The Best Restaurants in Los Angeles Right Now

Los Angeles is, without a doubt, one of the world's great culinary destinations. Southern California's sprawling metropolis is home to many large immigrant communities, some of them having claimed their own neighborhoods: Koreatown, Thai Town, Historic Filipinotown, Little Ethiopia. Tamale carts and taco stands populate the city’s intersections, and chefs' access to pristine produce—by way of top-tier farmers' markets—is unparalleled.

And, because L.A. is so far west and relatively young (as far as history books account for), tradition doesn't count for much which makes the food scene uniquely unbound. A Taiwanese American tasting menu offering a brilliant nonalcoholic beverage pairing, an Indian sports bar serving dosa-battered onion rings and achaari buffalo wings, and a Venezuelan Californian café pairing strawberry matcha lattes with jamón serrano-stuffed arepas all fit right in.

Surrounded by ocean and mountains, L.A. is also ripe for nature-oriented expeditions, from foraging fruit trees to hiking, filling the time between meals. A word to the wise: visiting requires a bit of geographical strategy. Crossing the city several times a day means hours in traffic, so depending on how long you're staying, it's best to pick a pocket—Eastside, Westside, or Central—and keep your exploration contained. Venture further only for particularly special destinations, some of which we highlight below.

Here's how to best enjoy your time in Los Angeles.

Start with the best croissants at the farmer’s market, or a robust Japanese breakfast in Alhambra

The croissants at Clémence de Lutz's Petitgrain Boulangerie in Santa Monica—made with a blend of local, wholegrain flours and ample grass-fed cultured French butter—rival (honestly exceed) those of the finest Parisian boulangerie. Almost every ingredient used on-site is sourced from farms around Los Angeles, making it a natural rite of passage before or after a visit to the bountiful Santa Monica Farmers' Market (best on Wednesdays, when it becomes a see-and-be-seen chef scene). Other can't-miss pastries at this French-American gem include a spelt oatmeal raisin cookie studded with rum-soaked K&K Ranch raisins and a giant, extra-plush blueberry scone

When you’re ready for breakfast proper, it’s time for Yang's Kitchen, in the San Gabriel Valley town of Alhambra. There, you’ll find miso soup; tie-dyed purple multigrain rice; steamed seasonal vegetables; house pickles; half a soy egg; and your choice of protein, from braised Meiji tofu to pastured chicken thigh (we recommend the dry-aged steelhead trout, marinated in yuzu miso). Add a fresh-squeezed citrus juice and the requisite cornmeal mochi pancake for the table, and you have a breakfast of the Gods. Chris Yang's California-Chinese comfort food restaurant is open for dinner, too, serving smoked pork jowl cha siu and "Hainan" fish rice, but mornings here are hard to beat.

Caffeinate before you take in some vistas

Hooked operates as a permanent a.m. coffee pop-up inside Dudley Market, the delightful elevated fish shack situated a half-block from Venice Beach. It's helmed by Nicely Abel, an award-winning barista whose silky cappuccinos will blow any coffee head's mind.

His versions of the usuals (cold brew, mocha, flat white) are exceptional, and he also offers specialty creations like the Steamwand Willie, an iced Americano whose texture resembles a stout. Abel prefers you stay (he'll only make a few drinks to go), so settle into the beachy dining room environs, then, once fueled, head to hike Los Leones Trail in the nearby Palisades, where the views of the Pacific are breathtaking—and which can be moderate or challenging, depending on how far you climb.

If you’re seeking treats with your coffee, head to the town of Montrose, where, perched at the foothills of the Angeles National Forest, you’ll find a serene coffee shop occupying a former laundromat. The headily-named How's It Going To End? is owned by Michelle Hantoot, a veteran of the L.A. third-wave coffee scene (Dinosaur Coffee, Caffe Luxxe), and has a sneakily stellar sweets program, thanks to pastry chef Molly Donnellon (formerly of Quarter Sheets), who rotates the case according to her whims. Grown-up peanut butter-filled cheese cracker sandwiches? Why not! Corn ice cream in the summertime? Absolutely. Enjoy your expertly crafted coffee among native California plants, then get more deeply acquainted with nature at Cobb Estate—a gorgeous hike in Altadena, a 20-minute drive away—that delivers a local history lesson at the top.

Stop in for a leafy lunch—but avoid the lines

You're in L.A., so you're craving salad, right? Right. At Café Telegrama you'll find stellar spins on the classics dished out on the sunny patio in appropriately generous portions. The Chinese chicken salad is ingeniously laden with wonton breadcrumbs instead of fried strips, while the perfectly chopped Cobb—i.e., not into tiny pieces, we're not birds—forgoes avocado and hard-boiled egg to cut the richness, for a masterfully balanced combination of chicken, bacon, cherry tomatoes, and blue cheese.

And because Telegrama is a certified chic café, there's also an elite iced tea program. Plus one of the city's best tuna melts, for those in the mood for carbs. Afterward, grab dessert at Chainsaw; ideally a slice of passionfruit lime icebox pie courtesy of chef-owner Karla Subero Pittol.

Sous-chef Patricia Chavez from across the pass.

