Restaurants in Los Angeles for a dose of culinary cool

Los Angeles’s restaurant scene reflects the diversity of its people: the city’s diasporic communities offer elevated or classic incarnations of Mexican, Filipino, Ethiopian, Korean, Italian, Australian, Chinese and Lebanese food. Then there’s California’s bounty of produce, with chefs drawing on ingredients grown across the state, from its fertile farms to its Pacific coastline.

The casual nature of Southern Californian life in general means diners – the city’s army of sunkissed bon vivants – are as dedicated to a cult taco truck as a rooftop landmark. And while you’ll find no shortage of food-obsessed locals to offer a recommendation, Roadbook’s tried-and-tested list is a good place to start.

Restaurants on the Westside

RVR

Venice

Best for: Izakaya with vinyl and Venice cool
Address: 1305 Abbot Kinney Boulevard, Venice, CA 90291
Price: $$$$

Recognisable by its angular concrete facade, RVR is a Japanese izakaya by Travis Lett, the mastermind also behind Venice’s Gjelina. Find seemingly traditional small plates, hand rolls, gyoza, skewers and ramen, given subtle Southern California twists. The catch of the day may feature as sashimi or crisply broiled, served alongside seasoned vegetables from local farms. Curry lamb shoulder and duck meatball tsukune are standout charcoal-grilled selections. RVR takes a playful approach to Japanese fare, letting California’s best ingredients shine, paired with its trim but well curated selection of natural wines and sake. A vinyl soundtrack of soul, funk and classic rock keeps the room moving.

The Mulberry

Sawtelle

Best for: Korean-American bistro
Address: 1800 Sawtelle Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025
Price: $$$

The Mulberry puts a modern spin on Korean American, executing familiar dishes with unexpected combinations and quality local ingredients. Highlights include silken tofu stew is served with wagyu sirloin, and a bluefin tuna bibimbap, alongside pork spareribs and beef short rib grilled over charcoal. Their tasting set will settle your decision fatigue, where you’ll pick a starter, soup or noodle and sorbet for a fixed price.

Darling by Sean Brock

West Hollywood

Best for: Live-fire Southern cooking and vinyl
631 N Robertson Boulevard, West Hollywood, CA 90069
Price: $$$

Darling is the debut Southern California restaurant from Sean Brock, combining Southern flavour with Japanese listening culture. The room is fashioned with seven custom Hi-Fi speakers, designed in collaboration with DJ MAXV, playing LPs borrowed from Brock’s own expansive collection. The Japanese influence extends to the menu, where a umami-rich Shelby cocktail sets the night off right.

The menu centres on over-fire cooking, with the team experimenting with various woods to enhance flavour. A Southern spin is placed on unexpected ingredients: Okra is buttermilk-dipped, cornmeal-dredged, and fried hot and fast, served alongside barbecue chicken. The fried chicken is a standout, available during happy hour – Wednesday through Saturday, 5:30pm to 6:30pm – and Sunday brunch, with a banging vinyl soundtrack.

A large artwork by Narsiso Martinez, inspired by Mexican muralism and made using flattened produce boxes, dominates one wall, with a retractable roof glides open on warm days.

Restaurants in South LA

Alta Adams

West Adams

Best for: Community and cross-cultural cooking
Address: 5359 West Adams Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90016
Price: $$$

Alta Adams in historic West Adams reopened in 2026 following a refresh of its interiors and menu. It remains a neighbourhood favourite for its take on Southern Californian cooking by LA native Keith Corbin, whose hearty dishes draw on his southern roots and early memories of his grandmother’s cooking. Suya-spiced bone marrow, wood-grilled picanha and West African osso buco are among the highlights. Don’t miss the wine shop next door, where you can pick up a bottle or two to take home.

Lugya’h

West Adams

Best for: Oaxacan flavours over live fire
Address: Maydan Market, Los Angeles
Price: $

Located inside Maydan Market, Lugya’h serves bold Oaxacan fare that calls back to chef Alfonso Martinez’s Zapotec roots. The signature tlayuda layers cabbage, black beans and Oaxacan cheese pressed between asiento-brushed corn tortillas. Pair it with moronga, made to a closely guarded family recipe, or try the turkey mole. Arrive hungry at this lively, casual spot, where food is cooked over live fire round a shared central hearth.

