The Top 100 Places to Eat and Drink Near Panda Inn
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Rank 1. Panda Inn
Chinese
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Rank 2. Zhengyalov Hatz
Armenian Bakery
At this spare Armenian bakery, chefs work dough and griddle with the efficiency of ritual, stuffing flatbreads with a dozen chopped herbs—sorrel, spinach, scallions, beet leaves—that turn the interior a vibrant forest green and taste at once sweet, sour, sharp, and alive. One serves as a snack; several become a meal.
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Rank 3. Mini Kabob
Armenian Middle Eastern
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · #46 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
- Time Out #31 · The 40 best restaurants in Los Angeles you need to try right now
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Rank 4. Maru Coffee
Korean-Inspired
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Rank 5. Capri Club
Italian
- Esquire 2023 · The Best Bars in America
- Spirited Awards 2026 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best U.S. Cocktail Bar – U.S. West
- Spirited Awards 2025 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best U.S. Bar Team – U.S. West
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- Spirited Awards 2026 · Top 10 Nominee · Best New U.S. Cocktail Bar
- 50 Best 2026 · #68 · North America's 50 Best Bars
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Rank 7. Dunsmoor
Southern
Two open-flame ovens anchor this Glassell Park dining room where Southern cooking—oysters, rib eyes, braised greens—emerges charred and smoky from the coals. Communal tables and a counter facing the kitchen deliver the spectacle of fire, while a quieter wine bar in back offers refuge from the heat.
- Esquire 2023 · The Best New Restaurants in America
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Brian Dunsmoor
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
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Rank 9. Barra Santos
Portuguese
At this tiny Cypress Park counter, a chef works Portuguese family recipes with casual precision: bacalhau fritters arrive crispy-edged and tender, charred cabbage settles into white beans with Iberico pork and garlic butter, whole branzino swims in a verdant sauce of pumpkin seed and serrano. No reservations, but the bar seats offer an unobstructed view of the organized chaos that produces it.
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best New Restaurant
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Holly Fox and Adam Weisblatt - Last Word Hospitality
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Melissa López
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Rank 10. Kismet
Persian Middle Eastern
Kismet's Persian small plates—crispy phyllo pies, mushroom skewers with cashew cream—taste lighter than air, seasonal vegetables and bright spices never heavy. The staff glides through the room with the ease of a neighborhood institution that happens to cook at Michelin level.
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Sarah Hymanson and Sara Kramer
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
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Rank 11. Queen's Raw Bar & Grill
Seafood
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Rank 12. Found Oyster
Seafood
A sparse corner bar in East Hollywood where impeccably sourced seafood—sea urchin, razor clams, Maine scallops from the owner's family farm—needs only olive oil and lemon to speak for itself. The kitchen understands restraint, letting lobster rolls and trout dip announce their own excellence. No ocean view, no pretense, just a full house every night.
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Holly Fox and Adam Weisblatt - Last Word Hospitality
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Los Angeles Right Now
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- Punch 2025 · Real Charmer Daiquiri · Our Favorite Cocktails
- Spirited Awards 2026 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best U.S. Bar Team – U.S. West
- Spirited Awards 2025 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best New U.S. Cocktail Bar – U.S. West
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Rank 14. Santa Canela
Mexican Bakery
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Rank 15. Pine & Crane
Asian
A spare café across from Sunset Triangle serves serious Taiwanese cooking in a brick-and-concrete room that belies its ambitions. The three-cup Jidori chicken in clay pot and vegetarian mapo tofu show equal care.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Los Angeles Right Now
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · #76 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
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Rank 16. Thunderbolt
Southern-Inspired
- The Pinnacle Guide 2 Pins
- 50 Best 2025 · Sustainable Bar Award
- Spirited Awards 2026 · Top 10 Nominee · Best U.S. Cocktail Bar
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Rank 17. Donna's
American Italian
- Spirited Awards 2026 · Top 10 Nominee · U.S. Bartender of the Year · Linda Douglas
- Spirited Awards 2026 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best U.S. Restaurant Bar – U.S. West
- Spirited Awards 2024 · Regional Honoree · Best New U.S. Cocktail Bar – U.S. West
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Rank 18. Chifa
Chinese fusion Peruvian
Peruvian-Chinese fusion arrives in Eagle Rock through a team unafraid of velvet chairs and zebra stripes, pulling family recipes into a menu that moves from delicate sea bream to char siu pork cheek kissed by wood fire. The lomo saltado—filet mignon and onions glazed in umami gravy atop fries—arrives as the evening's inevitable crescendo.
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Rank 19. Quarter Sheets
Pan-style Pizza
Echo Park's Quarter Sheets serves thick, baked-to-order pan pizzas with assertive sauce and quality toppings—the pimento grove, spiked with 'nduja and olives, exemplifies their approach. The vinyl-lined room buzzes with the kind of casual confidence that draws lines, but Hannah Ziskin's rotating pastries, anchored by a signature Princess cake, justify the wait as much as the pizza does.
