The Top 100 Restaurants Near Don Cuco Mexican Restaurant
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Rank 2. Chinchikurin
Hiroshima-Style
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Rank 3. Sushi Inaba
Sushi
Chef Yasuhiro Hirano works in near-anonymity behind a counter in a shuttered room, aging exotic fish with the precision of someone still discovering what sushi can be. Soba with uni, baby eel "udon," kombu-cured kasugodai—each course arrives as a small argument for silence. One seating nightly, a handful of seats, the kind of place you hear about in whispers.
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Rank 4. Ammatoli
Modern Middle Eastern
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Hospitality
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Dima Habibeh
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
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Rank 5. Sushi Sonagi
Omakase Sushi
An eight-seat counter open weekends only, where Chef Daniel Son orchestrates a tightly choreographed omakase that moves from delicate ankimo to minimalist nigiri. The dolsot sekogani—female snow crab heated in a stone pot until the rice crisps—arrives as the evening's fulcrum, its richly seasoned meat a brief, perfect argument for limitation and focus.
- 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 6. Mar'sel
New American
At the peninsula's edge, Mar'sel commands views of the Pacific from a dining room warmed by fireplace and careful service. Wagyu short ribs arrive with celery prepared four ways; a caramel pot de crème arrives with the confidence of a signature. The meal feels orchestrated, the room feels privileged, and the herb gardens outside feel like prelude to something refined.
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Rank 7. Nettuno
Coastal Italian
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Rank 8. Torimatsu
Japanese
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Rank 9. Wagyu Butcher
Japanese
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Rank 10. Sonoratown
Sonoran-Style
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Rank 11. Tigres Fuego
Mexican
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Rank 12. Sweet Rice
Thai
At a shopping-center counter in Gardena, a Thai breakfast shop serves jok—congee threaded with pork meatballs and fresh ginger—alongside noodles and soups that justify the pilgrimage. The mango sticky rice, when available, tastes like the meal's afterthought becoming its entire point.
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Rank 14. Ellie's
Southern Italian
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Rank 15. Otafuku Restaurant
Japanese
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Rank 18. RYLA
Contemporary Japanese
Ray Hayashi and Cynthia Hetlinger's contemporary kitchen in Hermosa Beach threads Japanese refinement through small plates designed for debate—a shared ox tongue curry rice arrives sweet and vegetable-forward, its buttery meat anchored by corn-kissed rice. Desserts like matcha tiramisu and strawberry shiso sorbet suggest chefs unafraid of playful contrast, each plate arguing for a second look.
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Rank 19. Holbox
Coastal Mexican
Gilbert Cetina works a counter inside Mercado La Paloma with the precision of a jeweler, coaxing impossible brightness from aguachile and ceviche with seafood so fresh it arrives still trembling. His grilled lobster and house-made tortillas, dressed in an arsenal of salsas, suggest that restraint and impeccable sourcing need no fanfare.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- 50 Best 2025 · #42 · North America's 50 Best Restaurants
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Outstanding Chef · Gilberto Cetina
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Rank 20. 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 21. Komal
Mexican
In the Mercado Del Paloma, Chef Fátima Juárez coaxes depth from heirloom corn nixtamalized in-house, each quesadilla and tlacoya a small study in restraint and smoke. The fried plantain in black mole and short-rib tacos demand salsa applied with purpose, not timidity.
