Los Angeles has one of the most enjoyable restaurant scenes in the world. Local, fresh produce is often used by chefs, whether serving typical Californian cuisine or international dishes. It can all be washed down by a glass of delicious Californian wine. Service - even in the most modest of places - is usually excellent. Do be prepared to book ahead for some of the most popular spots, although because locals tend to eat early, you may manage to get a later table.
The selected restaurants have been listed alphabetically within five categories: Gourmet, Business, Trendy, Budget and Personal
Recommendations. These categories serve as guidelines rather than absolute definitions.
Many restaurants, including some that are licensed and offer wine on the menu, allow customers to bring their own wine. However, a corkage charge (sometimes up to US$25) will be added to the bill.
Price categories are as follows:
$$$$ (over US$75)
$$$ (US$45 to US$75)
$$ (US$25 to US$45)
$ (under US$25)
These prices include starter, main course, dessert and the equivalent of a half-bottle of wine. Not included is the 8.25% sales tax or a customary tip of 15-20%.
GourmetAgo Pronounced ‘AHHgo', this Tuscan-style restaurant co-owned by Robert de Niro attracts its fair share of stars. The stylish, modern décor is enriched by candlelight and handsome Italian waiters, who dash around on split levels that cause havoc with the acoustics. Brick oven pizzas,
bistecca and the porcini mushroom risotto are good main courses. The extensive dessert menu includes a delicious ricotta cheesecake.
8478 Melrose Avenue, West Hollywood
Tel: (323) 655 6333.
Website:
www.agorestaurant.com Price: $$$$
Angelini OsteriaA wonderful antidote to the calorie controlled menus found in much of California. Rustic Italian fare is created with love and served up to a happy crowd who always seem to come back for more. Authentic dishes range from simple, but wonderfully satisfying spaghetti carbonara, to more exciting specials like
Saltimbocca alla Romana - veal slow cooked with prosciutto and sage. The wine list is as fine as the food and the atmosphere.
7313 Beverly Boulevard
(323) 297 0070.
Website:
www.angeliniosteria.comPrice: $$$
Campanile
Chef Mark Peel has been creating award-winning dishes here for more than two decades. The remarkable building, commissioned in 1928 by Charlie Chaplin, has graceful arches that connect the elegant dining rooms and atrium courtyard to the central sky-lit room. The menu is modern Mediterranean, with robust flavors, such as beet with pomegranate and cod with eggplant puree. There's a ‘family-style' Monday, and a monthly ‘chef tasting' Wednesday. Closed Sunday evening.
624 South La Brea Avenue, Mid-Wilshire
Tel: (323) 938 1447.
Website:
www.campanilerestaurant.com Price: $$$$
Noe
There's a strong Asian accent on the food at this top hotel restaurant. Chef Robert Gadsby's innovative cuisine includes delicious, innovative combinations such as Jalapeño scallops, curried cauliflower and basil pesto bass. The six and nine course tastings are highly recommended. An elegant, dimly lit dining room and piano music make this the perfect place for a romantic evening.
The Omni Los Angeles Hotel, 251 South Olive Street
Tel: (213) 356 4100.
Website:
www.noerestaurant.com Price: $$$-$$$$
Patina
This is LA's haven for gourmets who delight in the assured Californian-French nouvelle cuisine. Exquisite starters, like a duo of foie gras with rhubarb gelée, followed by main courses, such as monkfish with Iberian ham or lamb saddle with fava bean, impress. The fixed-price menus are sublime. The cheese list and wine offerings may be the best in LA. Closed Monday.
141 South Grand Avenue, Downtown
Tel: (213) 972 3331.
Website:
www.patinagroup.com Price: $$$$
SonaSona is, without doubt, one of the best restaurants in LA. The menu is French, with distinctly delicate flavors in dishes that use seasonal produce. Dishes might combine venison and blackberry jelly, served with carrots and vanilla bean and purple potatoes with horseradish. Service succeeds in being both attentive and unpretentious. The degustation menus are both a steal and a treat. Closed Sunday and Monday.
401 North La Cienega Boulevard
Tel: (310) 659 770.
Website:
www.sonarestaurant.comPrice: $$$
Spago
Chef Wolfgang Puck's flagship restaurant continues to draw LA's rich and famous quite simply because the food is so good. Grandiose entrance doors set the stage for the over-the-top interior décor, with its etched and stained-glass, plus art by the likes of David Hockney. The centerpiece patio, with olive trees and fountain, has the most coveted tables. Fresh fish, seasonal produce, signature dishes such as prime côte de boeuf and melt-in the-mouth pizzas are all excellent. Dinner nightly, lunch Monday to Saturday.