- Food & Wine 2023 · Best New Chefs · Hannah Ziskin
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker · Hannah Ziskin
- The New York Times 2023 · The Restaurant List
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Rank 20. Mae Malai Thai House of Noodles
Thai Noodles
A strip mall noodle shop that treats its boat noodles—thick-broth affairs with pork or beef, customizable spice—like the serious business they are. Order multiple bowls to hedge your bets, then steady yourself with their chili holy basil, a stir-fry that announces itself immediately and unapologetically.
- Esquire 2024 · The Best New Restaurants in America
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
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Rank 22. Delmy's Pupusas
Salvadoran
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Rank 23. Azizam
Persian
- Bon Appétit 2024 · America's Best New Restaurants
- The New York Times 2024 · The Restaurant List
- Esquire 2024 · The Best New Restaurants in America
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Rank 24. Holy Basil
Thai
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Rank 25. Morihiro
Omakase Sushi
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Rank 26. Taqueria Frontera
Tijuana-Style Mexican
- The New York Times 2025 · Taco al Pastor · The Best Restaurant Dishes We Ate Across the U.S.
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in Los Angeles
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Rank 27. Bridgetown Roti
American Caribbean
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Nominee · Emerging Chef · Rashida Holmes
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Chef · Rashida Holmes
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Best New Restaurant
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Rank 30. Backbone
European
- LAist 2025 · Roasted duck breast · Best Bites
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · #90 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
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Rank 31. Amiga Amore
Mexican/Italian
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Emerging Chef · Danielle Duran-Zecca and Alessandro Zecca
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Danielle Duran Zecca
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Rank 32. Belle's
Bakery
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- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Los Angeles Right Now
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in Los Angeles
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Rank 35. Providence
Seafood
Michael Cimarusti's tasting menu at Providence draws from pristine wild-caught seafood and classical technique, each course arriving with the fastidiousness of a jeweler arranging stones. A soft-poached egg trembling with uni, a lobster mousse tartare set in crab beurre blanc—the meal never falters in its commitment to clarity and restraint.
- Michelin Guide 3 Stars
- Forbes Travel Guide Forbes Four Star
- 50 Best 2025 · Michael Cimarusti · Chefs' Choice Award
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Rank 36. Saffy's
Middle Eastern
At Saffy's, open flames and the theatrical work of dough command attention—lamb and pork kebabs arrive from long metal skewers, while grilled lobster glazed in green harissa carries the refinement of fine dining. Bread ranges from delicate challah to pillowy laffa; dessert, anchored by avocado-honey soft serve with tableside sherry, refuses to be an afterthought.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- LAist 2024 · Dinner · Best Bites
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · #28 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
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Rank 37. Budonoki
Japanese
- Esquire 2024 · The Best New Restaurants in America
- Eater 2024 · The Best New Restaurants in America
- Eater Best New Restaurant
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Rank 38. Pijja Palace
Indian/Italian
- Eater 2022 · The Best New Restaurants in America
- Bon Appétit 2023 · America's Best New Restaurants
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Best New Restaurant
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Rank 39. Firstborn
Contemporary Chinese
Anthony Wang remixes Chinese-American tradition with disciplined technique—tender tofu dumplings, aged duck with persimmon—in a bright, open kitchen designed for sharing. Desserts like vanilla sponge with red bean sauce suggest a chef thinking beyond the obvious.
- Esquire 2025 · Bartender of the Year · Kenzo Han
- World Culinary Awards 2025 · Nominee · North America's Best New Restaurant
- Punch 2025 · Best New Bartenders · Kenzo Han
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Rank 40. Gwen
Steakhouse
By day a butcher shop dealing in humanely raised meats; by night, a glittering dining room where crystal chandeliers and a fireplace preside over wood-fired steaks and house-made charcuterie. The kitchen moves with purpose—lobster ravioli with confit leeks, smoked beets with leek ash yogurt—and a seat at the counter puts you in its thrall.
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Rank 41. Bar Flores
Latin
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Rank 42. Loreto
Seafood Mexican
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Rank 43. Jitlada
Southern Thai
A strip mall on Sunset Boulevard holds a Southern Thai institution with decades of loyal devotion. The catfish salad crackles with green papaya and heat; the Taepo curry—chicken, morning glory, coconut—arrives bubbling and aromatic. Jitlada's sprawling menu suggests a place less concerned with refinement than with the sustained, unglamorous work of getting dishes right.
