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Bavel, with its bright, cavernous space outfitted with tons of greenery and stunning Middle Eastern fare from Ori and Genevieve Menashe of Bestia, is an escape in the heart of the Arts District. Dredge blistered housemade pitas through spreads like duck ‘nduja-topped hummus and baba ganoush made with eggplant and beets before moving on to beef cheek tagines, and you won't be disappointed.

Few chefs can work a hearth like Brian Dunsmoor, who cut his teeth at Southern star Hatchet Hall before opening his namesake restaurant in 2022. The long tables adorned with flickering candles make the restaurant an ideal place for a date, as do fiery dishes like wood-roasted oysters and mushroom-crusted pork chops. The cornbread, slathered in cultured butter, is the stuff of dreams.

Dine like Hollywood royalty at this legendary spot that’s been going strong for more than 100 years. Musso & Frank has defined vintage Tinseltown charm with its famous curved red leather booths and immaculate hospitality. The menu keeps tradition alive with signature steaks and chops, alongside historic menu gems like Charlie Chaplin's favorite lamb kidneys with bacon and the pan-seared grenadine of beef. Whether you’re grabbing a martini at the bar or looking for a front-row seat to the culinary action, it remains an unmissable, bucket-list Los Angeles experience.

Packed since the day it opened in 2012, Ori and Genevieve Menashe’s acclaimed California-Italian restaurant has made a name for itself for excellent cocktails, wood-fired pizzas, and now-iconic dishes like slow-roasted lamb neck. Housed in a former warehouse, the cavernous, industrial-chic restaurant ushered in a new era of Arts District dining—and feels just as vibrant and energetic as it did a decade ago.

Of Ori and Genevieve Menashe’s three restaurants, Saffy’s is the most laid-back—but still has a laser focus on technique. Dig into shareable plates like wood-fired lamb and beef shawarma, hearth-grilled lobster tail skewers, and 18-hour spiced short rib in a gorgeous dining room that pays homage to mid-century Morocco. Playful cocktails and a Mediterranean-focused wine list add to the always-lively vibe.

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• MICHELIN Bib Gourmand

  2023

This MICHELIN-Starred restaurant from legendary, James Beard Award-winning chef and owner Nancy Silverton is the obvious choice for special occasions. The refined lineup of Italian food like grilled octopus, crispy duck confit, and housemade pasta—plus an impressive Old World wine list to match—makes for an outstanding meal, but touches like the mozzarella bar where Silverton herself may plate your food keep things approachable.

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• MICHELIN 1 Star

  2026

• MICHELIN 1 Star

  2024

• MICHELIN Green

  2024

After a decade in Nancy Silverton's kitchens, Chad Colby built Antico Nuovo as the restaurant he'd always pictured, centered on a 10-foot almond wood hearth and inspired by trips to Puglia's agriturismo farms. That vision earned a 2026 James Beard Outstanding Restaurant nomination. Rosticciana, Tuscan pork ribs perfumed with fennel pollen, comes off the fire, while plin dell'alta langa, agnolotti in roasted pan drippings, carries the pasta obsession Colby has chased for years. Copper pots and potted olive trees fill a small candlelit room, where you'll want to try a glass of Sicilian wine from the Wine Spectator Award-winning list.

The award-winning pastries and French brasserie fare created by chefs Walter and Margarita Manzke are still the talk of the town at this Mid-City restaurant more than a decade after its opening. Plus, the showstopping interiors are an extra incentive: Charlie Chaplin and architect Roy Seldon Price built the space in 1928, and you can still see the original brick, tile, and ironwork along with dramatic archways and green-and-white tiled floors.

This “Los Angeles Times” 101 Best Restaurants pick transforms the classic East Coast seafood shack into an electric, West Coast neighborhood joint. Start with a selection from the raw bar—the oysters come from general manager Joe Laraja’s family oyster farm in Massachusetts. Then add on the signature lobster bisque roll and scallop tostadas from chef Ari Kolender’s menu. All of it goes best with a house martini or a pick from the natural wine list.

Culinary king David Chang's LA flagship is peak Momofuku with its masterful use of Asian-leaning ingredients through a global lens. That comes together at Majordōmo in dishes like a citrus salad with ricotta and shiso, the iconic smoked bo ssäm, and tres leches cake—seemingly disparate flavors that Chang blends with ease using gorgeous produce for a uniquely Californian meal. The industrial Chinatown space also has a sun-drenched patio that's perfect for LA's temperate days.

