West Hollywood & Mid-City
Seldom does a restaurant blessed with as golden a location as this one – on the plaza of LACMA – live up to the address. Ray's does. Menus change…
West Hollywood & Mid-City
Seldom does a restaurant blessed with as golden a location as this one – on the plaza of LACMA – live up to the address. Ray's does. Menus change…
San Francisco
Chef-owner Tomoharu Nakamura's driftwood-paneled bistro is as quirkily San Franciscan as the bonsai grove at the nearby Japanese Tea Garden. Each omakase …
Coastal Orange County
Everybody’s favorite for fresh fish (some drive in from LA), Walt’s packs them in on weekends. You can’t make reservations for dinner (though they’re…
Los Feliz & Griffith Park
Texan expat Briana Valdez is behind this rustic ode to the Lone Star State. Locals queue patiently for authentic breakfast tacos such as the Trinity, a…
West Hollywood & Mid-City
Set behind Talésai, a long-running Thai joint, this related kitchen pumps out outstanding Thai street food and Thai-inspired hybrids such as catfish…
Santa Monica
Ever since it opened in 2015, open, airy Cassia has made about every local and national 'best' list of LA restaurants. Chef Bryant Ng draws on his Chinese…
Malibu & Pacific Palisades
If you lived through the 1960s, you might experience flashbacks at this new-agey hideaway in an impossibly idyllic creekside setting in Topanga Canyon. It…
San Diego
Spearheading the new crop of Little Italy's fine-dining restaurants, J&I is the creation of star chef Richard Blais, who performs culinary sorcery with…
Downtown Los Angeles & Boyle Heights
Guisados' citywide fame is founded on its tacos de guisados: warm, thick, nixtamal tortillas made to order and topped with sultry, smoky, slow-cooked…
Coastal Orange County
Brightly painted in Mexican Day of the Dead art, this out-of-the-way stand is a local institution for fresh, healthy, sustainably farmed tacos of steak,…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Who needs yachts to be happy? Aloha abounds over Liholiho's pucker-up-tart cocktails and gleefully creative Calwaiian/Hawafornian dishes – surefire mood…
Mt Shasta Region
Simple and elegant, this cafe put Dunsmuir on the foodie map. The menu was designed by chef Brett LaMott (of Trinity Cafe fame) and changes seasonally to…
Malibu & Pacific Palisades
Rustic as a Colorado mountain lodge, and tucked into the Santa Monica Mountains with a creek running beneath, Saddle Peak Lodge serves up elk, venison,…
Downtown Los Angeles & Boyle Heights
Tucked away on a still-ungentrified corner is this gem with a leafy heated patio and tremendous Italian slow-cooked food. Don't miss the polpettine di…
Downtown Los Angeles & Boyle Heights
Despite retro design nods such as concrete blocks, macrame plant hangers and terracotta lampshades, Ray Garcia's sleek Downtown eatery is all about…
Central Coast
The Honduran heritage of chef and owner Santos MacDonal shines through at this cosmopolitan bar and bistro translating from Spanish into 'the harvest.'…
Healdsburg
You’d be hard-pressed to find a lovelier place to propose than this retro-formal Victorian mansion’s garden-view verandah – though there’s nothing old…
Gold Country
Right out of New Orleans' Garden District, Ike’s serves splendid brunch fare with a sassy charm. Sit outside under the cherry tree or in the cluttered,…
Hollywood
Osteria Mozza crafts fine cuisine from market-fresh, seasonal ingredients, but being a Nancy Silverton joint, you can expect adventure – think squid-ink…
Silver Lake & Echo Park
Despite its somewhat-obscure location, this tiny, subway-tiled cafe is forever pumping thanks to its top-notch, out-of-the-box breakfast and lunch…
Laguna Beach
Ocean views and ridiculous sunsets alone ought to be enough to bring folks in, but gourmet Driftwood steps up the food with seasonal menus centered around…
San Francisco
Break brot (bread) with friends, and share platters piled with wurst, salami and cheese. Raised by German immigrants in the Bay Area, Salome Buelow serves…
Oakland
If you have children, or love ice cream, you owe it to yourself to stop by this institution. The range of ice cream flavors is encyclopedic in range,…
The Haight & Hayes Valley
Hit the high-low sweet spot between the Upper and Lower Haight at this cozy storefront serving zesty Indian street food with inspired wine pairings…
San Francisco
Who's got the solution to cold snaps and tentative tummies? This Gai. The tender Hainan-style poached chicken here is free-range and antibiotic-free,…
South Bay Beaches
There's a lot to love here, from the reclaimed wood-paneled exterior to the exposed rafters and wood-block common tables where you'll munch pomegranate…
Convict Lake Resort Restaurant
Eastern Sierra
Widely considered to be the best restaurant within a 100-mile radius. Expertly prepared fish and meat dishes such as beef Wellington, filet mignon, wild…
Santa Cruz
With a cult following, this artisan ice-cream shop crafts zany flavors such as bourbon-candied ginger, lemon-verbena–blueberry and ricotta apricot all…
Disneyland Resort
Decked out like a Hollywood country club, new Carthay Circle is the best dining in either park, with seasonal steaks, seafood, pasta, smart service and a…
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
Back-alley bounty brings ravenous crowds on Thursdays to this nonprofit, neighborhood-run market, come rain or shine. More than 30 local farmers and food…
Silver Lake & Echo Park
Flickering tea lights and charming, competent barkeeps crank up the charm at this intimate, convivial space, owned and run by a husband-and-wife team. You…
Downtown Los Angeles & Boyle Heights
Designed by prolific architect John Parkinson and once home to an office occupied by Frank Lloyd Wright, LA's beaux arts market hall has been satisfying…
Los Angeles
A super-cute cafe with tied-back curtains, freshly picked flowers and sidewalk tables, Kitchen Mouse is Highland Park's favorite herbivore. Everyone from…
San Diego
This buzzing bungalow with its old-school dining room, busy bar and breezy patio dishes up rib-sticking 'twisted farm food' straight from the American…
Hollywood
Consistently near the top of every list of great LA restaurants, chef Michael Cimarusti's James Beard–winning, two-Michelin-starred darling turns…
Westlake & Koreatown
Fifties throwback Taylor's is all old-school LA, from the dark-leatherette booths and wood-paneled walls, to the vest-clad old-school waiters. Some…
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
Follow the applause: that's the sound of organic tortilla-making in progress. You've found the Mission mother lode of handmade tamales, and pupusas …
Japantown, Fillmore & Pacific Heights
Since 1906, family-owned Benkyodo has survived earthquakes, world wars, even Japanese American internment – and still the Okamura family keeps making life…
Silver Lake & Echo Park
This intimate Echo Park mainstay is one of the best – if not the very best – vegetarian restaurants in LA. The menu has distinct Mediterranean and Middle…
North Beach & Chinatown
Observe this quasi-religious North Beach noontime ritual: enter Molinari, and grab a number and a crusty roll. When your number's called, let wisecracking…