176 North Cañon Drive, Beverly Hills
Tel: (310) 385 0880.
Website:
www.wolfgangpuck.com Price: $$$$
BusinessCa'Brea
This charming restaurant with high ceilings and two tiers is known for Italian food that looks as good as it tastes. The starters, bread, risottos and pasta dishes, such as homemade agnolotti stuffed with veal and prosciutto in a mushroom sauce are particularly recommended. Popular with young lawyers and film industry people, the restaurant gets very crowded in the evening, so reservations are essential. Dinner only on Saturday, closed Sunday.
346 South La Brea Avenue, Midtown
Tel: (323) 938 2863.
Website:
www.cabrearestaurant.com Price: $$$
Café des Artistes
This country-style cottage in the heart of Hollywood, run by Jean-Pierre Bosc, is a welcoming spot. The simple French food is cooked to perfection and ranges from starters like Merguez sausages in cumin dip, through to salads and sandwiches, bistro standards like moules-frites or steak-frites, to full main courses, such as a braised lamb shank Provenςal. While the restaurant's hardwood interior is cosy, the charming garden setting of the front and back patios is the most sought-after.
1534 North McCadden Place, Hollywood
Tel: (323) 469 7300.
Website:
www.cafedesartistes.info Price: $$-$$$
Chaya Brasserie
This lively restaurant's Mediterranean-meets-Asian-Pacific-New-Wave cuisine, prepared by a Japanese chef, has been luring Los Angelinos for years with its elegant décor, food and staff. Recommended dishes include the lobster ravioli with a pesto cream sauce or the venison with black peppercorns, chestnut purée and champignons. The bar menu, which includes sushi, is cheaper during happy hour (1700-2000) here and in the Venice Beach branch, where the service and décor pale somewhat in comparison.
8741 Alden Drive, West Hollywood/Melrose
Tel: (310) 859 8833.
Website:
www.thechaya.com Price: $$$
Other location:
Chaya Venice, 110 Navy Street, Venice
Tel: (310) 396 1179.
TrendyCutChef, Wolfgang Puck wanted to reinvent the traditional American steakhouse and has done just that. He has also established one of the most successful restaurants (and trendiest) in the city. The sleek and contemporary Cut
is tucked away behind the ostentatious lobby of the Four Seasons. But don't be fooled: this is no shrinking violet and tables are hard to come by. You'd be mad not to order steak; but you have to choose between kobe, your favorite cut and a good old burger - all cooked to perfection of course.
Beverly Wilshire Four Seasons Hotel
9500 Wilshire Boulevard, Beverly Hills
Tel: (310) 275 5200.
Website:
www.wolfgangpuck.comPrice: $$$$
The LobsterFrom its vantage point at the end of Santa Monica pier, diners can survey much of the ever-changing beach scene through the floor to ceiling glass windows. As you might expect from the name, fish and seafood is the thing here and it's fresher than fresh. Try a starter of ahi carpaccio or a crab cake with ginger and black bean starter followed by a three-peppercorn Hawaiian tuna with wasabi or perhaps a portion of chilli chicken.
1602 Ocean Ave. Santa Monica
Tel: (310) 458 9294.
Website:
www.thelobster.comPrice: $$-$$$
Saddle Peak LodgeThe name is no gimmick: this restaurant is in a real hunting lodge, high in the hills above Malibu. Come here to escape the LA madness, but do call for directions. Think lots of real wood, fireplaces and no mobile phone reception. It's romantic, but not if you are vegetarian. There's plenty of game; elk, buffalo and antelope are all on the menu, but then so is steak, halibut and lobster. Consider weekend brunch combined with a walk in the countryside.
419 Cold Canyon Road
Tel: (818) 222 3888.
Website:
www.saddlepeaklodge.comPrice: $$$
BudgetEl Cholo
In 1927, El Cholo
was the first Mexican restaurant in LA; today, this chain is an excellent value option for families and large groups. The walls, decorated with colorful Mexican trinkets, add to the lively atmosphere. Specialties include blue corn chicken enchiladas and green corn
tamales (available May-October only). The flan is also excellent and the margaritas reliably good. There is a branch in Santa Monica.
1121 South Western Avenue, Midtown
Tel: (323) 734 2773.
Website:
www.elcholo.com Price: $$
Other location:
1025 Wilshire Boulevard, Santa Monica
Tel: (310) 899 1106.