Budonoki reimagines the Japanese tavern through a distinctly Angeleno lens. Co-founders Eric Bedroussian and Josh Hartley, alongside chef Dan Rabilwongse, channel traditional izakaya energy while weaving in Thai and pan-Asian flavors. Acclaimed nationally as one of “Esquire’s” and Eater’s best new restaurants, the compact, high-octane room buzzes over pressed oshizushi, housemade naem pork sausage, and inventive low-ABV sake cocktails. It is electric, unstuffy, and an essential LA dining stop.

A striking bird’s nest installation marks the entrance to Meteora, acclaimed chef Jordan Kahn’s transportive MICHELIN-Starred destination. Expect an ever-evolving menu of bold, contemporary Cali dishes—think a caramelized plantain dumpling with heirloom spinach, wild onion, and huitlacoche—all cooked over a roaring live fire. Towering greenery and an eclectic nature-meets-electronica soundtrack complete the experience at one of LA’s most immersive restaurants.

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• MICHELIN 1 Star

  2026

• MICHELIN 1 Star

  2025

• MICHELIN 1 Star

  2024

Part high-end butcher shop, part steakhouse, Gwen is the brainchild of Curtis Stone and his brother Luke Stone. The MICHELIN-Starred experience is a celebration of all things meat: The dramatic dining room is surrounded by glass-enclosed dry-age rooms and a central fire pit. Expect housemade charcuterie, pasta with bacon Bolognese, and impressive steaks like a 30-day aged Creekstone Farm ribeye.

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• MICHELIN 1 Star

  2023

One of only two LA restaurants to earn prestigious three-MICHELIN-Starred status, Providence is what seafood dreams are made of. James Beard Award-winning chef Michael Cimarusti puts sustainability front and center in his blockbuster tasting menus starring the likes of Santa Barbara spot prawns and Golden Kaluga caviar. Expect excellent wine pairings and exceptional service that never feels stuffy—just the way dining at one of LA’s most acclaimed restaurants should be.

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• MICHELIN 3 Stars

  2026

• MICHELIN 3 Stars

  2025

• MICHELIN 2 Stars

  2024

Downtown’s Kato has seemingly earned every award on the planet, including the top slot on the Los Angeles Times’s 101 Best Restaurants, a "One to Watch" distinction from the World’s 50 Best, and a MICHELIN Star. James Beard Award-winning chef Jon Yao’s Taiwanese-inspired, LA-filtered tasting menus, a stellar wine selection that pulls from the best regions in the world, and one of the most inventive zero-proof beverage programs in the city are the reasons for all those accolades—and why Kato is one of the most sought-after reservations in town.

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• MICHELIN 2 Stars

  2026

• MICHELIN 1 Star

  2025

• MICHELIN 1 Star

  2024

Anyone who can’t imagine a celebration dinner without meat—and lots of it—should go straight to this upscale Tuscan steakhouse. Part of chef Nancy Silverton’s Mozza empire, Chi Spacca zeroes in on butcher-inspired mains like a 50-ounce bistecca Fiorentina and tomahawk pork chop. The supporting characters on the menu are just as impressive, and so is the massive Italian wine list. Add a candlelit dining room, and you’ve got all the essentials for a big night out.

Acclaimed chef Ludo Lefebvre is still turning out some of the best French food in the city at his award-winning postage stamp-sized bistro in Hollywood open since 2014. Sit shoulder-to-shoulder at the cozy marble bar to sample Lefebvre’s simple but masterfully prepared dishes, like steak tartare, escargots drowned in butter, and a perfectly prepared omelet that puts most others to shame.

More than two decades after it opened, Gino and Elizabeth Angelini’s always-full Italian mainstay is the place for classics. You'll know that after one bite of the non-negotiable lasagna verde, layered with spinach pasta and beef and veal ragu. The region of Emilia-Romagna is the focus here, courtesy of Gino's heritage, and it's clear from the dedicated regulars and numerous awards from Italy that the Angelinis know how to pay homage.