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Sarintip “Jazz” Singsanong
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Time Out #8 · The 40 best restaurants in Los Angeles you need to try right now
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Rank 44. Joy
Taiwanese
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Rank 45. Tsubaki
Japanese
At this Echo Park izakaya, exposed brick and a convivial layout set the stage for straightforward Japanese cooking that doesn't announce itself. Kanpachi crudo arrives with ume ponzu; tempura and grilled skewers—chicken oysters, scallops—emerge without pretense. The sake list rewards curiosity, and everything invites sharing among the table.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · #37 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
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Rank 48. Rasarumah
Malaysian
Chef Johnny Lee's Malaysian kitchen greets you with a battery of sambals and moves into shareable plates of pork jowl satay, charred okra, and beef rendang that arrives in a deep, creamy curry with buttery roti. The prices sit above neighborhood casual, but the portions and technique justify it—this is cooking that respects ingredients and tradition without apology.
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Holly Fox and Adam Weisblatt - Last Word Hospitality
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- The Infatuation 2025 · #9 · LA’s Best New Restaurants
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Rank 51. La Descarga Hollywood
Cuban Cocktail Bar
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Rank 52. Moo's Craft Barbecue
Barbecue
In a handsome Lincoln Heights room outfitted with craft beers, Andrew and Michelle Muñoz smoke briskets to a mahogany crust and stuff sausages with cheddar and jalapeños in the style of Austin pitmasters. The sides—creamed mac and cheese, banana pudding—fill out the plate with the same care applied to the meat. Come early; the best items disappear.
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Andrew and Michelle Muñoz
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Andrew Muñoz and Michelle Muñoz
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
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Rank 53. Morihiro
Sushi
Chef Morihiro Onodera's sushi counter in a contemporary space traces LA's omakase lineage back through composed dishes and nigiri, with rice milled on-site and fish sourced from Japan. The meal closes with matcha and sweets served in ceramics he threw himself—a gesture that transforms ingredient precision into something intimate.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · #7 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
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Rank 54. Villa's Tacos
Mexican
Smoke curls across a Highland Park lot where Victor Villa's brick taqueria draws crowds for blue corn masa layered with refried beans, guacamole, cotija, and melted Monterey Jack. The signature queso taco arrives messy and filling, its heat amplified by homemade salsas that demand respect.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- Los Angeles Times 2024 · Pierna de pollo queso taco · The 101 Best Tacos in Los Angeles
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Rank 55. Baby Bistro
French
- The New York Times 2025 · The Restaurant List
- Wine Enthusiast 2025 · Top 50 New Restaurants
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · #51 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
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Rank 56. Fosters Freeze
Californian
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Rank 57. Carousel Restaurant
Lebanese-Armenian
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Rank 58. Bar Etoile
New American
At Bar Etoile, a compact bistro on Western Avenue, Chef Travis Hayden builds a streamlined menu around what the market offers: snap peas laid over smoked ricotta with nettle gremolata, striped bass with crispy skin and salsa macha, chocolate tart brightened by passion fruit. The wine list, French-leaning and vast, matches the cooking's philosophy that good ingredients need little interference.
- Wine Enthusiast 2025 · Top 50 New Restaurants
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · #59 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
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Rank 59. Flavors From Afar
International
A rotating kitchen staffed by refugees and immigrants channels recipes from Eritrea to Haida Gwai, turning homestyle cooking into a form of advocacy. The spicing is assured—cardamom and cloves brighten a goat pulao, coconut milk deepens an onion stew—and the mission, which funnels proceeds to displaced communities, feels inseparable from what lands on the plate.
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Rank 60. Courage Bagels
Montreal-Inspired Bakery
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Rank 61. Rosty
Peruvian
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Rank 62. Kuya Lord
Filipino
- Bon Appétit 2023 · America's Best New Restaurants
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Winner · Best Chef: California · Lord Maynard Llera
- Time Out #19 · The 40 best restaurants in Los Angeles you need to try right now
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Rank 63. Hippo
Cal-Ital Italian
A former post office in Highland Park now houses a Cal-Ital kitchen with exposed beams and an open fire, where crispy-crusted focaccia arrives unbidden and a grilled chicken with aji panca and almond-wood smoke justifies the warm, convivial room equally for two or ten.
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- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Bakery
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Gaby Maeda
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Rank 65. Little Fish
Seafood
Anna Sonenshein and Niki Vahle run a seafood counter in Echo Park where breakfast tartines and lunch sandwiches arrive without pretense. The beer-battered striped bass—American cheese, kewpie mayo, dill on potato bread—tastes like the kind of meal that justifies its own simplicity.
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Rank 66. HomeState
Tex-Mex
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Rank 67. Antico Nuovo
Italian
Backlit booths and a hand-cranked rotisserie grill set the scene at Chad Colby's compact Italian restaurant, where pastas stuffed with rabbit and roasted vegetables dressed in bagna cauda share space with focaccia topped in whipped ricotta and pistachio. The kitchen balances restraint and indulgence, the kind of place that takes its housemade ice creams as seriously as its proteins.
