The Los Angeles restaurant scene is buzzing, with top American chefs flocking to the city for its affordable rents and emphasis on creativity. And it’s not all vegan dishes and green juices (although there’s plenty of that on offer too, if that’s your bag) – the city boasts one of the most diverse culinary scenes in the country, with everything from top-notch sushi and luxury Italian food to good old American staples like hot dogs and hamburgers.
With top menus spread across the urban sprawl, you’ll need to be prepared to travel, but it will be worth it. Our expert shares the best restaurants in Los Angeles below, and for more inspiration, check out our comprehensive guides to the city’s best hotels, bars, attractions and shops, plus how to spend a weekend in Los Angeles.
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Hollywood
Osteria Mozza
Named after the white Carrara marble mozzarella bar around which the restaurant revolves, Osteria Mozza serves some of the best Italian food in the city. Led by celebrity chef Nancy Silverton (who’s often behind the bar whipping up antipasti), this bustling, moodily lit spot in the center of town, with its dark green banquettes and starched white tablecloths, is an Angeleno favorite. The locals can’t get enough of the homemade pasta or the grilled beef tagliata, and what this woman can do with a ball of mozzarella has to be eaten to be believed. Ask for a table overlooking the lively mozzarella bar.
Contact: osteriamozza.com
Prices: £££
Reservations: Essential
Mother Wolf
If there’s one table in Hollywood right now, it’s a pink leather booth at Mother Wolf, one of the latest openings from LA-born pasta maestro Evan Funke. Don’t take my word for it – just ask Michelle Obama and Beyoncé, who were spotted having a tête-à-tête in the back room of the restaurant. They were there to enjoy the vibrant atmosphere and excellent Roman-inspired cuisine, which has put it on the map not only as a celebrity favorite, but also as a high-end restaurant that takes its food seriously. Funke’s cacio e pepe is legendary and his rigatoni all’amatriciana is also a must-order, but the non-pasta dishes are great too. There’s a raucous party atmosphere in the ballroom-like dining room every night of the week – and believe us when we say, this is an invite you’ll want to get your hands on.
Contact: motherwolfla.com
Prices: £££
Reservations: Unsurprisingly, getting a table here is like gold dust. Reservations must be made exactly one week in advance, or you can try your luck at the walk-in bar.
Pink’s hot dogs
What started as a pushcart in 1939 has now grown into one of LA’s cult dining destinations, with the intersection of Melrose and La Brea, where their hot dog stand now stands, recently being renamed ‘Pink’s Square’. There are always lines for their 30-member hot dog menu, which features concoctions named after celebrities like the Martha Stewart 9-inch stretch dog, which comes with relish, onions, bacon, chopped tomatoes, sauerkraut and sour cream. This isn’t fine dining – the plastic chairs are plasticky and the strip lighting is bright – but it’s fun.
Contact: pinkshollywood.com
Prices: £
Reservations: Walk-ins only
West Hollywood
Cecconis
The bustling LA outpost of this Soho House chain is one of the best places to spot celebrities. Located on the corner of bustling Melrose Avenue and Robertson Boulevard, this is where West Hollywood’s movers and shakers come for breakfast and lunch meetings when they want to be seen, and ask for a table on the covered patio. Their handmade pasta and wood-fired pizzas are popular, but this being West Hollywood, it’s their inventive salads that people really come for, like the Tuscan kale salad with almond, apple, parmigiano and seeds. Try to get a table on their bustling covered terrace.
Contact: cecconiswesthollywood.com
Prices: ££
Reservations: Recommended
Saltie girl
Saltie Girl is something of a Boston institution, known for its excellent New England-style seafood, and the brand’s recent opening in LA has proven just as popular. Located on the bustling Sunset Plaza, it has quickly established itself as one of West Hollywood’s busiest restaurants, with Margot Robbie and Beyoncé among its top fans. The restaurant is best known for its oysters and dizzying array of canned fish, but you can’t go wrong on the menu, from the lobster roll to the dry-aged branzino. Make sure you save room for dessert: the Sweet Boy chocolate chip cookies are a must-order.
Contact: saltiegirl.com
Prices: ££
Reservations: Recommended
Beverly Hills
Matsuhisa
Matsuhisa is the restaurant that launched the Nobu empire, opened by Nobu Matsuhisa over 30 years ago. Unlike his other restaurants, it isn’t ostentatious inside, with cramped wooden tables and subdued decor, and a gray silhouette of a 38-year-old Nobu painted on the wall, the only reference to the man himself. But the extensive menu is impressive, with a wide range of tempura, sushi and old favorites such as black cod with miso. The best place to sit is at the sushi bar, where you can watch the maestros at work.
