Venice, Marina Del Rey & Playa del Rey
This sprawling Venice institution (established 1979) was recently given a major, very welcome makeover. If the new version is less funky (though you'll…
Must-see restaurants in Los Angeles
Venice, Marina Del Rey & Playa del Rey
The folks behind the standard-setting Gjelina have opened this very casual, very gourmet, very Venice bakery, cafe and deli behind a nondescript…
Los Angeles
If you're near Expo Park or USC, it's totally worth the five-minute walk under the freeway to this fabulous food hall. About a dozen restaurant stalls…
Venice, Marina Del Rey & Playa del Rey
If one restaurant defines the new Venice, it's this. Carve out a spot on the communal table between the hipsters and yuppies, or get your own slab of wood…
Los Angeles
Market-fresh ingredients drive elevated comfort dishes at this slinky Highland Park hot spot, complete with prerequisite marble-topped bar, designer…
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…
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,…
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…
Los Angeles
This upscale, teak-clad restaurant is one of LA's underrated highs. Chef and owner Sang Yoon steers a sharp, well-rounded menu of sharing dishes inspired…
Malibu & Pacific Palisades
Chef Nobu Matsuhisa's empire of luxe Japanese restaurants began in LA, and the Malibu outpost is consistently one of LA's hot spots. East of the pier, it…
Venice, Marina Del Rey & Playa del Rey
Find yourself a seat around the central counter or facing busy Abbot Kinney to tuck in to stone-oven pizzas, handmade pastas and veggie faves such as…
Venice, Marina Del Rey & Playa del Rey
Not only do noted vegan chef/author/activist Matthew Kenney and chef Scot Winegard work miracles with raw vegetables, grains, nuts and seeds here, they do…
Venice, Marina Del Rey & Playa del Rey
There always seems to be a line out the door at this branch of the hipster-cool Portland-based ice-cream fantasy land. Maybe it’s because there’s always…
Venice, Marina Del Rey & Playa del Rey
This industrial-sleek, indoor-outdoor space on an up-and-coming stretch of Lincoln Blvd has fab breads and pastries, excellent coffees and flawless (if…
Venice, Marina Del Rey & Playa del Rey
The Venice outpost of chef-owner-Wunderkind Kris Yenbamroong's mini-empire specializes in take-no prisoners spicy Thai dishes such as nam khao tod (crispy…
Venice, Marina Del Rey & Playa del Rey
An anchor of Venice's vegan corridor, Café Gratitude's all-organic menu items are named for affirmations such as 'I am Magical' (that's a house-made…
Venice, Marina Del Rey & Playa del Rey
Top Chef alumna Brooke Williamson is the force behind this 7000-sq-ft combination seafood restaurant, cafe, ice-cream shop, and speakeasy-style whiskey…
Venice, Marina Del Rey & Playa del Rey
Set in a hipster-chic brick-house loft, but sealed off from the on-rushing madness of Lincoln Blvd, this German sausage and beer haus specializes in three…
Malibu & Pacific Palisades
The restaurant at the top-notch Malibu Beach Inn could get by on its ocean-view deck, but fortunately it doesn't. Chefs bypass the farmers markets and go…
Los Angeles
'Donuts. Done differently' is its slogan, and it's not kidding. Here, holed treats are sprinkled with coconut bacon, stuffed with vegan cream cheese and…
Los Angeles
The (neon) writing is on the (brick) wall: I Got Baked in Los Angeles. Mr Holmes promises highs of the sugary type at this airy, buzz-inducing bakery…
Venice, Marina Del Rey & Playa del Rey
Westside outpost of the DTLA hipster foodie favorite. This cozy, post-industrial storefront's best seller is the Fairfax sandwich (a lovably gooey mess of…
Malibu & Pacific Palisades
A lovely antidote to the seafood and burger shacks that dominate piers up and down California's coast, this suite of whitewashed dining rooms is beachy…
Venice, Marina Del Rey & Playa del Rey
From the salt-roasted branzino, to the porcini-crusted hangar steak, to the burger and the quail, it's all very good here. The pastas are especially good …
Venice, Marina Del Rey & Playa del Rey
There's always fresh brew on tap at this postmodern barn of a beer hall, owned by Firestone Walker Brewery, and the comforting pub grub is way better than…
Los Angeles
Clean lines, loud hip-hop and a gourmet pedigree animate this fast-food concept from Roy Choi, the chef credited with starting LA's food-truck revolution…
Venice, Marina Del Rey & Playa del Rey
They make the tortillas before your eyes at this rangy, atmospheric warren of a cantina in business since the early '60s. A small troop of black-jacketed,…
Los Angeles
In Japan omusubi (rice balls, aka onigiri) are an everyday staple, and this counter-service shop aims to make them popular Stateside. Before your eyes,…
Malibu & Pacific Palisades
At Malibu’s favorite lunch counter you can order fresh daily soups such as curry tomato lentil and Louisiana gumbo, salads that echo Greece, Italy, Cape…
Los Angeles
A micro-chain with a social conscience: fresh, healthy grab-and-go meals in a bowl, priced lower in under-served communities and higher in more affluent…
Los Angeles
Modern, timber-lined Father's Office spills onto an outdoor patio, where you can sip any of 36 craft beers, munch on smoked eel, spread roasted bone…
Los Angeles
Once Michael Jackson's chef, Akasha Richmond helms her eponymous eatery, a lofty, timber-meets-concrete space where seasonal, sustainable produce meets…
Malibu & Pacific Palisades
Tucked away in the Pine Tree Circle complex, it make a gorgeous warm goat-cheese salad (the cheese is breaded with panko and baked), a popular yellowfin…
Los Angeles
The Carfachia family has been running this old-school Italian deli for over 40 years, and everyone from local matriarchs to laborers and hipsters hit the…
Los Angeles
This new, central spot does Mexican standards and cooking with an island twist such as ancho-chile spiced shrimp served with avocado, greens, cucumber and…
Los Angeles
There's a lot to love at this sourdough-crusted pizza joint, from the slab marble bar and craft libations, to the fluffy, wood-fired pies themselves…
Venice, Marina Del Rey & Playa del Rey
A beloved laid-back Mexican joint packed with Playa Vista business types at lunch and locals at dinner. It does massive burritos filled with chunks of…
Los Angeles
A comforting, old-school combo of TV sports, vested waiters and mission-brown panels and chairs, Versailles draws everyone from college kids to grizzled…
Malibu & Pacific Palisades
All-American comfort food has kept locals coming to this cafe-restaurant with French-country-style decor. Look for a classic grilled cheese and tomato…
Los Angeles
It's just not a hipster hood without a decent ramen joint, and this skinny, black-walled bolthole is it for Highland Park. The hero dish is the tonkotsu,…
