Diners' Choice: Californian restaurants in Los Angeles

OpenTable

Updated April 05, 2025

Looking for restaurants with the best overall Californian cuisine in Los Angeles? You’re in the right place. Each month OpenTable analyzes more than 400,000 new diner reviews. We sort the results by category to help you discover new favorites. It's a great partnership: you reserve, eat, and review. We listen...and deliver the results for all to benefit. Enjoy!

Melisse

4.9

4.9 (2002)

$50 and over

Californian

Santa Monica

About the restaurant

Chef & Owner Josiah Citrin has revived his Michelin 2-Star institution with an intimate, 14-seat restaurant with Chef/Partner Ken Takayama. In a setting that blurs the line between kitchen and dining room, Chefs and service staff guide guests through a 2.5-hour culinary experience.

Collaborating with California farmers from San Diego to Napa Valley, Chef Josiah sources the most unique and exclusive ingredients available. An 8-course tasting menu is bookended by canapés, amuse-bouches and mignardise, all of which showcase global flavors using both modern and classic techniques.

Top review

J. A.VIP

Dined on Apr 12, 2025

The best experience. The food, the music, the service—all works of art!

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Experience

Chef's Tasting Menu, April- $399

Experience

Chef's Tasting Menu, May- $399

Experience

Chef's Tasting Menu, June- $399

Canyons Restaurant

4.8

4.8 (598)

$50 and over

Californian

Hemet

About the restaurant

Let Canyons take you to the cutting edge of fine dining. Featuring only the best ingredients, the Canyons menu offers savory appetizers, creative entrées, fresh seafood, decadent desserts and an exquisite selection of wine.

Top review

AngelVIP

Dined 6 days ago

Delectable! Everything was perfectly cooked and beyond delicious. The table ordered the steak and lobster dinner with butter cake. Don’t forget the butter cake! It’s leveled up from what you’re used to.

Viviane at the Avalon Beverly Hills Hotel

4.9

4.9 (490)

$30 and under

Unspecified

Beverly Hills

About the restaurant

Viviane's seasonal menu features classic farm to table contemporary California cuisine utilizing farm fresh, local ingredients. Designed by the famed Kelly Wearstler, Viviane offers both al fresco and indoor dining centered around an iconic boomerang-shaped pool and cabanas at the quintessentially-California Avalon Hotel in Beverly Hills.

Please note there is a 2-hour time limit on all tables. Complimentary Valet-Parking available.

Top review

MariaVIP

Dined on Mar 20, 2025

An amazing dining experience. Food was perfect, atmosphere, music, service. It had it all! :) Will def come again.

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the Hook & Plow - Redondo Beach

4.8

4.8 (647)

$31 to $50

Californian

Redondo Beach

About the restaurant

Farm to table is a movement around sourcing locally produced food and delivering the freshest product to the consumer. At the Hook & Plow, we truly believe food that comes directly from the source will yield a more fresh and more tasty product. Our menu is focused around all the wonderful delights that California has to offer, including lots of fresh seafood and seasonal farm fare. We will strive to be as sustainable, organic, and healthy as possible, while staying true to our California roots.

Top review

Micha

Dined on Mar 27, 2025

Great place, also the one in Hermosa, love their Tuna Sandwich

SELINE

4.8

4.8 (47)

$50 and over

Californian

Santa Monica

About the restaurant

Join James Beard award-winning Chef Dave Beran at his 38-seat fine dining restaurant in Santa Monica, where the kitchen is seamlessly integrated with the dining room. The menu, comprising 15-18 courses, showcases Chef Dave's deeply thoughtful approach to storytelling, inviting guests to embrace the experience & embark on a memorable culinary journey featuring the many inspirations of Southern California.

At SELINE, the focus is on connection, with every aspect of the restaurant— from the design to the custom plateware—built on fostering meaningful relationships.

Wine Director Matthew Brodbine presents two beverage pairing options to complement your menu. The wine pairing showcases selections from innovative, forward-thinking winemakers across various regions worldwide. The non-alcoholic pairing features a unique collection of house-made and curated beverages designed to align with the menu's progression. A carefully curated wine list is also available.

