The Top 100 Places to Eat Near Gusto Bread
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- James Beard Awards 2025 · Nominee · Outstanding Bakery
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Nominee · Outstanding Bakery
- The New York Times 22 of the Best Bakeries Across the U.S. Right Now
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Rank 2. Heritage
California New American
A converted Craftsman in the Rose Park neighborhood, far enough from the Long Beach waterfront to feel like a local secret. Heritage holds a Michelin star and runs a single multicourse tasting menu, priced more modestly than you'd expect, built around produce from the team's own nearby farm. The California cooking leans seasonal and fruit-forward throughout, savory and sweet alike. The sibling duo running the kitchen and floor keep things unhurried without losing the thread.
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- LAist Totti · Best Bites
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Michael Procaccini and Stefano Procaccini
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Rank 4. The Attic
Refined Southern
A Craftsman bungalow with a front porch, herringbone floors, and a brick fireplace that makes a convincing case for staying all evening. This is a refined Southern restaurant where fried chicken, biscuits, gumbo, and fried green tomatoes anchor the menu, with the kitchen adding enough unexpected turns to keep things interesting. The crowd tends toward date-night and linger-over-a-second-glass, which fits the room's cozy, parlor-like logic perfectly.
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Rank 5. Chiang Rai
Northern Thai
The facade is aggressively nondescript, which means most people walk right past a Northern Thai restaurant that the Michelin Guide has quietly noted. Inside, the room goes full color and quirk. The menu is long, but the Chiang Rai Local Food section is where to spend your attention. The kitchen defaults to gentle heat, so speak up if you want the real thing. The khao soi here swaps the usual chicken for thin-sliced raw ribeye, finished tableside by the hot broth.
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Rank 6. Ammatoli
Modern Middle Eastern
- Los Angeles Times The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- Los Angeles Times #43 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Hospitality
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Rank 7. Koi Japanese Cuisine
Japanese
A neighborhood Japanese restaurant in Seal Beach where the chefs know the regulars by name and the regulars never need a menu. The sashimi lineup alone draws them back, moving from kampachi and clam through several varieties of oyster before landing on nigiri finished with quiet precision. Nothing here is trying to be trendy, and the room seems glad about that. The Michelin Guide has it listed among its selected restaurants.
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Rank 8. Nettuno
Coastal Italian
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Rank 9. Ruta 15 Ceviche Bar Mexican Kitchen
Mexican Cocktail Bar
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Rank 10. Ellie's
Southern Italian
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Rank 14. Sushi Nikkei
Nikkei Sushi
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Rank 15. Kato
Asian, Contemporary
Jon Yao's tasting menu restaurant lives in the Row DTLA, where polished concrete and an open kitchen set a spare stage for cooking rooted in Taiwanese heritage and San Gabriel Valley muscle memory. The ten courses are not shy about seasoning, and the drinks program, a James Beard winner in its own right, pulls equal weight. Kato holds a Michelin star and a spot on North America's 50 Best, and Yao won the James Beard for Best Chef: California.
- Michelin Guide 2 Stars
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Winner · Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program
- 50 Best #49 · North America's 50 Best Restaurants
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Rank 16. Sonoratown
Sonoran
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Rank 17. Holbox
Coastal Mexican
Named for a Caribbean island off the Yucatán coast, this Michelin-starred coastal Mexican seafood counter sits inside Mercado La Paloma in South Central, sharing the space with six other vendors and no liquor license, so lemonade it is. The chef grew up spearing fish on that same peninsula, and the ceviches, aguachiles, and grilled lobster on heirloom corn tortillas taste like it. North America's 50 Best lists it at number 26.
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Outstanding Chef · Gilberto Cetina
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- 50 Best #26 · North America's 50 Best Restaurants
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Rank 18. Ramen & Tsukemen TAO
Noodles
Tucked into an easy-to-miss strip mall in Buena Park, this compact ramen shop seats maybe twenty people in a room that skips every non-essential, including ambiance. The menu is short and ramen is the clear center of gravity, from a rich, creamy spicy red miso to a lighter chicken broth that holds its own. The Michelin Bib Gourmand makes sense the moment the bowl arrives. Pork buns float in quietly and do their job.