A short drive south will lead you to Mercado La Paloma in Historic South-Central, where you're likely to see a line snaking out the front door. Don't fret: it's for Holbox, Gilbert Cetina's popular mariscos destination. Enter the market and you'll also find Komal, one of Bon Appétit’s Best New Restaurants of 2025. It’s helmed by Mexico City-born chef Fátima Juárez, who nixtmalizes her own multicolored heirloom masa on-site.

That masa serves as the base for the tortillas featured in Cetina's smoked kanpachi tacos and bluefin tuna tostadas next door, and for her own menu of ayocote bean-stuffed tlayoyos, quesadillas with squash blossoms and huitlacoche, and the plump pork tamales known as chuchitos. Start with a bowl of mole, which comes with three different corn tortillas—a good way to sample her range—then do yourself a favor and leave with a six-pack of ultra-fresh, piping hot tortillas to snack on throughout the day.

Make sure you’ve made your plans in advance—seats at LA hotspots are a valuable commodity

When Travis Lett—of Gjelina and Gjusta—geared up to open RVR in the fall of 2024 after a five-year break from restaurants, Angelenos were greedy with anticipation. The wait was well worth it: his market-driven izakaya is perhaps his greatest contribution to the L.A. food scene yet, complete with an impressive drinks program spanning Japanese-inflected cocktails, natural wines, and special sakes (plus a lovely iced mint matcha).

The food menu changes regularly—Lett is a fixture at the Santa Monica farmers' market—and always includes upwards of a dozen vegetable dishes alongside handrolls (we're partial to the wild kanpachi with shiso and yuzu kosho), gyoza, charcoal-grilled skewers (the Wagyu beef tongue is a sleeper hit), and ramen. Save room for the housemade gelatos and sorbets too. Every night of the week RVR is alive with Westside energy, and even if you're staying on the Eastside, it's worth the trip.

Plan ahead for Dunsmoor, one of this town's toughest reservations to nab. Here, chef-owner Brian Dunsmoor's personal expression of American heritage cuisine is on full display, much of it prepared over live fire and none of it reliant on machines—a nod to a time before gas and electricity. The viral sour milk cornbread, flecked with white cheddar and hatch chile and drowned in honey butter, is cooked in miniature cast-iron pans in the wood oven; ice creams are churned by hand. The dining room, with its lofty ceiling, warm wood tables and chairs, and myriad drippy candles, feels like you're feasting in a great hall.

As for what to order: load up on the top section of the menu (warm medjool dates, baby albacore with young ginger root relish) then choose the pork and green chili stew or the Carolina gold rice, and let the beef ribeye with smoked bone marrow be the main event, with a requisite side of dressed greens for attempted lightness. If you’re struggling to secure a seat in the restaurant, the bar in the back is first-come, first-served, and offers an exclusive—and very, very good—steak frites.

Find your way to an IYKYK wine bar

Sam's Place is not on Instagram, not because they're too cool (although they are cool). Owners Scotty Cantino and Ben Jones would rather spend their time curating the bar's cassette collection, ensuring every beer mug is frosty cold, and flawlessly firing off smart, simple bar food like saucisson with charred bread and cornichon butter, and crispy Japanese sweet potatoes with tahini and green shatta.

Jones' wife, Samantha Wetton of Lafayette Studio, is behind the cozy, NorCal-inspired decor like Mid-century church pews sourced from a mission in Ventura, vintage glass light fixtures, and antique seashell mirrors. Sam's Place is the kind of spot everyone wishes were in their neighborhood—less serious than a wine bar, but still with thoughtfully curated pours, where you could hang for several hours comfortably in low, flattering lighting, and won’t go hungry.

Send a DM to reserve your pizza, or dip a toe into LA’s vibrant Armenian scene

David Wilcox was once known for the delicious, creatively topped sourdough pizzas he made at Hail Mary in Atwater. Now, after selling the pizzeria and traveling for a few years, he's back—this time focused on whole-grain, naturally leavened breads, fruit-studded pastries, and Roman-style pizza at Two Rose. Empowered by a MEHKO license, Wilcox operates from his Melrose Hill home a few days a week: on Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., he slings custardy country loaves and crusty baguettes, toasts spread with pistachio butter-nutella or herby egg salad, and pastries ranging from cookies to galettes, cinnamon buns, and éclairs. Thursdays are pizza nights, with slices available beginning at 5:30 p.m., and whole pies reservable via DM.

If you’re not aware, Los Angeles is home to the largest Armenian population outside of Armenia, much of it centered in Glendale. There lies Zhengyalov Hatz, a casual restaurant named after its signature dish: a flatbread filled with more than a dozen leafy greens and herbs, like spinach, chard, beet leaves, cilantro, dill, and sorrel. Made fresh throughout the day, they’re bright and refreshing, boasting a beautiful bright-green coil when cut in half, and taste equally representative of Los Angeles as of Armenia. Also on the concise menu is excellent lahmajune, cooked to order in a hot stone oven, and served with a wedge of lemon. Order one of each, and wash them down with the house sparkling mint lemonade, which the staff will describe as a “virgin Mojito” to non-Armenians.