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Emerging Chef · Fátima Juárez
- Bon Appétit 2025 · America's Best New Restaurants
- Esquire 2025 · The Best New Restaurants in America
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Rank 22. Kato
Taiwanese Chinese
Jonathan Yao's tasting menu at Kato announces itself with conviction: fish maw arrives with crab-shell vinegar and caviar; spice-crusted duck nestles into fluffy bao; pig ears blaze with chili oil. The Row DTLA dining room, all polished concrete and open kitchen, becomes an austere stage for cooking that draws boldly from his Taiwanese roots and refuses restraint.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- 50 Best 2025 · #26 · North America's 50 Best Restaurants
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program
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Rank 23. RVR
Japanese
- Esquire 2025 · Restaurant of the Year
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best New Restaurant
- The New York Times 2025 · The Restaurant List
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Rank 24. El Barrio Cantina
Mexican
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Rank 25. 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
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Best New Restaurant
- World Culinary Awards 2025 · Nominee · North America's Best New Restaurant
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Rank 26. n/naka
Kaiseki Japanese
Chef Niki Nakayama's intimate tasting room presents a graceful interpretation of kaiseki that moves between delicate broths and grilled wagyu, drawing on Japanese and California sources with a light hand. Her signature abalone spaghetti with cod roe and black truffle never leaves the menu, a flourish that signals her vision even as each course shifts.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Outstanding Chef · Niki Nakayama
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Nominee · Outstanding Chef · Niki Nakayama
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Rank 27. The Belvedere
French
The dining room at The Belvedere maintains the formal grandeur of old Hollywood without apology, all starched linens and architectural restraint. It is the kind of place where the ritual of a long meal feels less like indulgence than inheritance.
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Rank 28. The Attic
Refined Southern
A Craftsman bungalow on East Broadway shelters dining rooms appointed with brick fireplaces and floral wallpaper, where Chef Cameron Slaugh's plates marry Southern tradition with restless technique. Fried chicken and gumbo anchor a menu that pivots toward refinement—bubble and squeak, roasted cauliflower with cracked oats—before closing with powdered beignets and strawberry compote.
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Rank 29. Chiang Rai
Northern Thai
Inside a forgettable storefront lies a colorful, quirky dining room where Northern Thai specialties shine. The khao soi arrives as thin egg noodles topped with raw ribeye, then blanketed in hot curry broth that cooks the beef to silken tenderness—a dish that justifies the detour to Tustin.
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Rank 30. Tomat
Californian New American
A pale-green dining room dressed in rust-leather banquettes sets the stage for seasonal cooking that takes shape as evening falls. The kitchen moves deftly through local produce—charred vegetables nested in ajo blanco, a Liberty Farms duck split and crisped, dressed with pomegranate-walnut mole—and closes with sticky toffee pudding and burnt-milk gelato. The effect is farm-direct without the fuss.
- Esquire 2025 · The Best New Restaurants in America
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · #82 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
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Rank 31. 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 32. Baroo
Modern Korean
At a sleek concrete counter in downtown Los Angeles, Kwang Uh and Mina Park orchestrate a tasting menu that pivots between Korean tradition and precise technique. A seared Hokkaido scallop swims in watercress sauce studded with seaweed jelly; silky black cod arrives in a wide bowl where buttermilk is poured tableside. The meal reads as composed and assured, uninterested in noise.
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Best Chef: California · Kwang Uh
- Eater The All-Time Eater 38
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Kwang Uh
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Rank 33. Selva
Colombian-Inspired
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Rank 34. Si! Mon
Central American
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Emerging Chef · José Olmedo Carles Rojas
- Eater Chef of the Year · José Olmedo Carles Rojas
- LAist 2025 · Afro-Caribbean shrimp dumplings · Best Bites
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Rank 35. République
Southern European Mediterranean
A sprawling bakery and restaurant with soaring brick ceilings that pulses from dawn pastries through evening service, République channels a bustling European market hall. The Southern European menu pivots on impeccable ingredients—warm beignets, silky risotto, braised beef—executed with unfussy precision.
- 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 36. Mori Nozomi
Omakase Japanese
Chef Nozomi Mori conducts an eight-seat omakase with the restraint of someone who trusts her ingredients—flown weekly from Japan, paired with Santa Monica produce—to speak without ornament. From the silken chawanmushi that opens service to the final matcha, each piece arrives as evidence of her knife work and her conviction that refinement lives in what you leave out.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- Esquire 2024 · The Best New Restaurants in America
- The New York Times 2025 · The Restaurant List
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Rank 37. CUT
Steakhouse
Inside the Four Seasons on Wilshire, Wolfgang Puck's steakhouse commands a polished dining room built for high-stakes dinners. Creekstone filet mignon arrives with Armagnac peppercorn béarnaise; the wagyu tallow fries linger in memory long after. A temple to beef and power meals, unapologetically expensive.