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Rank 19. Maru Coffee
Korean Coffee Shop
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Rank 20. Hayato
Japanese
One seating a night, a handful of seats, and a reservation that requires the patience of a monk. This is a two-Michelin-starred omakase counter in a strip mall on East 7th, where the chef sources, slices, and explains every course himself, plating on Japanese pottery from his personal collection. The menu chases the season hard, and the sake list runs deep for anyone who wants to go down that road with it.
- Michelin Guide 2 Stars
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Nominee · Best Chef: California · Brandon Hayato Go
- Los Angeles Times #5 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
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Rank 21. Sushi Inaba
Sushi
A private counter hidden inside a sister restaurant, with one seating a night and a handful of seats that disappear the moment reservations open. Chef Yasuhiro Hirano's omakase leans on aged fish and unexpected pairings, producing nigiri and small courses that feel unlike what more familiar names are doing across town. It holds a Michelin star, and the Los Angeles Times put it among the city's best.
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Rank 22. Restaurant Ki
Contemporary Korean
You get instructions in advance on how to find the entrance, which sets the tone for what follows inside. Restaurant Ki is a ten-seat contemporary Korean tasting menu tucked into downtown LA, where the chef pulls global technique into Korean foundations without making a fuss about it. It holds a Michelin star, and a James Beard nomination for Best New Restaurant didn't hurt its reputation either. Worth finding the door.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- World Culinary Awards 2025 · Nominee · North America's Best New Restaurant
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Best New Restaurant
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Rank 24. Baroo
Modern Korean
Seats at the chef's counter let you watch the whole operation unfold at this sleek DTLA tasting menu spot from the husband-and-wife team behind it. The look is concrete floors and black-and-white walls, the format is modern Korean, and the pairings run alcoholic or not. The Los Angeles Times ranked it third on their list of the city's best restaurants in 2025, and the James Beard Foundation nominated the chef for Best Chef: California.
- Eater The All-Time Eater 38
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Best Chef: California · Kwang Uh
- Eater The Best New Restaurants in America
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Rank 25. Komal
Mexican
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Emerging Chef · Fátima Juárez
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- The New York Times Molotes de Plátano · The Best Restaurant Dishes We Ate Across the U.S.
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Rank 26. Orsa & Winston
Italian-influenced Japanese
Satsuki rice porridge finished with parmesan cream and uni tells you everything about what Josef Centeno is doing at this prix-fixe counter in Downtown LA. Italian and Japanese cooking share more DNA than people expect, and this Michelin-starred omakase-style room leans into that overlap with crudos brightened by fruit and herbs and seafood that reads Mediterranean one bite and Japanese the next. The open kitchen keeps it intimate, which is a polite way of saying you'll want to be paying attention.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- Los Angeles Times #25 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
- Time Out #12 · The 40 best restaurants in Los Angeles you need to try right now
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Rank 27. Sushi Kaneyoshi
Sushi
Finding Sushi Kaneyoshi, tucked into a basement of Little Tokyo, is half the evening. Once you locate it, the counter is serene and minimalist in the way that signals a serious omakase, and Chef Yoshiyuki Inoue fires a Michelin star from behind it. He throws pottery himself, and some of that handmade ceramics holds the courses. Every detail gets this treatment, down to the miso soup you'd normally ignore.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- Time Out #16 · The 40 best restaurants in Los Angeles you need to try right now
- Los Angeles Times #24 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
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Rank 28. Amor y Tacos
Mexican
Coca-Cola glazed pork belly and Doritos-dusted chilaquiles set the tone at this taco-forward Mexican restaurant in Cerritos, where the chef brings a fine-dining background to handmade tortillas and spicy salsas. The menu leans into LA's Mexican-American hybrid instincts, with truffle accents sitting comfortably beside beer-battered cod. It holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand and a spot on the LA Times taco list.
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Rank 29. El Barrio Cantina
Modern Mexican
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Rank 31. Knife Pleat
Contemporary, Modern French
A Michelin-starred French fine dining room on the third floor of South Coast Plaza, which sounds like a punchline until you're actually sitting at the chef's counter watching a pristine kitchen run through a prix fixe that manages to feel personal rather than ceremonial. Tony Esnault's cooking leans classic French with a roaming curiosity. The patio is a quiet bonus, and the whole place moves at a pace that makes a mall feel very far away.
