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Los Angeles may be known for its beach living and celebrity-infused backdrop, but it was once a farm town. The hillsides were covered in citrus orchards and dairy farms, and agriculture was a major industry. Today, even as L.A. is urbanized, the city's culinary landscape has re-embraced a local, sustainable, and seasonal philoso
Los Angeles may be known for its beach living and celebrity-infused backdrop, but it was once a farm town. The hillsides were covered in citrus orchards and dairy farms, and agriculture was a major industry. Today, even as L.A. is urbanized, the city's culinary landscap
Los Angeles may be known for its beach living and celebrity-infused backdrop, but it was once a farm town. The hillsides
Los Angeles may be known for its beach living and celebrity-infused backdrop, but it was once a farm town. The hillsides were covered in citrus orchards and dairy farms, and agriculture was a major industry. Today, even as L.A. is urbanized, the city's culinary landscape has re-embraced a local, sustainable, and seasonal philosophy at many levels—from fine dining to street snacks.
With a growing interest in farm-to-fork, the city's farmers' market scene has exploded, becoming popular at big-name restaurants and small eateries alike. In Hollywood and Santa Monica you can often find high-profile chefs scouring farm stands for fresh produce.
Yet the status of the celebrity chef continues to carry weight around this town. People follow the culinary zeitgeist with the same fervor as celebrity gossip. You can queue up with the hungry hordes at Mozza or try and snag a reservation to the ever-popular Trois Mec that’s much like getting a golden ticket these days. Elsewhere, the seasonally driven bakery and insanely popular Huckleberry in Santa Monica has been given a Brentwood counterpart with the rustically sweet Milo & Olive created by the same owners. In Culver City, a run-down International House of Pancakes has been turned into the ski chalet–inspired A-Frame Tavern. The Ace Hotel opened an L.A. chapter Downtown, creating a hip haven when you can enjoy cocktails and locally sourced menu items poolside or in the restaurant.
Ethnic eats continue to be a backbone to the L.A. dining scene. People head to the San Gabriel Valley for dim sum, ramen, and unassuming taco lounges; Koreatown for epic Korean cooking and late-night coffeehouses; and West L.A. and "the Valley" for phenomenal sushi. Latin food is well represented in the city, making it tough to choose between Guatemalan eateries, Peruvian restaurants, nouveau Mexican bistros, and Tijuana-style taco trucks. With so many dining options, sometimes the best strategy is simply to drive and explore.
Legendary Italian chef Massimo Bottura opened this spot, his first L.A. eatery, to loads of fanfare and celebrity sightings. The restaurant mirrors the Florence, Italy, location of the same name with a menu filled with favorites like a mouthwatering tortellini with Parmigiano Reggiano crema. The locale sits atop the roof of the Gucci retail outlet on Rodeo Drive with prime positioning for watching the high-end shoppers and glitzy denizens of the neighborhood.
347 N. Rodeo Dr., Beverly Hills, California, 90210, USA
Heaven for carnivores, this upscale European-style butcher shop and fine-dining restaurant serves wood-fire-cooked meats in a copper-and-marble art deco setting. From Australian celeb-chef Curtis Stone and his brother, Luke, and named for their grandmother, Gwen's butcher shop serves up quality cuts of humanely raised meats to locals during the day, while the elegant dining space within view of the glass-enclosed dry-age rooms, charcuterie curing, and roaring firepit elevates the smoking, searing, and roasting of those quality meats to an art form by night. The focus is obviously meat here but the seasonal sides, cocktails, desserts, and Australian coffees are superior, too.
6600 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, California, 90028, USA
It's a gem tucked within a treasure box: hidden within Citrin, a one-Michelin-star restaurant, is Mélisse, a two-Michelin-star restaurant. Chef-owner Josiah Citrin entrusts chef de cuisine Ian Scaramuzza to blend his modern French cooking with seasonal California produce at this Santa Monica institution. On any given night, the rotating,18-course tasting menu might feature Santa Barbara uni cromesquis, Kagoshima A5 Wagyu beef or a crab sabayon. The cheese cart is packed with domestic and European selections, and the dining room is contemporary yet elegant, with well-spaced tables and fine china.
The tasting menu can be tailored for vegetarian diners.
1104 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, California, 90401, USA
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.
5955 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, California, 90038, USA
Wolfgang Puck's flagship restaurant is a modern L.A. classic. Spago centers on a buzzing redbrick outdoor courtyard (with retractable roof) shaded by 100-year-old olive trees, and a daily-changing menu that offers dishes like smoked salmon pizza or off-menu schnitzel. Dessert is magical, with everything from an ethereal mango soufflé to artisanal cheeses. Opt for the tasting menu as it comes with a personal tour of the kitchen, and if you’re lucky, a meet and greet with Wolfgang Puck himself.
176 N. Canon Dr., Los Angeles, California, 90210, USA
One of L.A.'s finest sushi restaurants, Asanebo is an inviting, no-frills establishment serving top-quality sushi and a wealth of innovative dishes to an A-list clientele. The affable chefs will regale you with memorable specialties such as succulent seared toro (tuna belly), halibut truffle sashimi, or just simple morsels of pristine fish dusted with sea salt.
11941 Ventura Blvd., Los Angeles, California, 91604, USA
One minute you’re in an old library quickly converted into a lounge, the next you’re in the cabana of a modest country club. Yet Firefly's eclectic design is part of its appeal, and its excellent, if a bit pricey, French-American fare will make you forget all about it.
11720 Ventura Blvd., Los Angeles, California, 91604, USA
A power lunch spot for Hollywood deal makers, this strip mall sushi joint is decorated with fine art and serves up some of the freshest fish in L.A. No one would fault you for getting a table, but sitting at the bar and ordering directly from Chef Yoya Takahashi is another experience altogether. Twenty kinds of fish dominate the menu, which includes 30 celeb-inspired rolls, and one of the least expensive omakase meals around.
11043 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, California, 90025, USA
Tucked into the back of Sugarfish (a popular sushi chain) in the middle of Beverly Hills, this secret omakase (chef's choice) sushi spot has only 10 seats, where master chef Osamu Fujita slices up the freshest cuts of raw fish from a 20-course tasting menu. If you ever wanted to get a one-on-one with a culinary wizard, this is your chance as you sit a foot away from the chef while he prepares your perfect portions. Reservations aren't easy, but can be made 60 days in advance.
212 N. Canon Dr., Los Angeles, California, 90210, USA
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