Lula
This Mexican cantina is named after chef Lula Bertran (culinary guru to the restaurant's well-known Irish owner Gerri Gilliland) who also owns Santa Monica's authentic Irish pub, Finn McCools. An oasis on Santa Monica's main street, the bright décor and garden patio are the backdrop for top-notch margaritas and regional specialties like lobster taquitos. The flan and
churros (Mexican donuts) are musts for dessert.
2720 Main Street, Santa Monica
Tel: (310) 392 5711.
Website:
www.gerrigilliland.com Price: $-$$
Mishima
This bright, spacious, modern noodle restaurant offers cheap and delicious Japanese food to a smart Asian clientele and discerning Westerners. Recommendations include fresh swordfish, sweet potato purée, marinated seaweed, seared tuna salad with wasabe dressing or nabeyaki udon soup with spinach, mushrooms, shrimp, chicken, egg and fishcake.
8474 West Third Street, Beverly Hills
Tel: (323) 782 0181.
Website:
www.mishima.com Price: $$
Newsroom Café
Vegans and the health-conscious will embrace this large bohemian cafe, complete with designer wall lighting and outdoor patio, which offers veggie burgers, salads and fresh fruit smoothies. Weight watchers who love desserts will be especially at home, as the ‘fat-free' desserts include marble cake, apple cake and fresh fruit cornbread cobbler with vanilla ice cream. There is another branch in Santa Monica.
120 North Robertson Boulevard, West Hollywood/Melrose
Tel: (310) 652 4444.
Price: $$
Other location:
530 Wilshire Boulevard, Santa Monica
Tel: (310) 319 9100.
Out Take Bistro
This small, modern yet cosy cafe full of aspiring actors and musicians offers a creative menu of bistro favorites, imaginative salads and pasta dishes. The homemade
borscht, served hot or cold, is an original Armenian recipe from the owner's mother. The staff are friendly and the prices are reasonable. Free parking available.
11929 Ventura Boulevard
Tel: (818) 760 1111.
Website:
www.outtakebistro.com Price: $$
Personal RecommendationsBLDIt would be easy to pop in for a perfect breakfast and brunch, linger for lunch and move on to a satisfying supper. This restaurant does all three with aplomb whilst managing to be both sophisticated and comfortable. Mingle with well-heeled Four Seasons guests, discreet business people, and even the odd celebrity, while looking out onto the cornerstones of Rodeo Drive.
7450 Beverly Boulevard
Tel: (323) 930 9744.
www.bldrestaurant.comPrice: $$-$$$
CapriThe minimalist white décor, with Bauhaus-style chairs and black leather booths, is accentuated by romantic candle chandeliers and elegant twinkling lights, and offers a varied wine list and attentive service. This will appeal to everyone. The pumpkin ravioli with sage and pine nuts justifies its fame but the starters, such as the warm herbed goat's cheese with greens, are noteworthy, as is the tarte tatin.
1616 Abbot Kinney Boulevard, Venice
Tel: (310) 392 8777.
Price: $$
HatfieldsThere is a hushed calm to the interior of Hatfields befitting this operation that takes its food very seriously indeed. The husband and wife team (him: savoury; her: sweet) is responsible for a menu that consistently uses fresh produce. Expect mains along the lines of pan-roasted duck breast, with quinoa and mitake mushrooms, butternut squash and a whiskey prune sauce. The wine list is small, yet perfectly formed. Closed Sunday.
7458 Beverly Boulevard.
Tel: (323) 935 2977.
Website:
www.hatfieldsrestaurant.comPrice: $$$
Joe's Restaurant
This crisp, stylish restaurant is renowned for light yet imaginative food. Breads come with a superb olive tapenade. A changing menu offers creative cuisine like New Zealand salmon with mushrooms, polenta and citrus-soy emulsion or goat's cheese cake for dessert. Brunch is recommended.
1023 Abbot Kinney Boulevard, Venice
Tel: (310) 399 5811.
Website:
www.joesrestaurant.com Price: $$$
The Palm
Steaks and giant lobsters are the draw here at this bustling chain. Hand-drawn caricatures on the walls (the Palm's signature décor) date back to the 1920s when the original restaurant was on Second Avenue in New York. Portions are large, but be sure to save room for the creamed spinach in garlic oil and the New York cheesecake. Service is excellent.
9001 Santa Monica Boulevard, West Hollywood
Tel: (310) 550 8811.
Website:
www.thepalm.com Price: $$$
Roy's
A chain restaurant with a Hawaiian-fusion menu, minimalist décor and delicious food. Roy's Canoe starters
are a changing sampling of such tasty treats as
shrimp sticks, baby back ribs, ahi poke and pork and seafood potstickers. Roy's Classic Roasted Macadamia Nut Mahi Mahi with lobster butter sauce is a taste sensation. The prix fixe menu provides an excellent seasonal selection.