- AAA Four Diamonds
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Los Angeles Times The 101 Best Restaurants in California
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Rank 32. Mar'sel
New American
The warm English muffin that arrives before anything else has, by all accounts, developed a following of its own, which tells you something about how Mar'sel operates. This fine dining room at Terranea Resort on the Palos Verdes Peninsula pairs ocean views and a fireplace with New American cooking that takes its time. Forbes Four Star service matches the setting. Dress accordingly, and leave room for the caramel pot de crème.
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Rank 33. PhởHolic
Noodles
Large metal bowls of steaming pho arrive trailing the scent of anise, and the broth is sweet enough that people come back for it the way some people return to a therapist. This Westminster pho shop splits its menu into beginner and adventurer sides, with noodle style and cut of beef chosen at the counter. The Los Angeles Times named it among California's 101 best restaurants, and the Michelin Guide has it listed too. Bring patience; the room fills fast.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Los Angeles Times The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- Eater The 38 Essential Orange County Restaurants
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Rank 34. Sushi Sonagi
Omakase Sushi
Eight seats, weekends only, two seatings a night: Sushi Sonagi runs on its own terms, and regulars plan weeks out to keep them. The omakase here comes from a second-generation sushi chef working a deeply personal menu, where female snow crab arrives in a stone pot, gets pressed into a crispy crust at the table, and then disappears fast. The Michelin Guide has had its eye on this Gardena counter, and the room fills accordingly.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Time Out #20 · The 40 best restaurants in Los Angeles you need to try right now
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Rank 35. Firstborn
Contemporary Chinese
Tucked into Mandarin Plaza on Broadway, this contemporary Chinese American restaurant and bar is the project of a first-generation chef cooking his own story onto the plate. The cocktail program is serious enough to earn national bartender recognition, so start there before the food arrives. Dishes are built for sharing, the kitchen is open to the room, and the whole setup feels more like a dinner party than a transaction.
- Esquire Bartender of the Year · Kenzo Han
- World Culinary Awards 2025 · Nominee · North America's Best New Restaurant
- Punch Best New Bartenders · Kenzo Han
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Rank 36. Holy Basil
Thai
- Food & Wine Best New Chefs · Wedchayan "Deau" Arpapornnopparat
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Los Angeles Right Now
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Rank 38. Vin Folk
Wine Bar
A neighborhood wine bistro a block from the Hermosa Beach strand, Vin Folk has a Michelin Bib Gourmand and the kind of regulars who look slightly smug about knowing it's there. The menu roams globally, with shareable plates that lean on good technique without announcing themselves. Reservations are genuinely worth planning around, which for a casual wine bar says something the room doesn't need to say out loud.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- Los Angeles Times #31 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
- Eater Best Place to Be a Regular · The 2025 Eater Los Angeles Award Winners
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Rank 39. Damian
Mexican
A repurposed warehouse in the Arts District with polished concrete, exposed brick, and enough trailing greenery that you half-forget you're surrounded by industrial bones. Damian is a full-service Mexican restaurant where the kitchen takes the cuisine seriously without making you feel lectured about it. The terrace fills fast, the cocktails are sharp, and the fish taco quietly outclasses everything you thought you knew about fish tacos.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Time Out #7 · The 40 best restaurants in Los Angeles you need to try right now
- Los Angeles Times #21 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
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Rank 40. The Ranch
Steakhouse
The popovers arrive with housemade tomato jam before you've even settled in, which tells you a lot about how this Anaheim steakhouse operates. Saddle-and-spur decor sets the mood at this meat-forward room, though produce from the restaurant's own farm keeps things from feeling purely carnivorous. The prime rib and scalloped potatoes are built for sharing, as is everything else, unless you've skipped lunch with conviction.
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Rank 41. Camelia
French Japanese
- Punch Best New Bartenders · Kevin Nguyen
- Bon Appétit America's Best New Restaurants
- Esquire The Best New Restaurants in America
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Jordan Kahn's two-Michelin-star tasting menu operates inside a structure Culver City locals call "The Waffle," a red steel lattice that looks like it landed from somewhere with better architecture. The food inside is just as committed to the bit: courses that are visually theatrical and technically serious, edible flowers floating in tomato water, flavors that feel like they were calibrated rather than cooked. Dress accordingly; this is not a casual Tuesday.
