The Top 100 Places to Eat and Drink Near Tacos El Llano
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Rank 1. Tacos El Llano
Mexican
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- Esquire 2025 · The Best New Restaurants in America
- Eater 2025 · The Best New Restaurants in America
- Eater Best Comeback · The 2025 Eater Los Angeles Award Winners
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Rank 3. 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 4. Angel's Tijuana Tacos
Tijuana-Style
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Rank 6. Angel’s Tijuana Tacos
Tijuana-Style
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Rank 7. Taqueria Mi Ranchito
Mexican
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Rank 8. HomeState
Tex-Mex
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Rank 10. 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 11. Tacos El Vampiro
Mexican
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Rank 12. Panda Inn
Chinese
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Rank 13. Union
Italian
In Old Pasadena's brick-walled dining room, chef-driven pastas made fresh daily arrive in bold, shareable portions—roasted carrots on labneh, a platter-sized spaghetti and meatballs, torchetti wound with pork ragù and ricotta. The cooking speaks without hesitation, and the locally sourced ingredients taste like they mean it.
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Rank 14. Tun Lahmajo
Armenian Middle Eastern
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Rank 15. Bone Kettle
Southeast Asian
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Rank 16. TAI ER Sichuan Cuisine
Sichuan Chinese
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Rank 17. Agnes Restaurant & Cheesery
American
You enter through a cheesery lined with bottles, past owners who understand that good food begins with good cheese and wine. The open hearth commands the room while the kitchen cycles through fried chicken with sambal honey and house-made pastas that taste like they know their source.
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Rank 18. Barbacoa Ramirez
Hidalgo-Style Mexican
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · #17 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
- Los Angeles Times 2024 · Lamb barbacoa taco · The 101 Best Tacos in Los Angeles
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Rank 19. Fosters Freeze
Californian
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Rank 20. Luscious Dumplings
Chinese
A narrow storefront in Monrovia where dumpling discipline runs deep: the kitchen starts fresh each morning rather than freezing ahead, and it shows in the silken wrapper and snappy bite of boiled pork and celery jiaozi. The pan-fried versions, studded with pork or chives, are where the place justifies its lines—simple, focused, and difficult to fault.
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Rank 21. 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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Rank 22. Saucy Chick
Mexican/Indian
- LAist 2023 · Birra de Chivo Bowl · Best Bites
- Los Angeles Times 2024 · Birria queso taco · The 101 Best Tacos in Los Angeles
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Rank 23. King Taco
Mexican
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Rank 24. 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 25. Sushi Kisen
Sushi
Sushi Kisen operates with the controlled chaos of a Tokyo counter, rice yielding and generously proportioned, fish arriving fresh from Japan twice weekly. Regulars time visits for Friday's shipment; the place rewards efficiency over ceremony and pocket-friendly pricing over pretense.
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Rank 26. Chef Tony Dim Sum
Dim Sum Chinese
Tony He applies decades of dim sum expertise to a stripped-down Arcadia kitchen where steam rises constantly over shrimp dumplings crowned with roe and lotus-wrapped sticky rice. No carts, no pretense—just precise handmade bites ordered fresh.
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Rank 27. 626 Hospitality Group
Chinese
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Rank 28. 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 29. Panda Inn
Chinese
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Rank 30. Arturo's Taco Truck
Mexican
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Rank 31. Queen's Raw Bar & Grill
Seafood
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Rank 32. Bistro Na's
Manchu Chinese
Behind a strip-mall facade in Temple City, an expansive dining room in red and gold serves royal Manchu cuisine from the Qing dynasty's imperial kitchens. Signature dishes—shrimp fried whole and crisp, black pepper Angus beef—suggest the place favors opulence over restraint, best tackled with a group.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in Los Angeles
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · #88 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
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Rank 33. 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 34. Santa Canela
Mexican Bakery
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Rank 35. 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 36. Belle's
Bakery
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Rank 37. 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 38. Lao Xi Noodle House
Shanxi Noodles
In a modest Arcadia strip mall, Lao Xi strips away pretense with a focused menu of Shanxi noodles: the springy, hand-pulled strands arrive tossed with crisped pork belly and fermented soy, or tangled with lamb, each bowl a study in textural restraint. Pork and cilantro dumplings open the meal. The kitchen knows its lane and works it clean.
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Rank 39. Yang’s Kitchen
Asian-American
- Time Out The best Chinese restaurants in America
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Christian Yang
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Los Angeles Right Now
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Rank 40. Dai Ho
Taiwanese
A narrow Taiwanese counter in Temple City that opens at 11:30 and closes hours later, drawing lines of regulars who know the rhythm: scan the wall menu, order quickly, eat faster. The fiery beef noodle soup and sesame dry noodles arrive in minutes, their depth belying the speed of service. You'll be gone in twenty minutes, making room for the next shift of hungry eaters.