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Rank 39. Two Hommés
West African/Californian
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in Los Angeles
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · #29 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
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Rank 41. Seline
Californian
Chef Dave Beran's tasting menu at Seline pivots between high-concept ambition and playful surprise, serving ice cream mid-meal and edible succulents in caraway soil. Black cod with wild bay laurel and lamb with burnt strawberry jus demonstrate his gift for balancing sophistication with an edge.
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Best Chef: California · Dave Beran
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · #13 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
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Rank 42. Vespertine
Contemporary
Jordan Kahn's avant-garde tasting menu unfolds in a striking red-steel structure, each plate a visual and technical marvel—scallop with passionfruit and horseradish tuile, flowers suspended in tomato water. The meal sustains its invention through dessert, with zero-waste ethos woven throughout.
- Michelin Guide 2 Stars
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · #33 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
- Bon Appétit 2018 · America's Best New Restaurants
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Rank 43. Pasjoli
French
Dave Beran's Santa Monica bistro channels unapologetic French cooking in a wood-and-brick dining room that hums with purposeful ease. Brioche with chicken liver mousse and pressed duck for two stake his claim; a chocolate soufflé clinches it.
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurant
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Los Angeles Right Now
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Rank 44. Alta Adams
Southern
A string-lit patio draped in vines sets the stage for soulful cooking that rewards group dining—golden fried chicken arrives juicy and spiced, alongside sweet potatoes and herb-touched black-eyed pea fritters. The buttery coconut cake tastes like an heirloom recipe, unpretentious and complete.
- Eater The All-Time Eater 38
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · #44 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
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Rank 45. Somni
Spanish
Chef Aitor Zabala has restored Somni into a Catalan dream of meticulous small plates—mussel escabeche, gazpacho, shiso tartare tempura—where kitchen and service move in perfect synchrony. The hushed dining room, anchored by a colorful bull's head, channels Spain through endless textural invention and restrained elegance.
- Michelin Guide 3 Stars
- The Infatuation 2025 · #2 · The Top-Rated New Restaurants
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · #50 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
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Rank 46. Damian
Mexican
A converted warehouse in the Arts District with polished concrete and exposed brick, softened by leather seating and trailing plants. The kitchen reads Mexican tradition through a lens of precision—corn tamales, uni tostadas on blue corn, fish tacos that feel both classic and startling. Industrial bones, refined technique, and a terrace that draws crowds.
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Emerging Chef · Jesus "Chuy" Cervantes
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Time Out #7 · The 40 best restaurants in Los Angeles you need to try right now
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Rank 47. Pizzeria Bianco
Pizza
Chris Bianco's Los Angeles outpost draws lines through ROW DTLA with a spare menu of impeccable pizzas, each one a small argument for precision over novelty. The margherita alone justifies the wait, though the biancoverde and wiseguy suggest he's thought carefully about what pizza should be.
- Foodist Awards 2025 · Food Pioneer · Chris Bianco
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · Fifty Under $50
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Rank 48. Love & Salt
Italian-Inspired
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Rank 49. Nando Trattoria - Manhattan Beach
Sicilian Italian
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Rank 50. Manhattan Beach Post
International
A sprawl of tables near Manhattan Beach Pier fills nightly with families passing small plates across worn wood. Chef David LeFevre sends out head-on prawns in saffron mayo, pork porterhouse with Asian pear kimchi—California cooking with global seasoning and an eye toward sharing. The noise, the crowd, the deliberate smallness of each dish: it's all in service of the meal as conversation.
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Rank 51. Fishing with Dynamite
Seafood
A small seafood restaurant steps from the beach, all sunlit wood and casual warmth. The raw bar anchors the menu—oysters and clams that the staff navigates with ease—while kitchen work stays spare: prawns in garlic butter, scallops over curry sweet potato. Cooking this clean needs no apology.