- Michelin Guide 2 Stars
- Bon Appétit America's Best New Restaurants
- Los Angeles Times #33 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
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Rank 43. Nep Cafe
Modern Vietnamese
- Eater The 38 Essential Orange County Restaurants
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Viet Nguyen
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Rank 45. Khan Saab Desi Craft Kitchen
Pakistani Indian
Pakistani-Indian restaurant on a Fullerton strip that otherwise runs to taquerias and carnicerias, which tells you something about how much confidence it takes to open here. The room is bright and a little hip, with a craft mocktail bar in the back. Beef is quietly central to the menu, though chicken and vegetable dishes hold their own. A Michelin Bib Gourmand, and on Eater's list of essential Orange County restaurants.
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Rank 46. Brodard Vietnamese Cuisine
Traditional Vietnamese
- Los Angeles Times The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- Eater The 38 Essential Orange County Restaurants
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Rank 47. YESS Restaurant
Progressive Japanese
- Condé Nast Traveler The best new restaurants in the world
- The New York Times The Restaurant List
- Esquire The Best New Restaurants in America
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Rank 48. Albaraka Restaurant
Palestinian Middle Eastern
- Los Angeles Times The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- Eater The 38 Essential Orange County Restaurants
- Los Angeles Times #32 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
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Rank 49. n/naka
Kaiseki Japanese
A single pasta course, spaghetti with abalone and black truffle, never rotates off Niki Nakayama's menu at this intimate kaiseki tasting room in Culver City. Everything else shifts with the seasons, moving through delicate broths and grilled Miyazaki wagyu in a long, unhurried procession. Getting a table is a project in itself, but Nakayama comes out at the end to say hello, which feels less like a formality and more like the point. It holds a Michelin star.
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Nominee · Outstanding Chef · Niki Nakayama
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Outstanding Chef · Niki Nakayama
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
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Rank 50. Dulan's Soul Food Kitchen
Soul Food Southern
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Nominee · Outstanding Restaurateur · Greg Dulan
- Time Out #25 · The 40 best restaurants in Los Angeles you need to try right now
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Greg Dulan
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Chris Bianco, the Phoenix pizza legend, brought his wood-fired pies to Los Angeles and the lines haven't stopped since. This is a pizza shop in ROW DTLA with a handful of pies on the menu, a takeout window, and outdoor seats where people happily eat standing up over open boxes. The Michelin Guide gave it a Bib Gourmand, which should settle the New York argument. Lunch adds sandwiches; the antipasto platter fills the gaps.
- Foodist Awards 2025 · Food Pioneer · Chris Bianco
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- Los Angeles Times #68 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
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- The Pinnacle Guide 2 Pins
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Nominee · Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Nominee · Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program
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Rank 53. Quarter Sheets
Pan-style Pizza
Inch-thick pan pizzas baked to order out of a tiny Echo Park shop with a vinyl and cassette collection on the walls. Quarter Sheets draws a crowd serious enough that a wait is part of the deal, and the pastries from the team's baker, a James Beard semifinalist, are a genuine surprise at a pizza counter. The Michelin Guide gave it a Bib Gourmand, and the New York Times put it on their restaurant list. Wear whatever you'd wear to a friend's place.
- Food & Wine Best New Chefs · Hannah Ziskin
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- Bon Appétit America's Best New Restaurants
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Rank 54. Rocio's Mexican Kitchen
Mexican
Chef Rocio Camacho has built a mole-focused Mexican restaurant in Bell Gardens around a question most kitchens dodge: why stop at one? The room is spare and unpretentious, the moles are not, running from an ink-dark Oaxaqueño to a spicy-sweet manchamanteles to a bright verde, each layered enough to hold your attention from first bite to last. A Michelin Bib Gourmand, and a James Beard semifinalist.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Rocio Camacho
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Rank 57. CHAAK Kitchen
Yucatán Mexican
Cochinita pibil marinated in citrus and achiote, pulled and served with fresh tortillas, is the kind of dish that makes Yucatán cooking click. This modern Mexican restaurant in Tustin focuses on the smoke- and spice-driven food of the peninsula, and it holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand. Mezcal cocktails come customized with tamarind and mole bitters, and the charred habanero salsa arrives whether you ordered it or not, which is the right call.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- Los Angeles Times The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- Eater The 38 Essential Orange County Restaurants
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Rank 58. Fable & Spirit
Modern New American
The dining room looks straight out over the water at Newport Beach, which would be enough for most restaurants to coast on. This modern New American spot holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand and earns it by pairing that view with a menu that swings from inventive vegetable dishes to an ambitious slow-roasted porchetta. The crowd comes for the scenery and stays because the food keeps surprising them.