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Rank 41. Joy
Taiwanese
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Rank 44. Newport Seafood
Noodles
At Newport Seafood, the menu spans four Southeast Asian traditions in pursuit of one obsession: seafood prepared with salt, heat, and restraint. Chewy rice noodles studded with fish, salt-and-pepper crab, beef loc lac cooked with precision—the kitchen moves between cuisines with the ease of someone who understands them all. Portions demand company.
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Rank 45. 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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Rank 46. Maru Coffee
Korean-Inspired
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Rank 47. 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 48. Rosty
Peruvian
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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 50. 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 51. El Bacano
Dominican Caribbean
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Rank 52. 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 53. Sichuan Impression
Sichuan Chinese
A bright Sichuan kitchen where the hallmarks—tea-smoked duck, mapo tofu, fish in rattan pepper broth—arrive suffused with numbing oils and chopped chilies that build in layers. The airy room with its big windows lets you see what you're getting into, which is both the point and the pleasure.
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Rank 54. Sea Harbour
Cantonese Chinese
The dim sum arrives from the kitchen rather than a cart, each dumpling and bun steaming with purpose at this Cantonese standby in Rosemead. The preserved salty egg bun breaks open to reveal a molten yolk; the seafood dishes earn their reputation through exacting technique. What might coast on nostalgia instead commands respect through consistent execution.
- Chinese Restaurant Awards 2025 · #6 · Elite 30 Canada
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- James Beard Awards 2022 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Tony Ho
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Rank 55. Lunasia Dim Sum House
Chinese
Lunasia's elegant dining room forgoes the traditional cart, instead relying on attentive servers to ferry delicate dim sum—lobster noodle rolls with sweetened soy, gossamer rice wrappers—to your table with theatrical precision. The kitchen's discipline shows in every dumpling, whether you finish with a yolk-rich egg tart or a bowl of minced pork congee.
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Rank 56. Delmy's Pupusas
Salvadoran
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Rank 57. Henry's Cuisine
Cantonese Chinese
A modest storefront on Valley Boulevard where homestyle Cantonese cooking persists with quiet confidence, lobster painted silver and gold adorning the walls as a hint at what the kitchen does best. Salted-egg shrimp arrives delicate and bright; the deep-fried pig's feet crackle like chips; mustard greens with garlic offer a soothing counterpoint. This is cooking for people who know what they want.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · 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 58. Holy Basil
Thai
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Rank 59. Angel’s Tijuana Tacos
Tijuana-Style
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Rank 60. Morihiro
Omakase Sushi
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Rank 61. Mariscos El Faro
Sinaloa-Style
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Rank 62. 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 63. 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 64. Chengdu Taste
Chinese
No temperance here: Chengdu Taste brings uncompromising Sichuan heat, where toothpick lamb arrives cumin-dark and chili-bright, crispy beef stakes its claim as rival, and even shredded potato sings with precision and fire. The kitchen doesn't dial it back, and neither should you.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- Time Out #36 · The 40 best restaurants in Los Angeles you need to try right now
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Rank 65. HomeState
Tex-Mex
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Rank 66. Tacos 1986
Tijuana-Style
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Rank 67. 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 68. 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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Rank 69. 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 70. 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 72. Loreto
Seafood Mexican
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Rank 73. 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 74. Daisy
Mexican
- 50 Best 2026 · #44 · North America's 50 Best Bars
- Spirited Awards 2026 · Top 10 Nominee · Best New U.S. Cocktail Bar
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best New Bar
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Rank 75. Ipoh Kopitiam
Malaysian
A Malaysian café that draws lines from open to close, Chef Kenji Tang's succinct menu pivots from the neighborhood's Chinese norm with poached Hainanese chicken served cold alongside three sauces and seasoned rice, layered curry matched with flaky roti canai, and wok-fired char kway teow—each plate evidence of discipline in executing classics without flourish or apology.
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Rank 76. 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 2026 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Andrew Muñoz and Michelle Muñoz
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Andrew and Michelle Muñoz
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
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Rank 77. Pho Ngoon
Noodles
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Rank 79. Good Alley
Chinese Noodles
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Rank 80. M Joy
Chinese
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- Spirited Awards 2026 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best U.S. Bar Team – U.S. West
- Punch 2025 · Real Charmer Daiquiri · Our Favorite Cocktails
- Spirited Awards 2025 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best New U.S. Cocktail Bar – U.S. West
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Rank 82. 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 83. 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 2025 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best U.S. Restaurant Bar – U.S. West
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Rank 84. 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 85. 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 86. HomeState
Tex-Mex
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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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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 95. Azizam
Persian
- Bon Appétit 2024 · America's Best New Restaurants
- Esquire 2024 · The Best New Restaurants in America
- The New York Times 2024 · The Restaurant List
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Rank 96. 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 97. 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 98. The Original Coley’s
Jamaican
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