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurant
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
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An open-air shed in Lincoln Heights serves tender stewed meats and broths that taste like memory—carne en su jugo arrives as a complex, meaty soup of tomatillos and beans, while in-house tortillas cradle barbacoa in fierce tomato salsa. The limited menu and small staff's warmth suggest a kitchen mining something deeper than technique.
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Rank 69. Maury's
East Coast
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Rank 70. Angel’s Tijuana Tacos
Tijuana-Style
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Rank 71. doto
Californian/Japanese
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Rank 72. Perilla
Korean
- The New York Times 2023 · The Restaurant List
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Jihee Kim
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Los Angeles Right Now
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Rank 75. Evil Cooks
Mexican
- Food & Wine 2025 · McSatan · Best Dishes Our Editors Ate This Year
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Alex Garcia and Elvia Garcia
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Elvia Garcia and Alex Garcia
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Rank 76. majordōmo
Asian
A converted warehouse in Chinatown channels controlled chaos through an open kitchen where Asian flavors collide with purpose. Melon salad in fish sauce vinaigrette, spicy fusilli with kimchi and pork jowl—the menu pirouettes through snacks and noodles with the confidence of a place that knows what it's doing. Counter seats reward the persistent walk-in; everything else requires strategy.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · #58 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
- Bon Appétit 2018 · America's Best New Restaurants
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Rank 77. A Tí
Mexican
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Rank 78. Indigo Cow
Japanese
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Rank 81. Kali
Steakhouse
Kevin Meehan's Kali resurrects the old-school Hollywood steakhouse—red leather, divided dining room, full bar—with enough architectural precision that the nostalgia feels earned rather than forced. The Creekstone Farms beef anchors a menu of classics (tartare, risotto, potatoes fried to order) that trusts tradition while the meringue gelato with cured egg yolk suggests someone's paying attention.
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Rank 83. Restaurant Ki
Contemporary Korean
Chef Ki Kim's ten-seat Korean tasting menu hides behind an unmarked entrance in downtown Los Angeles, rewarding the hunt with playful dishes like truffle gimbap and charred snap peas with fish roe. Confident cooking threads global ingredients through refined courses, from barbecued squab to mushroom ice cream.
- 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 85. Etra
Italian
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Rank 86. Manila Inasal
Filipino
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Rank 87. HomeState
Tex-Mex
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Rank 88. Luv2eat Thai Bistro
Southern Thai
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Outsdanding Hospitality
- Time Out #30 · The 40 best restaurants in Los Angeles you need to try right now
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Rank 90. San Laurel
Modern Californian Spanish
A tenth-floor dining room with views of Disney Concert Hall serves modern California cuisine inflected with Spanish tradition, including a tomato tartare that subverts expectation. Chef José Andrés's team executes with precision across savory and dessert courses, the latter ethereal and balanced.
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Rank 92. Perle Restaurant
French
Perle occupies a snug corner of downtown Pasadena with mahogany tables and coffered ceilings that whisper old Paris without shouting it. Chef Dean Yasharian executes classical bistro cooking—Burgundy snails in herbed butter, duck à l'orange, a Grand Marnier soufflé—with the restraint of someone who understands that some wheels need no reinvention.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · #89 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
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Rank 93. Simón
Oaxacan
- LAist 2023 · Agua Chile Negro · Best Bites
- Los Angeles Times 2024 · Fish al pastor · The 101 Best Tacos in Los Angeles
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A bright room on Melrose serves pristine, sustainably sourced seafood with the precision of fine dining and the ease of a neighborhood spot. The fried fish sandwich arrives with crackling batter and sweet, tender flesh; a tuna melt balances richness with clarity. Seasonal California produce and confident seasoning throughout suggest a kitchen that respects its ingredients without pretension.
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Rank 95. Mideast Tacos
Middle Eastern
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Rank 96. Corridor 109
Asian Contemporary
An 11-seat counter behind Bar 109 where chef Brian Baik serves pristine Japanese fish with restraint and precision. Santa Barbara lobster tartare and charcoal-grilled sawara stand out in a tasting menu that rewards the reservation hunt.
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Rank 98. HomeState
Tex-Mex
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Rank 99. Osteria Mozza
Italian
Dark wood and white marble frame a counter where antipasti come together in real time. Nancy Silverton's team treats bread and mozzarella as separate languages within Italian cooking, moving with equal confidence through crispy chicken legs and orecchiette studded with sausage. A rosemary olive oil cake with brittle and olive oil gelato closes the meal with understated elegance.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- Wine Enthusiast 2024 · Forward 50 Restaurants
- Time Out #11 · The 40 best restaurants in Los Angeles you need to try right now
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Rank 100. Dan Sung Sa
Old-School Korean