Top review

BriannaVIP

Dined 7 days ago

What a total delight to experience artists at the height of their game. Both versions of the menu (one being vegetarian) were exciting, fun, interesting, and so so SO delicious. Each course was also visually gorgeous. Evocative. Often delicate—even when you want to lick delicate right off the plate. You can really feel how much thought and love must have gone into every dish. And truly, not one miss or boring substitution in the vegetarian adaptation—that almost never happens! Every single course was satisfying and scrumptious and so appreciated. This is clearly a kitchen that knows and loves plants. The wine pairing was exceptional, and the additional bottle we ordered based on a spot-on somm recommendation was one to remember. The dining room and open kitchen are beautiful and the ideal scale. Intimate but unobtrusive. Pretty fabulous art—ceramics included. Finally, Chef was such a gracious and involved host. The entire staff was likewise warm and charming while operating (seemingly) seamlessly. F*CK what a great meal! Thank you. Bravo, all. PS- Shout out to the friendly security guard stationed outside near the garage entrance. He must have noticed us looking around getting our bearings after being dropped off across the street, and he came right out to greet us and show us in to the restaurant entrance. I’m not sure if that’s his job or not, but he made a great first impression for the restaurant. Credit where credit is due :)

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Experience

Seline Tasting Menu Deposit

Experience

Seline 8-course Menu Deposit | Limited Time

Experience

Large Party Menu Deposit | 7 to 12 guests

Parkway Grill

4.8

4.8 (2492)

$50 and over

Californian

Pasadena

About the restaurant

The Smith Brothers trend-setter in regional American cuisine, Parkway Grill continues to define dining in the city and beyond. Parkway Grill specializes in a seasonal, market-driven approach to cooking that incorporates diverse influences and classic French technique. Throughout its over 30 years, Parkway’s innovative chefs have showcased an intriguing array of dishes using locally sourced ingredients.

Demonstrating the ultimate commitment to fresh produce, Parkway Grill planted its own organic vegetable and herb garden behind the restaurant, which continues to thrive for over 25 years on a piece of prime real estate in the heart of Pasadena.

Top review

JoeVIP

Dined 2 days ago

We had an excellent server and the restaurant is beautiful! The wedge and blue cheese dressing were delicious. My husband had a rib eye that was cooked to perfection. My scallops were fair at best and what they served with it was terrible. My friend had the scallops and enjoyed them. Her husband had the sea bass which he said was just ok. So it was a split vote. Since I’m the one who makes the reservations I would probably choose a different restaurant next time. I was hoping for a better experience! It was not worth the money we spent & we do eat out a lot!

LULU - Los Angeles

4.8

4.8 (181)

$30 and under

Californian

Westwood

About the restaurant

Conceived with legendary chef and food activist Alice Waters and led by acclaimed chef, writer, and cookbook author David Tanis, Lulu is a shared celebration of good food that is good for the planet. Lulu is a restaurant committed to prioritizing sustainability through local, regenerative food and design. Our mission focuses on procuring food directly from small, nearby farms practicing regenerative organic agriculture, which results in wholesome, delicious food grown using methods that combat the climate crisis.

Our restaurant is named after a wise Provencal cook, Lulu Peyraud, whose cooking and hospitality at Domaine Tempier in Bandol, France has always inspired David and Alice.

Top review

kathrynVIP

Dined 1 day ago

The food is always exemplary- the soups in particular are outstanding- only disappointment was that they ran out of the pasta special before our order was taken but the suggested replacement was also very good

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Experience

NIPA CABANE: A Filipino pop-up dinner at LULU

Experience

ALICE WATERS' FOOD & FILM SERIES

Farmshop LA

4.9

4.9 (576)

$31 to $50

Californian

Brentwood

About the restaurant

In 2010, chef Jeff Cerciello opened Farmshop in a space that denotes rustic elegance. Located in the beautiful Brentwood Country Mart, bordering Santa Monica, the restaurant has become a dining destination featuring the very best local ingredients, simply prepared, served in casual fine dining style.

Top review

JackieVIP

Dined on Feb 26, 2025

The whole evening was perfect, the food, the service and the ambiance!

Vespertine

4.8

4.8 (197)

$50 and over

Californian

Culver City

About the restaurant

We are excited to share the return of Vespertine, Chef Jordan Kahn's otherworldy culinary symphony. More than a restaurant, Vespertine transports diners through the twisted steel and glass structure designed by acclaimed architect Eric Owen Moss. Food, beverage, music, and art are woven throughout, creating an immersive, multi-sensory evening.

Awards Include
2 Stars - Michelin Guide, 2019 - 2024
Green Star - Michelin Guide, 2024
Most Beautiful Restaurants - Condé Nast
World's 100 Greatest Places - Time Magazine
Atmosphere of the Year - World Restaurant Awards

Top review

Peter

Dined on Apr 3, 2025

Pricie (as expected) but phenomenal and an unforgettable experience!

Irie Restaurant & Lounge

4.9

4.9 (120)

$31 to $50

Californian

West Hollywood

About the restaurant

Located in the heart of West Hollywood, Irie Lounge and Restaurant offers guests California comfort food with a southern twist. Irie brings all of the farm to table freshness, but with the tanginess and smoked dishes that southern food is celebrated for. Our black-eyed pea hummus, dandelion Caesar salads, and dry-aged New York strip with charred treviso are dishes guests are celebrating us for.

Top review

Niya

Dined on Apr 13, 2025

I celebrated my boyfriends 21 birthday here with his friends and we loved it 10/10

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