800 South Figueroa Street
Tel:
(213) 488 4994.
Website:
www.roysrestaurant.comPrice: $$$
Other location:
1100 South Flower Street, Los Angeles
Tel: (213) 764 600.
Typhoon
For those who love adventure, this modern Pacific Rim restaurant is a must. Not only is its location (above a runway at Santa Monica airport with neon-lit night views) precarious, but its menu will terrify the timid. Starting out tamely enough with items like coconut soup, pork spare ribs and roasted aubergine, it cuts to the chase with stir-fried crickets, Chambai ants and white sea worms. Yes, the real thing - and they are surprisingly delicious. There are also less unusual spicy fish and meat dishes. Closed for lunch Saturday.
3221 Donald Douglas Loop South (between Centinela Avenue and 23rd Street), Santa Monica
Tel: (310) 390 6565.
Website:
www.typhoon.biz Price: $$
Woo Lae Oak
This traditional Korean barbecue offers one of LA's best ethnic cuisines in an authentic atmosphere. Marinated meats and exotic vegetables are grilled at each table. Meals come with a choice of one of 30
kimchis (Korean spicy pickled cabbage) and soup. The Beverly Hills branch caters to an American business crowd with a more upmarket ambience.
170 North La Cienega Boulevard, Beverly Hills
Tel: (310) 652 4187.
Website:
www.woolaeoakbh.com Price: $$$
Nightlife:As the world's showbiz capital, Los Angeles attracts both new and established talent, across the fields of cabaret, jazz, rock and blues and country and western. Nightclubs around town offer a mix of live bands and recorded music, and the city is home to some of the most vibrant comedy clubs in the USA.
Sunset Boulevard (with its famous ‘Sunset Strip') still boasts some of the city's most famous clubs but is by no means the only hotspot. Other good nightlife areas are Santa Monica, especially along Third Street Promenade; Hollywood and West Hollywood, the latter a center for gay nightlife. Pine Avenue in Long Beach and Pasadena's Old Town also have a good number of jazz clubs and other night spots. Admission prices for clubs and live music vary widely according to the entertainment. Entertainment listings can be found in
LA Weekly (website:
www.laweekly.com), a free paper distributed around town. Because of LA liquor laws, bars stop serving at 0200. The minimum drinking age is 21 years. Anyone who looks under 40 years old should carry photo ID - it's probable that you'll have to show it on the door. There is no smoking inside any public place in Los Angeles and this includes bars and nightclubs. However, many do offer outdoor areas where smoking is permitted.
Bars: Starting with the Sunset Strip, the
Rainbow Bar & Grill, 90015 Sunset Boulevard, attracts the music industry and is known as the hair-metal drinking spot of the 1980s. The
SkyBar, at the Philippe Starck-designed
Mondrian Hotel, 8440 Sunset Boulevard, may be trading on its reputation for attracting LA's beautiful people, but it still has a great view and the same air of glamour that pervades the whole hotel chain. Occupying a former nursing home at 8300 Sunset Boulevard, the hotel bar of the
Standard is less exclusive than Skybar, but equally popular. Still on the Strip, make sure you stop off at the
Sunset Tour Hotel. In this splendid 1920s building at number 8358, the authentic art deco lounge bar extends out into the pool area complete with statues of pink flamingos. The
Cat'N Fiddle is an English-style bar with courtyard and fountain, at 6530 Sunset Boulevard. Two other good choices are
Spider Club at 1737 Vine Street and the
Velvet Margarita Cantina, a late night trendy Mexican lounge, 1612 North Cahuenga Boulevard, both in Hollywood.
For LA gay life, try any bar along Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood, including the reliable
Gold Coast at number 8228, or the crazy
Fubar at number 7994, with drag queens and bingo nights. The biggest are probably
Rage at number 8911,
Circus Disco at 6655 (website:
www.circusdisco.com), and
Micky's at 8857. In this boys' paradise, there is a haven for lesbians at
Palms, 8572 Santa Monica (website:
www.thepalmsbar.com). For a mixed, hipper crowd, try
Akbar, 4356 West Sunset Boulevard (website:
www.akbarsilverlake.com) or
here,
696 North Robertson Boulevard (website:
www.herelounge.com).