Contact: matsuhisaverlyhills.com
Prices: £££
Reservations: Recommended
Centre
Red bird
Coming here is an occasion: the restaurant is housed in the rectory of the former Cathedral of Saint Vibiana. Well-dressed locals flock to sample Neal Fraser’s inventive dishes, such as shisito peppers with bottarga and crispy quinoa or lamb belly with charred eggplant, pickled walnut and mint, while sitting under the stars in the retractable-roof dining room. In addition to the warehouse-like space of the main hall, the restaurant has a number of smaller private dining areas, including an olive tree-lined garden complete with a pizza oven, the teal-painted cardinal’s quarters upstairs and the cathedral next door. now LA’s most popular wedding venue.
Contact: redbird.la
Prices: £££
Reservations: Essential
Bavel
This charming, plant-filled restaurant in the Arts District is one of the few places in LA where you can get really good Middle Eastern food – which goes some way to explaining why it’s always so hard to get a table here. Housed in a light-filled former warehouse, the menu covers a wide range of dishes, from Israeli and Tunisian delicacies to staples from Yemen. Be sure to order the signature dish – the malawach – which is a fried flatbread served with grated tomato, dill crème fraiche, strawberry milk and a soft-boiled egg. The bowls with creamy duck nduja hummus, slow roasted lamb neck shawarma and grilled oyster mushroom skewers should also not be missed.
Contact: baveldtla.com
Prices: £££
Reservations: Highly recommended – as long as you can get one. If that doesn’t work, there are still a few spots reserved for walk-ins at the bar.
Venice
The butcher’s daughter
This plant-based transplant in New York City has become one of Venice’s most popular spots since opening, especially for brunch. Located on trendy Abbot Kinney Boulevard, it has a pure LA atmosphere, with hanging potted plants, an impressive range of cold-pressed juices and plenty of vegan specialties (the restaurant calls itself a ‘vegetable slaughterhouse’). But real meat eaters will find a lot to love here too: their substitute chorizo, made from ground Impossible burger, tomato, onion, celery, red pepper and carrot, tastes just like the real thing.
Contact: thebutchersdaughter.com
Prices: ££
Reservations: Walk-ins only
Santa Monica
Michael
One of the pioneers of upscale California cuisine when it first opened in 1979, Michael’s is an LA institution. Impressively, they have managed to stay relevant and brought in a selection of young chefs to revitalize the menu. Their shareable, family-style dishes focus on local, seasonal produce: in summer you might find a spicy tomato salad with green peanuts and a dusting of black olive powder; in the fall, earthy sunchoke gnocchi. Expect a visit from the life-sized Michael McCarty, who still likes to walk around the tables in the leafy garden. Ask for a table in the jungle-like garden.
Contact: michaelssantamonica.com
Prices: £££
Reservations: Recommended
Malibu
Geoffrey’s
Geoffrey’s is a magical place, high above Malibu Beach, with beautiful views of the Pacific Ocean. It attracted Hollywood greats like Frank Sinatra and Lana Turner in its previous guise as the Holiday House hotel and still lures some of Malibu’s most famous residents, who come for the relaxed atmosphere and fresh seafood. Every table on the open-air patio (which they use almost 365 days a year) has an ocean view – come at sunset, order a plate of dayboat scallops and watch dusk fall and the moon rise from the Pacific Ocean.
Contact: geoffreysmalibu.com
Prices: £££
Reservations: Recommended
LAKS
In-N-Out burger
There are many LA branches of this fast food burger chain, but the most famous is the one at LAX airport, which was always the late Anthony Bourdain’s first stop when he arrived in the city (he even once called it his favorite restaurant in LA). Celebrities including Tom Hanks have professed their love for the burgers and the Vanity Fair Oscars afterparty famously served In-N-Out to their A-list guests. With its palm tree-tiled walls and red-and-white stalls, it looks more like a vintage diner than a regular fast-food restaurant; order a Double-Double burger (two beef patties, American cheese and their secret sauce) and see what all the fuss is about.
Contact: in-n-out.com
Prices: £
Reservations: Walk-ins only
How we choose
Every restaurant on this curated list has been tried and tested by our destination expert, who’s dropped by to give you his insider’s perspective. We cover a range of budgets, from neighborhood favorites to Michelin-starred restaurants – to suit the tastes of every type of traveler – and our recommendations take the food, service, best tables, atmosphere and price into account. We update this list regularly to stay informed of the latest openings and to provide current recommendations.