The Top 100 Restaurants Near Taco Nazo
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Rank 1. Taco Nazo
Ensenada-Style
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Rank 3. Arturo's Puffy Taco
Tex-Mex
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Rank 4. Khan Saab Desi Craft Kitchen
Pakistani Indian
Chef Imran Ali Mookhi wields spices with precision, letting beef sirloin kebabs and Khan biryani sing on a menu that respects carnivores and vegetarians alike. The bright, hip dining room and craft mocktail bar make this South Asian outpost a welcome anomaly on a Mexican-dominated stretch.
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Rank 5. Kaori Sushi
Sushi
Lanterns crowd the intimate dining counter at Kaori Sushi, tucked into a Fullerton strip mall where the chef's nigiri—golden eye snapper, toro with wasabi, saba layered over shiso—proves the setting irrelevant. The focused menu balances sashimi's clarity with cooked experiments like mara udon and crab risotto, each plate executed with restraint that rewards close attention.
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Rank 6. Fuoco Pizzeria Napoletana
Neapolitan Pizza
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Rank 7. Luyu Dumplings
Chinese
A shopping-center back room where refrigerators hum and knife work echoes—this is dumpling devotion stripped to essentials. Handmade wrappers encase fillings like pork with lotus root or lamb with fennel; chewy noodles gloss with scallion oil. Comfort is nil, but the food speaks with quiet authority.
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Rank 8. Tacos Baja
Ensenada-Style
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Rank 9. Tacos Los Cholos
Mexican
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Rank 10. Eat Joy Food
Taiwanese Chinese
Tucked behind a Rowland Heights shopping center off the Pomona Freeway, this Taiwanese restaurant pairs soft piano and generous spacing with a tome of a menu dense in seafood and delicate consommés. The three-cup chicken and salty fish fried rice arrive glossy from the wok, their flavors precise and unhurried.
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Rank 11. Sushi Yuen
Sushi
Sushi Yuen delivers refined omakase at modest prices, opening each meal with silky shirako and miso black cod that signal the chef's restraint and precision. Seasonal nigiri flows from Japan; a finale of preserved persimmon atop house-made panna cotta lingers.
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In a strip mall in La Puente, Manohar's Delhi Palace serves unhurried Punjabi cooking with a warmth that extends from kitchen to table. The samosas arrive impossibly crisp, the chicken tikka masala glossy and restrained with spice, each plate suggesting a chef thinking more about balance than bombast.
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Rank 13. Tacos La Carreta
Mexican
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in Los Angeles
- Los Angeles Times 2024 · Chorreada mixto · The 101 Best Tacos in Los Angeles
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Rank 14. Albaraka Restaurant
Palestinian Middle Eastern
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- Eater The 38 Essential Orange County Restaurants
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · #32 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
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Rank 15. Amor y Tacos
Mexican
Thomas Ortega brings fine-dining precision to his native Cerritos, where handmade tortillas and house-made salsas meet unexpected flourishes—Coca-Cola glaze on pork belly, Doritos scattered across chilaquiles. His tacos range from crisp beer-battered cod to charred al pastor, each one executing a playful fusion of Mexican tradition and American invention.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- Los Angeles Times 2024 · Short rib taco · The 101 Best Tacos in Los Angeles
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Rank 16. Perro Exquisite Taco
Sonoran-Style
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Rank 18. The Ranch
Steakhouse
An urban steakhouse playing cowboy without irony: beef-forward, but anchored by vegetables from their own farm. The prime rib arrives impossibly tender with cast-iron potatoes and horseradish; popovers come with homemade tomato jam. A place built for sharing and for appetites that match its generous portions.
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Rank 20. Tacos El Toro
Mexican
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Rank 21. Poppy & Seed
Modern Southern
Inside a greenhouse bar overlooking citrus trees and herbs, Michael and Kwini Reed compose dishes from local farms and waters—shrimp over creamy grits, charred eggplant with steak tartare, Brussels sprouts candied with bacon jam. The setting enforces what the kitchen already knows: restraint and regional sourcing can feel like luxury.
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Michael Reed
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
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Rank 22. Kareem's Falafel
Middle Eastern
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Rank 23. Rajdhani Restaurant
Traditional Indian
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Rank 24. 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 25. Angel's Tijuana Tacos
Tijuana-Style
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Rank 26. 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 27. Knife Pleat
Contemporary French
Nestled above the fashion boutiques of South Coast Plaza, this third-floor dining room glows with the warmth of an open kitchen and a sheltered patio. Chef Tony Esnault's French foundation—steelhead with fennel, barley risotto with chestnut—yields gracefully to global inflection and composed desserts that taste of clarity.