The
Observation Bar, aboard the RMS Queen Mary
in Long Beach, is an art deco joy - a great place for a romantic martini while the sun sets. In the same area, the
Rock Bottom Brewery, 1 Pine Avenue, is a good place to try handmade beers brewed on the premises. Downtown, the best views of the skyscrapers can be had from the revolving cocktail bar,
BonaVista at Westin Bonaventure Hotel, 404 South Figueroa Street. With souvenir glasses, floor to ceiling windows and piped music, it's all very 1980s but hard to beat. Also Downtown,
The Roof Bar at The Standard, 550 South Flower Street, is a very stylish place to check out the skyline.
Clubs: Serious clubbers will find the LA scene a little on the soft side compared to NYC and London (the 0200 curfew doesn't help), and the emphasis tends to be on looking cool and spending large, rather than dancing hard to name DJs. For serious style, long queues and sexy moves (including semi-naked dancers on glass-encased podiums), try
Deep, 1707 Vine Street, on the corner of Hollywood and Vine Streets (website:
www.deep-la.com).
Area, 643 North La Cienega Boulevard is a swish joint with banquette seating and a spacious dancefloor. The infamous
Viper Room, 8852 Sunset Boulevard (website:
www.viperroom.com), owned by Johnny Depp, is a small, dark, hip hangout for rock musicians and groupies, although its club nights tend to be more funk and disco.
In Santa Monica,
Gotham Hall, 1431 Third Street Promenade (website:
www.gothamhall.com), with its clubby look and bustling billiards hall, is populated by pretty boys and girls. The sophisticated
Club Cohiba, 110 East Broadway (website:
www.cohibalongbeach.com), Long Beach, features a cigar and billiard room, a Martini lounge and a rooftop terrace. Swing-dancing is making a comeback in LA and the
Derby, 4500 Los Feliz Boulevard, is the best place to jive - also featured in the film
Swingers.
A former 1920s speakeasy
Boardner's, 1652 North Cherokee Avenue, Hollywood (website:
www.boardners.com), is home to the
B52 Club where dancers grind to everything from goth to funk to erotica. Run by the same man (Ivan Kane) as Deep is
Forty Deuce, 5574 Melrose Avenue (website:
www.fortydeuce.com), a sultry cabaret-style lounge-bar, complete with burlesque. A bit further out in Santa Monica, but equally good, is
The Space, at 2020 Wilshire Boulevard.
Comedy: The Comedy Store, 8433 West Sunset Boulevard (website:
www.thecomedystore.com), is a good starting point as it features three rooms, which offer a variety of acts, from mainstream to fledgling. In the past, it has seen the arrival of people like Robin Williams, David Letterman, Whoopi Goldberg and Gary Shandling. The
Laugh Factory, 8001 West Sunset Boulevard (website:
www.laughfactory.com), is a smaller venue where you may see famous names, like Neal Brennan or Rodney Dangerfield, testing out their routines.
Groundlings 7307 Melrose Avenue in West Hollywood (website:
www.groundlings.com) is another premier venue where several
Saturday Night Live members (Laraine Newman for example) got their start.
Live Music: The
House of Blues, 8430 West Sunset Boulevard (website:
www.hob.com), features not just top blues performers, but everything from heavy metal to hip hop and folk music.
Harvelle's, 1432 Fourth Street, in Santa Monica (website:
www.harvelles.com) is another good spot for blues.
Top jazz entertainers perform at the packed
Catalina Bar & Grill, 6725 West Sunset Boulevard (website:
www.catalinajazzclub.com). Booking is essential. Another good spot, the
Jazz Bakery, 3233 Helms Boulevard in Culver City (website:
www.jazzbakery.com), offers up world-class music most nights of the week. For something a little quirky, head to
The Dresden, all white leather upholstery and cork walls, at 1760 North Vermont Avenue (website:
www.thedresden.com). Resident jazz performers Marty and Elayne attract a mix of in-the-know movie buffs (the lounge featured in Swingers) and fans who just appreciate the music and cocktails.
Two venerable rock clubs, hosting fairly mainstream acts, are
The Roxy (website:
http://theroxyonsunset.com) and
Whisky A Go-Go (website:
www.whiskyagogo.com) at 9009 and 8901 West Sunset Boulevard.
The Staples Center, 1111 South Figueroa Street (website:
www.staplescenter.com), is the venue for mega-concerts and events such as the Grammy Awards. Located nearby is the 7,100-seater
NOKIA Theater, 777 Chick Hearn Court (website:
www.nokiatheaterlalive.com), which also hosts well-known bands and award shows.
The Cowboy Palace, 21635 Devonshire Street, Chatsworth (website:
www.cowboypalace.com) is the undisputed king of the city's country music clubs, and patrons can even sing up for lessons to keep up with the latest dance crazes.
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