7 Best Restaurants in The Valley, Los Angeles

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. 

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.

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.

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.

Muggles can feast on British pub fare and toast with butterbeer just like the boy who lived and generations of Hogwarts students at Three Broomsticks and Hog's Head, a snow-capped rustic tavern and bar found within the Wizarding World of Harry Potter section of Universal Studios. Wash down across-the-pond favorites—including shepherd's pie (there's also a vegan version), fish-and-chips, chocolate trifle, and bangers and mash—with four types of butterbeer (hot, cold, nondairy, and frozen). It's a great choice for diners with allergies as they have menus that cater to those who can't eat the top nine culinary allergens (milk, sesame, soy, tree nuts, etc.).