- AAA Four Diamonds
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
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Rank 29. 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 30. 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 31. 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 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. 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 34. Ramen & Tsukemen TAO
Noodles
A modest storefront in an open-air mall houses bowls of ramen made with uncommon care. The spicy red miso arrives rich and creamy, noodles snappy beneath the surface; the chicken broth runs lighter but no less purposeful. Twenty seats, no pretense, every visit a reason to return.
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Rank 35. 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 37. 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 38. 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 40. 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 41. Sababa Falafel Shop
Middle Eastern
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Rank 42. 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 43. 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 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. 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 48. CHAAK Kitchen
Yucatán Mexican
Smoke and spice from the Yucatán arrive in Tustin through careful hands and an understanding of the peninsula's layered culinary traditions. Charred habanero salsa clings to crisp corn empanadas; cochinita pibil, marinated in citrus and achiote, yields to a fork beside fresh tortillas. It's cooking that takes its ingredients and history seriously, without performing either.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- Eater The 38 Essential Orange County Restaurants
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Rank 49. 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 50. 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 51. 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 53. 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 54. 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 55. 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 56. 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 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Holly Fox and Adam Weisblatt - Last Word Hospitality
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best New Restaurant
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Melissa López
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Rank 57. 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 58. 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 59. 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 60. Nep Cafe
Modern Vietnamese
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Viet Nguyen
- Eater The 38 Essential Orange County Restaurants
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Rank 61. 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
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · Fifty Under $50
- Time Out #37 · The 40 best restaurants in Los Angeles you need to try right now
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Rank 62. 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 63. Nettuno
Coastal Italian
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Rank 64. Brodard Vietnamese Cuisine
Traditional Vietnamese
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- Eater The 38 Essential Orange County Restaurants
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Rank 65. 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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Rank 66. 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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- 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 68. 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 69. 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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- 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 71. Macheen
Mexican
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Los Angeles Right Now
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · #93 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
- Los Angeles Times 2024 · Brisket taco · The 101 Best Tacos in Los Angeles
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Rank 72. Tacos Los Cholos
Mexican
- LAist 2023 · Tacos · Best Bites
- Los Angeles Times 2024 · Filet mignon tacos · The 101 Best Tacos in Los Angeles
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Rank 73. 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 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. Forn Al Hara
Middle Eastern
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Rank 77. Taquearte
Mexico City-Style
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Rank 78. 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 79. 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 80. Longo Seafood
Cantonese Noodles
A packed Cantonese noodle parlor in Rosemead where the kitchen moves with quiet efficiency, turning out sugarcane shrimp skewers with crackling exteriors, silken rice noodle rolls studded with char siu, and siu mai that arrive steaming and precisely seasoned. No dim sum carts here—just straightforward execution and the kind of popularity that fills the parking lot most nights.
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Rank 82. Vaca
Rustic Spanish
Amar Santana's rustic tapas bar in Costa Mesa pairs an extensive Spanish wine list with consistently executed small plates in a quirky dining room where the semi-open kitchen holds court. The bikini sandwich—jamón ibérico, Manchego, truffle oil on grilled bread—and golden croquetas de pollo suggest a place more interested in precision than spectacle.
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Rank 84. 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 85. Phở 79
Noodles
Phở 79 has been ladling oxtail-enriched broths since the early eighties, earning its reputation as a Southern California standard. The spartan room with its yellow walls fills nightly, a small price for broth that justifies the wait.
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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 87. 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 88. Sushi Gen
Sushi
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · 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 89. 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 90. Perilla
Korean
- The New York Times 2023 · The Restaurant List
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: California · Jihee Kim
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · #18 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
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Rank 91. 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
- Eater 2018 · The Best New Restaurants in America
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Rank 92. 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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Inside a nondescript mall corridor, Chef Ben and Ayako Sato run an intimate sushi counter where the menu changes nightly by hand. Kanpachi arrives barely kissed with heat and finished with yuzu; firefly squid yields to tender flesh beneath nori and scallion. What matters here is not the setting but the deliberate care—warm service, precise technique, a kitchen that understands restraint.
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Rank 94. 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 95. Taco Nazo
Ensenada-Style
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Rank 96. 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 97. 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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- 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 99. Nardo
Southern Italian
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Rank 100. 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.