Craig's has been a West Hollywood fixture for celebrity sightings as much as for the food. Chef Kursten Kizer's chicken parmigiana is a standout and arrives with marinara and a blend of asiago and mozzarella over spaghetti. Pair it with the Skinny Amiga made with tequila, lime, and pomegranate juice. Owner Craig Susser has built the kind of room where regulars and first timers are treated the same, warm and unfussy despite the star wattage. It's the rare Hollywood institution that still feels like a neighborhood spot.

James Beard Award-winning chef Justin Pichetrungsi is the second-generation owner of this definition-LA restaurant that his father opened in Sherman Oaks in 1981, and Angelenos still can't get enough. Thrilling plates fill the menu, like barbecue pork collar with coriander-soy molasses, alongside a remarkable selection of Rieslings to pair with your dinner. Come Tuesdays, the popular Thai taco specials include options like shrimp tostada with coconut curry and chile crisp. Anajak is so good, it's among the rarefied group named Restaurant of the Year (2022) by The Los Angeles Times.

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• James Beard Winner

  2023

Housed in an architecturally stunning structure in Culver City, Vespertine is more than a restaurant—it’s an all-out sensory experience. The choreographed 12-course meal, which takes diners through different levels of the building, weaves in music, sculpture, and scent. Chef Jordan Kahn’s highly conceptual two-MICHELIN-Starred menu pays tribute to the four regions of California through a variety of wild-foraged and regenerative ingredients.

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• MICHELIN 2 Stars

  2026

• MICHELIN 2 Stars

  2025

• MICHELIN Green

  2025

AOC isn’t just a classic because of James Beard Award-winning chef Suzanne Goin’s California-French food, it also has one of the most beautiful patios in town. It’s pure romance, outfitted with a wood-fired hearth, trees, and ivy curling up the side of the restaurant. It’s the ideal place to linger over bacon-wrapped dates stuffed with Parmesan and clams sherry with green garlic—as well as a glass from co-owner Caroline Styne’s deep wine list.

The original CUT by Wolfgang Puck, tucked inside the Beverly Wilshire hotel, set the template for the modern American steakhouse when it opened and still draws crowds today. Executive chef Drew Rosenberg leads a menu built around wagyu beef sourced from across the globe. The whole dry-aged California duck and butter lettuce salad round things out. Cocktails like a High End Old Fashioned pair well with the food or choose from a deep international wine list. The restaurant is sleek and the open kitchen keeps things lively.

This MICHELIN-Starred tasting menu gets special status for sourcing ingredients from Heritage's own farm down the street. The seasonal, multi-course menu includes fruits and vegetables that sibling owners Phillip and Lauren Pretty get from the farm twice weekly. Plus, meat and seafood comes locally from California, including fish from Long Beach’s own waters. You’ll see it all in showstopping dishes like dungeness crab toast with avocado crema and sous vide beets.

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• MICHELIN 1 Star

  2026

• MICHELIN Green

  2024

• MICHELIN 1 Star

  2024

Antonia Lofaso built her reputation on “Top Chef” before bringing it home to Venice, where Scopa Italian Roots has been a neighborhood favorite for more than a decade. Fresh pasta is made daily and meatballs arrive with burrata and basil folded into a rich tomato sauce. Classic cocktails like an espresso martini or a Negroni keep pace with the food, as does the formidable Italian-leaning wine list. The dim lighting and rustic design will give you the feeling of being at an old-school Italian spot in NYC.

Located in the same Santa Monica building as his fine-dining restaurant Mélisse, one-MICHELIN-Starred Citrin is the namesake project from chef Josiah Citrin. Taste some of his now-signature dishes, like lobster Bolognese and “dirty” roast chicken, in a lively, contemporary environment with a bustling bar. Check out the popular Glass-Off happy hour to try a variety of dishes and pours of wine at more approachable prices.

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• MICHELIN 1 Star

  2024

• MICHELIN 1 Star

  2023

Renowned chef Josiah Citrin’s two-MICHELIN-Starred Melisse has been serving luxurious 18-course tasting menus since 1999. Citrin and chef Ken Takayama work with the best farmers and producers, so expect fancy ingredients like Santa Barbara uni, A5 Wagyu, and Royal Osetra caviar—all served in a 14-seat modern space that makes it feel like you’re eating in an upscale living room.

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• MICHELIN 2 Stars

  2024

• MICHELIN 2 Stars

  2023