meal. Save room for the vanilla crème brûlée and chocolate mousse cake with pistachio ice cream. Sip mimosas during the elegant Sunday brunch.

A celebrity favorite for vegan and vegetarian diners, Crossroads's level of plant-based inventiveness knows no bounds. The dining room is dimly lit with red-leather booths and a full bar. Diners enjoy the artichoke oysters, eggplant short rib, pizzas, and house made pastas. They serve coffee and pastries on the weekends on the outdoor patio starting at 10 in the morning.

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. 

James Beard Award winner Suzanne Goin prepares innovative Mediterranean-inspired starters, shared plates, and entrées that pair nicely with her partner (and fellow James Beard Award winner) Caroline Styne's perfectly curated wine pairings. Try the Spanish fried chicken; wood-oven brioche with prosciutto, Gruyère cheese, and an egg; or arroz negro (black rice) with squid.

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.

The walls of this iconic Chinese restaurant tell a story with rows of black and white headshots of the Hollywood actors, and photos of directors and celebrities who have dined here since 1939. When the 1933 Group took over the building a few years ago, they refreshed the Chinese-inspired design with red lanterns, intricate woodwork, and Asian motifs. The scenic bar is popular during Golden Hour into the evening. What makes this restaurant extra special besides the delicious Chinese food and craft cocktails is the allure of dining inside a historic street car. Menu favorites include orange chicken, veggie bao dumplings, fried tofu and Chinese chicken salad. They offer a weekend brunch menu with avocado toast, steak and eggs, mimosas, and a classic Bloody Mary.

This spot comes alive the moment you walk through the rustic wooden door and into a softly lit dining room with long communal tables. Come later and the place heats up with an enthusiastic post-pub crowd lured by the seasonal menu and outstanding small plates, charcuterie, pastas, and pizza. Your endless starter options include pizza with house-made chorizo. For the main course, options include saffron butternut squash curry or braised pork belly with Oaxacan grits. Typically boisterous, the patio is a great hang-out spot and a gem for a Sunday brunch.

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.

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.

This local secret is as close to the beach—Zuma Beach, in this case—as you can get for a meal without getting sand in your drink. Stop in at this friendly spot for a cocktail, selections from the raw bar, a meal from the extensive menu, or one of the unique salads. From here you'll get a view of the water, dolphins, surfers, and celebrity locals taking a break on the wind-protected patio. The extensive happy hour on Monday through Thursday offers good deals on appetizers, beers, and cocktails.

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.

Just because Bea Bea’s is a no-nonsense kind of place, it doesn’t mean the food (of which they have a lot, like 23 different takes on pancakes a lot) isn’t special. This diner serves breakfast food that is about as close to extraordinary as the most important meal of the day can be. Plates are piled high but chances are you'll have worked up an appetite during perpetually long waits.

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 whimsical egg-and-chicken-theme breakfast and lunch diner is a family favorite. On weekends you may have to wait for favorites such as cinnamon roll pancakes, a variety of eggs Benedict, and shrimp and grits. They also serve Breakfast Republic Prosecco wine in-house, fresh-squeezed orange juice for mimosas, plus bottomless coffee, iced tea, four different types of Bloody Marys, and local So Cal craft beer to complement many of the creative unique dishes they serve. 

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 rooftop restaurant has great views and a Hollywood crowd. Sit at the large bar or get cozy in one of the teal brushed-leather booths for seafood and sushi. Signature favorites include truffle sashimi and Japanese Wagyu cooked table side on a hot rock. 

Inspired by the original Mayfair location in London, this modern classic Italian restaurant offers a menu filled with small Italian appetizers called ciccetti, ethereal handmade pastas with delicious sauces, and wood-fired pizzas and proteins.

Monique King and Paul Rosenbluh, the husband-and-wife team who took over Cindy’s in 2014, simply want to make great, accessible food for their Eagle Rock community. By doing so, they've established a neighborhood restaurant with reasonable prices and back-to-basics food in a retro diner atmosphere. Another reason to love Cindy's: they make almost everything in-house, including the smoked and cured meats.

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.

Escape busy Santa Monica State Beach to dine at this casual café and bar within the unfussy oceanfront hotel Shutters on the Beach. Head here at sunset for sophisticated, fruity cocktails and fresh seafood, like oysters, Dungeness crab, or a lobster roll, just one block from the Santa Monica Pier.

Inspired by the classic clam, oyster, and fish houses of New England, this beautiful space (the roof is arched like a wave) is occupied by a dressed-up crowd dipping fried calamari or spooning up Jo’s wicked-good chowda. Lobster rolls are insanely good, and you can never go wrong with the catch of the day.

The Arts District in DTLA continues to trot out some of the most exciting restaurants in all of Los Angeles, and Damian is simply the latest and greatest example to enter the space. Across from Bestia, the Enrique Olvera--helmed joint serves contemporary Mexican fare combined with California's bounty of excellent produce. Dishes like the mole verde and fish tartare tostadas wow your taste buds as they slide from spicy to creamy and back. The cocktails shouldn't be overlooked either with mezcal-heavy options that also incorporate Italian vermouths and Japanese sake. Buzzing inside and out, this restaurant has vibes for days, food to match it, and service that's second to none. Eat here to question everything you know or want to about what Mexican cuisine can and should be.

Pasta is served here dalla forma, meaning it's cooked, then dipped into a cheese wheel and stirred up until it's coated with melted cheese before serving. Catering to a higher-end crowd, Forma specializes in cheeses, pastas, and pizzas. It also serves small plates like fresh mozzarella knots, arancini balls, and crispy artichokes prepared Roman style. A generous happy hour from 3 to 6 lets you discover many of the specialties without breaking the bank.

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.

L.A.'s pandemic bagel boom is still going strong—even a New York Times critic admitted that some of the best are being baked in California these days—and Hank's hand-rolled bagels and bialys, especially the rosemary sea salt and salty chocolate chip flavors, are at the top of the game. Top them with creamy schmears, dip them in five types of salad including whitefish, lemony chicken, and potato, or mix and match ingredients like pickled onions, braised greens, and fontina to build a sandwich. To be honest, they're also pretty great fresh out of the oven and plain. Be aware that they close early if they sell out and all seating is outside. There are also locations in Burbank and Calabasas.

Founded by Santa Monica natives, Huckleberry brings together the best ingredients from local farmers and growers to craft diner-style comfort food with a chic twist. Nearly everything is made on-site, even the hot sauce and almond milk. The light, bright space is perfect for a quick brunch. Choose from savories like huevos rancheros with black bean puree or a Niman Ranch ham and Gruyère sandwich. Breakfast is served all day. Baked goods rotate frequently according to the seasonal whims of the pastry chef; the kouign amann is always a standout. Bonito Coffee Roasters coffee tempts from the extensive drink menu.