Restaurants in Downtown LA

Camelia

Arts District

Best for: A Japanese take on French bistro classics
Address: Arts District, Los Angeles
Price: $$$

Camelia is a beautifully appointed bistro with an inventive French-Japanese menu. Partners in life and business, Charles Namba and Courtney Kaplan have shaped a unique menu that includes abalone and scallop pot pie, and a croque madame reimagined with ham katsu, gruyère, mornay sauce and shokupan. Take a seat at the bar for a more casual meal, alongside sharp cocktails by Eli Yee.

Damian

Arts District

Cuisine: Refined Mexican in a repurposed warehouse
Location: 2132 East 7th Place, Los Angeles, CA 90021
Price: £££

Enrique Olvera, one of Mexico City’s best-loved chefs, brings his elevated take on Mexican cuisine to LA’s Arts District with this sleek, spacious, concrete cavern across the road from fellow culinary heavyweight Bestia (also a hard recommend). The Pescado A La Brasa arrives with side bowls of green chayote, mole and salsa cruda, and fluffy tortillas – our menu highlight.

Restaurants on the Eastside

Azizam

Silver Lake

Best for: Homestyle Persian fare and natural wine
Address: 2943 W Sunset Boulevard Los Angeles CA 90026
Price: $$

Azizam serves homestyle Persian food in a charming and casual space that opens onto the street. Comforting plates are made for sharing, including beef and potato croquettes, saffron chicken wings or beef tongue sandwich. The turmeric braised chicken and braised lamb neck are the stars. Pair with a glass of natural wine, a Shams – an Iranian beer brand now brewed in Southern California – or go with a house spritz.

Hermon’s

Glassell Park

Best for: Lively bar and grill in a former church
Address: 5800 Monterey Rd, Los Angeles
Price: $$$

A night at Hermon’s offers a lively front row seat to a prime Northeast Los Angeles neighborhood. Occupying a former church banquet hall, the cavernous space is dark and moody. Park in a cushy booth or at the glossy tiled bar and order from a menu of elevated American comfort food.

Mini martinis and yuzu margaritas are a great warm-up, as are the fried coconut tiger prawns. Don’t underestimate the salads, which are all solid, before moving on to the steak frites or chez cheeseburger, furnished with soubise fondue, bordelaise onions and dijon. The cocktail menu is overseen by veteran LA star bartender, Eric Alperin, so expect sharp and inventive pours.

Restaurants in Central LA

Étra

Melrose Hill

Best for: Meatballs and pasta in a low-lit room
Address: 737 N Western Ave Ste B, Los Angeles, CA 90029
Price: $$$

While there are many choices for Italian all over LA, Étra has the edge for its intimate, low-lit setting and vibrant bistro fare. Tuna-stuffed peppers and meatballs with ricotta and sugo are a great start, followed by any one of the fantastic pastas, like spicy campanelle alla vodka with tiger prawns. The protein entrees, such as the NY Strip with vermouth cream are hearty and packed with flavour.

Rasarumah

Historic Filipinotown

Best for: Bold Malaysian dishes and retro charm
Address: 3107 Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90026
Price: $$$

Big Southeast Asian flavours take centrestage at Rasarumah, where Chef Johnny Lee has found his stride cooking a bold but diversified menu of stir fried noodles, curries and pu pu platters in a casual setting. If you’re looking to go smaller than the platter, start with one of the drinking snacks, appetizers that pack a punch, then move on to a gado gado salad or pork jowl skewer. Don’t miss the fried hainan chicken, an updated twist on the classic, or the curries. For refreshment, Try out one of the tropical rum-based drinks from the cocktail menu.

Jacaranda

Hancock Park

Best for: Fine dining that feels like a dinner party
Address: 6623 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90038
Price: $$$$

Named after the purple-flower trees abundant throughout Los Angeles, Jacaranda by chef Daniel Patterson draws on the bounty of Southern California for his contemporary multi-course tasting menus on Melrose Avenue. Six and twelve course options are available to accommodate your schedule and wallet, with dishes changing often.

Don’t mistake this for a fussy fine dining restaurant, the ambiance is pure California-cool, with socialising between tables encouraged while Sarah Lewitinn, Patterson’s partner in life and business, works the room.

Interest piqued? Delve through the Roadbook city guide to Los Angeles, from recommended boutique hotels to rooftop bars.