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Rank 52. 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 53. Camphor
French
An open kitchen hums with purposeful energy as Max Boonthanakit sends out French bistro dishes sharpened with unexpected invention—sea bream crudo meets green apple ice, scallop pasta swims in truffle-chive beurre blanc. The steak au poivre arrives classic and assured, its Cognac cream and crisp frites a reminder that reinvention works best when it knows what it's disrupting.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- Esquire 2024 · Provence Martini · The Best Martinis in America
- Time Out #18 · The 40 best restaurants in Los Angeles you need to try right now
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Rank 54. Pizzeria Sei
Japan-Italy Pizza
At Pizzeria Sei, a handful of counter seats frame the kitchen where chefs shape individual pies with a Japan-Italy hybrid sensibility—the cornicione puffed and mochi-tender, the Bismarck topped with a poached egg, the Margherita faithful. Gas and wood fire finish them equally well. Pizza as shape-shifter, refined and playful at once.
- 50 Top Pizza 2025 · #2 · 50 Top Pizza USA
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Time Out #23 · The 40 best restaurants in Los Angeles you need to try right now
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Rank 55. Sushi Nikkei
Nikkei
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- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Michael Procaccini and Stefano Procaccini
- LAist 2023 · Totti · Best Bites
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Rank 57. The Serving Spoon
Soul Food
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- Time Out #13 · The 40 best restaurants in Los Angeles you need to try right now
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · #75 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
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Rank 59. Bavel
Middle Eastern
- Time Out #4 · The 40 best restaurants in Los Angeles you need to try right now
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · #16 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in Los Angeles
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Rank 60. Gjelina
Mediterranean
Brick floors and climbing vines frame a garden-like room where young crowds gather for simply prepared Mediterranean cooking. Saffron spaghetti with bottarga and grilled hanger steak anchor a menu built around vegetables—Japanese sweet potato with jalapeño yogurt, oyster mushroom with tarragon butter—sourced largely from local suppliers and treated with evident care.
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Rank 61. 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 62. 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 63. 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 64. 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 65. Dulan's Soul Food Kitchen
Soul Food Southern
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Nominee · Outstanding Restaurateur · Greg Dulan
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Greg Dulan
- Time Out #25 · The 40 best restaurants in Los Angeles you need to try right now
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Rank 66. 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 67. Bestia
Italian
A warehouse-sized room with copper bar and suspended booths frames the cooking of Ori Menashe and Genevieve Gergis, whose kitchen moves easily between grilled prawns with serrano pesto, blistered pizzas touched with Sichuan peppercorn and wildflower honey, and truffle-laden pastas. The place hums with the contentment of both diners and staff, a dining room that feels genuinely loved.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Time Out #37 · The 40 best restaurants in Los Angeles you need to try right now
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · Fifty Under $50
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Rank 68. Parks BBQ
Korean
A room of framed celebrity snapshots and the low hiss of tabletop grills mark one of Los Angeles's steadiest Korean barbecue houses, where servers tend meat with practiced efficiency. Prime beef—from standard cuts to pricier American Wagyu—arrives lightly marinated, balanced by crisp kimchi pancakes and cold noodles that anchor each bite.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · 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 69. 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 70. Langer's
Deli American
A sprawling deli counter that has been ladling matzoh ball soup since 1947, Langer's commands booths and a national following with its encyclopedic menu of latkes, blintzes, and chopped liver. The No. 19 pastrami sandwich—Swiss cheese, coleslaw, Russian dressing—is the irreducible point.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- Time Out #40 · The 40 best restaurants in Los Angeles you need to try right now
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Rank 72. Borit Gogae
Korean
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Los Angeles Right Now
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · #66 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
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Rank 73. 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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Rank 74. Sora Craft Kitchen
Seasonal Turkish
- Esquire 2025 · The Best New Restaurants in America
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · #39 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
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Rank 75. Nardò Culver City
Southern Italian
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Rank 76. 715
Japanese
At an eight-seat counter bathed in ambient music, chef Seigo Tamura works in concentrated silence, aging larger fish in-house and building each nigiri with Osaka-style firm rice and a whisper of sugar. The seafood arrives from Japan—monkfish liver arrives excellent, beltfish gets a char and sansho pepper—while the sake list rewards lingering over a carafe.