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Rank 59. République
Southern European Mediterranean
The brick-and-skylight nave of a former bakery on La Brea sets the stage for one of those all-day operations that actually pulls off both halves. Mornings belong to the pastry counter, where the team's James Beard Award-winning work draws lines before the doors open. By evening the open kitchen is running a Southern European Mediterranean menu for a full dining room that never quite empties.
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Winner · Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker · Margarita Manzke
- World Culinary Awards 2025 · Nominee · North America's Best Brunch Venue
- Time Out The best bakeries in America
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Rank 60. Evil Cooks
Mexican
- Food & Wine McSatan · Best Dishes Our Editors Ate This Year
- Los Angeles Times #53 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
- Los Angeles Times Poseidon taco · The 101 Best Tacos in Los Angeles
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Rank 62. Alta Adams
Southern
String lights and climbing vines turn the back patio into the kind of dinner setting that makes you forget you're in the middle of a city. Alta Adams is a Southern restaurant on the West Adams corridor, and the kitchen cooks with the confidence of someone who has been making fried chicken and coconut cake their whole life. Portions run generous, which makes it a natural for groups. The chef was a James Beard semifinalist for Best Chef: California.
- Eater The All-Time Eater 38
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Los Angeles Times #44 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
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- Time Out The best Chinese restaurants in America
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Los Angeles Right Now
- Time Out #26 · The 40 best restaurants in Los Angeles you need to try right now
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Rank 64. Ototo
Japanese
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Winner · Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program
- Wine Enthusiast Forward 50 Restaurants
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Rank 65. San Laurel
Modern Californian Spanish
The tenth floor of a downtown hotel turns out to be a fine place to stare at Walt Disney Concert Hall while José Andrés's team works through a menu of modern Californian cooking with a Spanish lean. The facade opens fully, making the room feel more rooftop than restaurant. A Forbes Four Star. Earth tones, greenery, a busy bar, and a tomato tartare that arrives looking like the beef version but absolutely is not.
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Rank 66. Langer's
Deli American
The No. 19, a hot pastrami on rye with Swiss, coleslaw, and Russian dressing, is the thing strangers stop you to ask about when you're carrying it to your table. Langer's is an old-school deli, been around forever, with booths, a full menu of latkes and chopped liver, and breakfast served all day. The Michelin Guide gives it a Bib Gourmand, which feels about right for a place where the sandwich does all the talking.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- Los Angeles Times The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in Los Angeles
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Rank 68. Vaca
Rustic Spanish
The banquettes are printed with jokes, which tells you something about the mood at this rustic Spanish tapas bar from chef Amar Santana. Sherries and Spanish wines run deep, the bar area is a good-looking place to park yourself, and the kitchen sends out croquetas, paellas, and little grilled sandwiches layered with jamón ibérico and Manchego. Two outdoor patios round out the options when the weather cooperates, which in Costa Mesa it usually does.
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Rank 69. Omakase by Gino
Sushi
Distressed wood and exposed brick give this intimate Santa Ana sushi counter the feel of a tavern that took a sharp left turn into Japan. Chef Gino Choi runs an omakase where the mood is warm and unhurried, and the courses keep pace with his evident enthusiasm for the form. The Michelin Guide has it listed. Tucked into a quiet stretch of downtown, it draws the kind of crowd that drives past the freeway exits everyone else takes.
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Rank 70. Hana re
Sushi
Ten seats tucked into the back corner of a Costa Mesa shopping mall, which sounds like a punchline until you're actually sitting at the counter. Hana re runs a leisurely omakase that moves through composed dishes and delicate nigiri with the kind of unhurried calm that makes the parking lot outside feel very far away. The sake list gives you something to think about between courses.
