The Top 100 Restaurants Near Tacos 1986
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Rank 1. Tacos 1986
Tijuana-Style
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Rank 2. Lum Ka Naad
Thai
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Rank 3. 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 4. Shin Sushi
Sushi
Taketoshi Azumi's two decades of sushi mastery converge at this spare counter where his singular approach to rice becomes a delicate platform for unusual nigiri—Japanese chives bound in crispy nori, barely torched cherry trout that smokes and melts at once. The mood is unhurried and convivial, the chef's presence infectious, and even solo diners find themselves woven into the room's quiet rhythm.
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Rank 5. Angel's Tijuana Tacos
Tijuana-Style
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Rank 6. Pasta|Bar
Contemporary
A Michelin-starred tasting menu in a strip-mall space where modernist pasta—crispy onion agnolotti, porcini tagliatelle—moves past tradition. The kitchen treats each course as a small, refined provocation, from bone marrow custard to sunchoke gnocchi with Ibérico pluma.
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Rank 7. Angel’s Tijuana Tacos
Tijuana-Style
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Rank 8. 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 9. El Cocinero Restaurant
Vegan Mexican
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Rank 10. The Brothers Sushi
Japanese
A spare, dark-wood counter and floral arrangements set the stage for chef Mark Okuda's refined sushi program, where halibut arrives in a martini glass with yuzu vinegar and micro shiso, and pristine nigiri—albacore, skipjack, bonito—speaks to a serious hand. The prices stay approachable even as the fish doesn't compromise.
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Rank 11. Anajak Thai
Thai
Anajak Thai channels five decades of family expertise through Chef Justin Pichetrungsi's poised balance of tradition and contemporary whim, drawing crowds to its freewheeling Tuesday tacos and monthly omakase. The warm service and memorably buzzy atmosphere deliver an unmistakably Los Angeles experience.
- The Infatuation Infatuation’s Highest-Rated Restaurants In America
- Wine Enthusiast 2024 · Forward 50 Restaurants
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Winner · Best Chef: California · Justin Pichetrungsi
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Rank 12. The Original Coley’s
Jamaican
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Rank 14. El Bacano
Dominican Caribbean
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Rank 15. Sincerely Syria
Syrian Middle Eastern
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Rank 16. Tacos El Vampiro
Mexican
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Rank 17. 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 18. Tacos 1986
Tijuana-Style
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Rank 19. 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 20. 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 21. 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 22. 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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- 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 24. 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 25. 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 26. 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 27. Sushi Note
Omakase Sushi
The dining room glows with moody colors and provocative art; Chef Kiminobu Saito cuts each piece of nigiri to order, balancing meaty scallop with truffle salt against perfectly aged New Zealand salmon. His seasonal omakase menus unfold with the precision of serious craftsmanship and a taste for rare flavors that justify the sleek venue's reputation.
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Rank 28. 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
- The New York Times 2025 · The Restaurant List
- Esquire 2024 · The Best New Restaurants in America
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Rank 29. Taqueria Mi Ranchito
Mexican
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Rank 30. Angel’s Tijuana Tacos
Tijuana-Style
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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 33. Nobu Malibu
Japanese
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Rank 34. 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 35. 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 36. ONYX Restaurant
Japanese
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Rank 37. Spago
Californian
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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 39. 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 40. 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 41. 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 42. 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 43. ALTO Fire to Table
Pampas
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Rank 44. 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 45. 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 46. Funke
Italian
In a 1930s art deco shell with soaring ceilings and red leather booths, Chef Evan Funke showcases handmade pasta through a glassed-in kitchen, each shape a small architecture lesson. Agnolotti filled with taleggio fonduta and finished in brown butter sauce announces an Italian restaurant confident enough to let its craft speak without apology.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Time Out #21 · The 40 best restaurants in Los Angeles you need to try right now
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · #19 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
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Rank 47. 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 48. 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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Rank 49. 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 50. 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 51. chi SPACCA
Steakhouse Italian
The wood-fired kitchen at chi SPACCA channels old-school steakhouse swagger through a modern Italian lens, with focaccia di recco and pollo alla diavola that improve with each return. Bold seasoning, live flame, and an Italian wine program of real depth make this intimate room feel both convivial and serious about meat.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- Time Out #14 · The 40 best restaurants in Los Angeles you need to try right now
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Rank 52. Petit Trois
Bistro French
A narrow counter perpetually cramped with diners, where French hip-hop plays against a canon of classical bistro dishes—garlicky escargots, steak frites, an exceptional omelet. The "Big Mec," a double cheeseburger with bordelaise, justifies the squeeze and the wait.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Time Out #24 · The 40 best restaurants in Los Angeles you need to try right now
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · #81 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
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Rank 53. Pizzeria Mozza
Pizza
The bright yellow façade signals Mediterranean ease, but inside Pizzeria Mozza, opened in 2006, the care runs deep. Puffy-crusted pies arrive topped with leeks and lemon zest or mozzarella and Fresno chiles, while the salads show the same precision in sourcing. A seasonally rotating lineup of cakes and gelato rounds out a place that transcends neighborhood pizzeria entirely.