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Rank 77. Manuela
Southern
In a stark gallery-like room within the Hauser & Wirth complex, the open kitchen channels Southern restraint through locally sourced ingredients and house-made cocktail components. Biscuits arrive warm and laminated; a roasted duck breast arrives bronzed and spare, balanced on smoked onion purée with peaches—the work of a kitchen that knows when to stop.
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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 79. 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 80. Mélisse
Modern French
Chef Josiah Citrin's Santa Monica flagship enters through a discreet side door into an underground room where French decadence—truffles, wagyu, dry-aged duck—arrives with tableside ceremony. Two decades running, it remains unabashedly luxurious, indulgent without apology.
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Rank 81. Dulan's On Crenshaw
Southern
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · Fifty Under $50
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · #56 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
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Rank 82. Redbird
Contemporary
A converted church in Downtown with soaring ceilings and two circular bars draws a boisterous crowd trading small plates and cocktails under the open roof. The global menu balances playful invention—Meyer lemon tart with blueberry frozen yogurt—against grounded dishes like John Dory in leek fondue, each confident in its own register.
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Nominee · Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service · Tobin Shea
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
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Rank 83. Coni'Seafood
Nayarit-style Mexican
The back patio at this family-run institution feels like the real dining room—a proper place to eat shrimp prepared three ways: breaded in tacos, head-on in chile and beer sauce, swimming in ceviche bright with lime. Since 1987, the kitchen has held steady to Nayarit traditions, sourcing from Sinaloa's waters, and a whole fried fish with chips remains as reliable as the morning tide.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Los Angeles Times 2024 · Tacos de marlin · The 101 Best Tacos in Los Angeles
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Rank 84. PhởHolic
Noodles
At this Westminster pho shop, beef broth simmered with anise achieves an almost meditative sweetness, drawing everyone from grandparents to Gen Z devotees. The kitchen forgoes shortcuts despite gentle prices, sending out massive bowls of uncomplicated, deeply satisfying comfort.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · Fifty Under $50
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Rank 85. Mariscos Jalisco - Boyle Heights
Jalisco-Style
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · 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 2024 · Tacos dorados de camarón · The 101 Best Tacos in Los Angeles
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- Forbes Travel Guide Forbes Recommended
- World Culinary Awards 2025 · Nominee · North America's Best Brunch Venue
- World Culinary Awards 2025 · Nominee · United States' Best Hotel Restaurant
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Rank 87. 1 Pico
Coastal New American
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Rank 88. 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 89. Destroyer
Contemporary
Jordan Kahn's Destroyer strips the room down to white walls so the plate becomes the only spectacle: avocado confit with onion ash, rice porridge layered with restraint and texture, chocolate crémeux dusted in frozen cucumber cream. Each dish reads as a small architectural problem solved.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · #14 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
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Rank 90. Orla by Michael Mina
Refined Mediterranean
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Rank 91. Spago
Californian
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Rank 92. Rustic Canyon
Market-driven New American
Rustic Canyon treats the farmers market as its playbook, building a menu of unfussy, sturdy dishes—terrines and roasted chicken alongside bay scallops in saffron—within a Santa Monica dining room whose warm light and close booths feel made for lingering. The seasonal cocktails arrive with the same market logic, and twenty years of community traffic has only deepened the place's sense of purpose.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- LAist 2025 · Chochoyotes · Best Bites
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · #48 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
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- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Chef · Jeremy Fox
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Los Angeles Right Now
- Time Out #22 · The 40 best restaurants in Los Angeles you need to try right now
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Rank 95. Din Tai Fung
Taiwanese
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Rank 96. Chulita
Oaxacan Mexican
Chulita's spare, sun-flooded dining room near Venice Beach sets the stage for Oaxacan cooking tempered by California sensibility. House-made tortillas wrap tender barbacoa and charred steak; the quesadilla de calabaza, filled with local cheese and topped with pipián, announces serious technique. It's a place where tacos arrive all day and vegan churros somehow don't feel like an afterthought.
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Rank 97. 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 98. Albaraka Restaurant
Palestinian Middle Eastern
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- Eater The 38 Essential Orange County Restaurants
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Rank 100. Sushi Gen
Sushi
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