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Rank 71. The Serving Spoon
Southern
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Rank 72. Moo's Craft Barbecue
Barbecue
Salt-and-pepper-crusted brisket smoked in the Austin tradition is the reason people line up at this Lincoln Heights barbecue shop. What started as a weekend backyard hobby grew into a proper room with a craft beer bar to keep you company while you wait. The Michelin Bib Gourmand is on record, and the James Beard committee has taken notice too. Come early; things sell out, and "we ran out" is the one review nobody wants.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Los Angeles Right Now
- Los Angeles Times #41 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
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Rank 73. Bavel
Middle Eastern
- Bon Appétit America's Best New Restaurants
- Eater The Best New Restaurants in America
- Time Out #4 · The 40 best restaurants in Los Angeles you need to try right now
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Rank 74. Mariscos Jalisco - Boyle Heights
Jalisco-style Mexican
- Los Angeles Times The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- Time Out #15 · The 40 best restaurants in Los Angeles you need to try right now
- Los Angeles Times Tacos dorados de camarón · The 101 Best Tacos in Los Angeles
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- Sprudgie Awards 2025 · Finalist · Best New Cafe
- US Coffee Championships #2 · U.S. Brewers Cup · Christian Bak
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Rank 76. Phở 79
Noodles
The clipboard by the front door tells you everything: this pho shop in Garden Grove has been an old-school institution long enough that the wait is just part of the ritual. The spartan room has a bright yellow wall covered in accolades, including a Michelin Bib Gourmand, and nobody glances up from their bowl long enough to admire them. The oxtail broth is what regulars order without looking at the menu.
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Rank 77. Sushi Ii
Sushi
An upstairs omakase spot above Pacific Coast Highway where the fish comes from Japan and the menu follows the seasons like it has somewhere to be. The kaiseki-style progression moves from delicate cold bites through sashimi and nigiri to dessert, each course composed with the kind of precision that makes you slow down mid-bite. Newport Beach casual this is not, but the room is chic without being stiff about it.
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- Los Angeles Times The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in Los Angeles
- Los Angeles Times #29 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
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Rank 79. Kuya Lord
Filipino
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Winner · Best Chef: California · Lord Maynard Llera
- Bon Appétit America's Best New Restaurants
- Time Out #19 · The 40 best restaurants in Los Angeles you need to try right now
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Ice cream mid-savory-course is either a provocation or a mistake, and at Dave Beran's Seline it's very much the former. This is a high-concept California tasting menu built around themes like the arc of the seasons, where a miniature garden of edible succulents arrives before lamb with burnt strawberry jus. Beran holds a James Beard Award for Best Chef: California, and the room earns the attention it gets.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Winner · Best Chef: California · Dave Beran
- Los Angeles Times #13 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
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- Time Out #13 · The 40 best restaurants in Los Angeles you need to try right now
- Los Angeles Times #75 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
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Rank 82. Poncho’s Tlayudas
Oaxacan
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Los Angeles Right Now
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Alfonso “Poncho” Martinez
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Rank 84. RVR
Japanese
- Esquire Restaurant of the Year
- The New York Times The Restaurant List
- Los Angeles Times The 101 Best Restaurants in California
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Rank 86. Camphor
French, Contemporary
A Michelin-starred bistro in the Arts District where the steak au poivre and golden frites hold their ground alongside some genuinely inventive plating. The kitchen leans French but isn't reverent about it, which is part of the appeal. The Provence Martini made Esquire's list of the finest in the country, so the bar pulls its weight too. It fills up fast and the open kitchen keeps the room loud and kinetic.