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Rank 54. 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 55. 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 56. Din Tai Fung
Taiwanese
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Rank 57. 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 58. 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 59. 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 60. 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 61. Citrin
French-California New American
Chef Ken Takayama's kitchen marries French discipline with California's seasonal abundance, offering both à la carte and prix-fixe paths through dishes like artichoke agnolotti and skin-on rouget in bouillabaisse. The cooking justifies its ambitions whether you're gilding with caviar or content with the craft alone.
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- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Chef · Jeremy Fox
- Time Out #22 · The 40 best restaurants in Los Angeles you need to try right now
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Los Angeles Right Now
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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. 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 65. Meteora
Creative
The dining room unfolds like a fever dream—tangled vines, low light, hypnotic sound—but Chef Jordan Kahn's cooking grounds you in something real: live-fire technique married to sustainable sourcing, zero waste, wild ingredients transformed into dishes of real grace. Charred yam with smoked trout roe and hazelnut, scallops with burnt onion jus and plantain—each plate balances primal and precise.
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Rank 67. Din Tai Fung
Taiwanese
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Rank 68. 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 69. Kali
Steakhouse
Kevin Meehan's Kali resurrects the old-school Hollywood steakhouse—red leather, divided dining room, full bar—with enough architectural precision that the nostalgia feels earned rather than forced. The Creekstone Farms beef anchors a menu of classics (tartare, risotto, potatoes fried to order) that trusts tradition while the meringue gelato with cured egg yolk suggests someone's paying attention.
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Rank 70. Orla by Michael Mina
Refined Mediterranean
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Rank 71. 1 Pico
Coastal New American
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Rank 72. Lucia
Caribbean
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Rank 73. Budonoki
Japanese
- Esquire 2024 · The Best New Restaurants in America
- Eater 2024 · The Best New Restaurants in America
- Eater Best New Restaurant
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Rank 74. 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 75. Kuya Lord
Filipino
- Bon Appétit 2023 · America's Best New Restaurants
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Winner · Best Chef: California · Lord Maynard Llera
- Time Out #19 · The 40 best restaurants in Los Angeles you need to try right now
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Rank 76. 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 77. 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 78. Mini Kabob
Armenian Middle Eastern
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · The 101 Best Restaurants in California
- Time Out #31 · The 40 best restaurants in Los Angeles you need to try right now
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · #46 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
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Rank 79. 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 80. 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 83. 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 84. 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 85. 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 86. 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 87. Ardor
Californian New American
The dining room at Ardor inhabits the aesthetic of a high-end spa—cushy white velvet, verdant walls, and an air of unhurried luxury that mirrors its parent hotel. A vegetable-forward menu pivots between clean, bright plates like tandoor carrots and dukkah-crusted tuna, and richer indulgences like dry-aged lamb and tempura onion rings.
- Spirited Awards 2024 · Regional Honoree · Best U.S. Hotel Bar – U.S. West
- Spirited Awards 2024 · Regional Honoree · Best U.S. Hotel Bar – U.S. West
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
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Rank 88. Nardò Culver City
Southern Italian
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Rank 89. 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 90. Lalibela Ethiopian Restaurant
Ethiopian
Light pours through the windows of this family-run spot in Little Ethiopia, where a warm team presides over a spare, homestay-like room. Oversized silver platters arrive lined with injera, their vegetable dishes alive with berbere and turmeric, their finely chopped kitfo—particularly the spicy Somali version with prime beef and jalapeño—revealing an unshowy mastery of technique and seasoning.
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Rank 92. Hakata Izakaya Hero
Japanese
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in Los Angeles
- Los Angeles Times 2025 · #72 · The 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles
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Rank 93. 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 94. Pijja Palace
Indian/Italian
- Bon Appétit 2023 · America's Best New Restaurants
- Eater 2022 · The Best New Restaurants in America
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Best New Restaurant
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- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Los Angeles Right Now
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in Los Angeles
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Rank 96. Liu's Cafe
Chinese
Liu's Cafe fills quickly with regulars drawn to its counter-service rhythm and glimpses into a compact kitchen where house-made wontons swim in chili oil and braised pork belly arrives steaming over rice. Pastries—from morning arrival to citrus curd tart at close—anchor a menu that asks little of you except to arrive early and steep yourself in tea.
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Rank 97. Cobi's
Southeast Asian Thai
A pink cottage with mismatched tables and petal-strewn corners serves spirited Thai and Malaysian food, from crispy curry puffs to wood-grilled prawns in ginger sauce. The dining room's floral chaos matches an ambitious menu that refuses to settle on a single Southeast Asian voice.
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Rank 98. 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 99. Luv2eat Thai Bistro
Southern Thai
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Rank 100. Leona's
Fusion Japanese
Leona's occupies one of Studio City's more theatrical dining rooms, where creative types circulate among distinct spaces designed for seeing and being seen. The kitchen pivots between Japanese tradition and playful fusion—udon carbonara arrives with smoked pork belly and egg yolk, while halibut gets the sashimi treatment under ponzu vinaigrette—executing each register with equal conviction.