Condé Nast TravelerAug 28
38 Best Restaurants in Los Angeles, According to a Longtime Local
How to know where to start, according to a local.
Feels like entering a piece of performance art.
25 things in this story
- Santa MonicaNeighborhoodEffortless beachside elegance, Italian classics with California sensibility.
- VeniceSuburbCoastal Mexican dining with an effortless, sun-bleached confidence.
- Melrose HillNeighborhoodCorner space flooded with sunlight, bone-colored tile, warm wood.
- SawtelleSuburbSwanky neighborhood bistro with dark wood and warm, low light.
- Echo ParkSuburbLocated to the northwest of Downtown, it borders with Silver Lake to the west and Chinatown to the east.
- BeverlywoodNeighborhoodA destination for those curious about Nordic technique.
- Fairfax DistrictNeighborhoodTheatrical space with 1950s Havana glamour, modern Afro-Caribbean food.
- East HollywoodQuarterRelaxed Middle Eastern restaurant with retro-modern Moroccan room.
- South CentralNeighborhoodBright food kiosk inside LA's Mercado La Paloma.
- Downtown LANeighborhoodDining inside a former cathedral, modern American cuisine.
- SilverlakeNeighborhoodCaptures Spanish conviviality with warm, boisterous atmosphere.
- West HollywoodNeighborhoodFeels like entering a piece of performance art.
- Eagle RockSuburbRustic-meets-refined interior, smells of wood smoke.
- Little TokyoQuarterUnderstated sushi spot with clean lines and natural materials.
- San DamianRestaurantIt's Enrique Olvera's crew doing coastal Mexican right on Abbot Kinney, and the room has that same effortless,…
- Little FishTheatreAugust 21-September 13, 2026 – NOW EXTENDED UNTIL SEPT 13, with an added TalkBack on Sept 5!
- The MulberryPlace of worshipSteak tartare in a stone pot; warm, low light.
- Baby BistroRestaurantYou enter through Alpine Courtyard's brick-lined garden, past banana trees and bougainvillea, before finding Baby…
- LielleRestaurantYou descend a staircase into a world of cork-vaulted ceilings, silver-leafed walls, mirror-tipped bulbs that cast the…
- LuciaRestaurantTheatrical, 1950s Havana glamour, modern Afro-Caribbean food.
- FirstbornRestaurantMandarin Plaza doesn't scream "hot new restaurant,” and that suits locals just fine.
- Saffy'sRestaurantRagù of wild mushroom with tofu gnudi.
- Victor HeightsNeighborhood
- ChinatownSuburb
- Thai TownNeighborhood