- Esquire Provence Martini · The Best Martinis in America
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Time Out #18 · The 40 best restaurants in Los Angeles you need to try right now
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Rank 87. Osteria Mozza
Italian
Dark-wood paneling and a white marble antipasti counter signal that this is not your red-checkered-tablecloth Italian place. Nancy Silverton's Melrose osteria holds a Michelin star and takes bread and mozzarella with a seriousness most kitchens reserve for the main course. The pastas are the draw for regulars, but the team is equally intent on pulling you toward the less obvious corners of the Italian table.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- Wine Enthusiast Forward 50 Restaurants
- Time Out #11 · The 40 best restaurants in Los Angeles you need to try right now
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Rank 89. Dulan's Soul Food Kitchen
Southern
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Rank 91. Parks BBQ
Korean
The photo wall by the door, stacked with chefs, actors, and politicians, tells you everything about how long Park's has been the go-to Korean BBQ spot in LA. Servers manage the tabletop grills for you, slicing and flipping prime cuts from bulgogi to galbi, with American Wagyu for the committed. The kimchi pancakes arrive on cast-iron skillets, hot and crisp, and the cold noodles cut through all that smoke.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Los Angeles Times The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- Time Out #29 · The 40 best restaurants in Los Angeles you need to try right now
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Rank 92. Lola Gaspar
Mexican
Handmade flour tortillas and hand-pressed masa are the foundation at this Mexican gastropub in downtown Santa Ana, where a post-pandemic reset trimmed the menu down to tacos, quekas, and churros and made each one count. The Bib Gourmand reflects that focus. Grilled tomato and dried chili salsa ties the tacos together; habanero salsa does the same for the quekas. Happy hour makes running the whole short list an easy call.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- Los Angeles Times Citrus marinated chicken taco · The 101 Best Tacos in Los Angeles
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Rank 93. Maru Coffee
Korean Coffee Shop
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Rank 94. Sushi Gen
Sushi
- Los Angeles Times The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- Time Out #32 · The 40 best restaurants in Los Angeles you need to try right now
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Rank 96. Antico Nuovo
Italian
A hand-cranked rotisserie sits at the center of the open kitchen, which tells you most of what you need to know about this Italian restaurant on Beverly. The room has the warm, dark energy of a place that knows it's good, with backlit booths and a crowd that books early. Hearty pastas, big proteins, and vegetables that actually want to be there. The New York Times put it on their LA list, and the Los Angeles Times ranked it in their top ten statewide.
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurant
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Los Angeles Times The 101 Best Restaurants in California
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Rank 97. Poppy & Seed
Modern Southern
Dinner inside a working greenhouse, with outdoor tables ringed by citrus trees and herbs, sets the mood before a plate arrives. Poppy & Seed is a fine dining room in Anaheim's Packing District built around organic, locally sourced Southern cooking, the kind where shrimp and grits shares a menu with steak tartare brightened by pickled sea beans. A James Beard semifinalist, it draws a crowd that dresses up without overdoing it and lingers well past sunset.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Michael Reed
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Rank 98. Pizzeria Sei
Japan-Italy Pizza
The thing that sets this West Pico pizza shop apart is the cornicione, puffy and pinched with a mochi-like chew that signals the Japan-meets-Italy premise before you've taken a proper bite. Individual pies come red or white, traditional or quietly strange, and a counter with a front-row view of the prep keeps the room honest. Ranked second in the country by 50 Top Pizza USA, Pizzeria Sei draws a crowd that treats a Tuesday like a reservation worth keeping.
- 50 Top Pizza #9 · 50 Top Pizza World
- 50 Top Pizza 2025 · Pizza Maker of the Year · 50 Top Pizza World Special Awards
- 50 Top Pizza #2 · 50 Top Pizza USA
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Rank 99. Henry's Cuisine
Cantonese
A scarlet lobster logo, shells painted gold and silver on the wall, and half the tables splitting one at any given hour make the signature self-evident at this Cantonese restaurant in Alhambra. Henry's is an unassuming room doing homestyle cooking that's increasingly hard to find, selected by the Michelin Guide and named to the LA Times' 101 best. Come at dinner when the full menu opens up, and ask what vegetables are in season.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Los Angeles Times The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- Time Out #34 · The 40 best restaurants in Los Angeles you need to try right now
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Rank 100. Somni
Spanish
A rainbow bull's head salvaged from the original location watches over the 14-seat counter like a totem, and that detail tells you everything about the mood here. Somni is a Spanish creative tasting menu in a converted bungalow just off Santa Monica, with three Michelin stars and a courtyard that feels like it was designed inside a dream. The chef trained at El Bulli, and the cooking lands accordingly: intricate, theatrical, and dead serious about having fun.
- Michelin Guide 3 Stars
- 50 Best #46 · North America's 50 Best Restaurants
- The Infatuation #2 · The Top-Rated New Restaurants