Los Angeles Restaurants: Recommendations & Reviews

[Sven]

Melisse is without doubt the best restaurant in LA. The food is supurb and service outstanding. Although it will cost you $110 for a plain 4 course meal, but at the end of the evening you will walk away with a big smile. My favorites are 2 preparations of foi gras, wilde alaska salmon and the chocolade dessert.

Other great restaurants are Spago and Joe's.

[Sararwelch]

I love Campanile, and it's in a really interesting building. I've been there a few times, and the food was great. It's not quite as expensive as some of the other high end places.

[Kent Wang]

Best sushi: Mori, Urasawa, any other contenders? Urasawa is out of my price range but Mori seems like it can be about $100 a head? Is this kind of like New York where there's Masa for $400 and Sushi Yasuda for $100, with Masa/Urasawa being more contemporary and Mori/Yasuda being more traditional?

[prelude_prince]

Hi all,

Long time lurker and a food lover here. First post (yay).

Anyways, I'm headed to LA for about 4 days in late February, planning to go to the following areas;

Santa Monica

Disneyland

Universal Studios

Hollywood

Beverly Hills

Malibu

Only visited LA previously with tour/disneyland. Really don't know where the great food and drinks are! Right now, the only thing I have planned is (Thanks to some of the advice I've read on this forum):

Lunch at Paul Getty Centre Restaurant

Dinner at Geoffrey's in Malibu

Please help make my LA Trip a memorable one Type of cuisine does not really matter... I also would like to find a nice bar/lounge for drinks, a nice hip/chill place at night if someone could help on that...

Thank you very much in advance.

[JoshEKG]

It would be helpful to know where you are coming from to determine what you can't get at home that is available in LA. Some places I would recommend:

Monte Alban - Just outside of santa monica, Oaxacan food (moles). I really like the goat taco, molotes, and the mole tamale.

Mariscos Chente in Mar Vista for Sinaloan/Nayarit style seafood. This is about 15 minutes away from Santa Monica and has very fresh seafood, great shrimp dishes, pescado zarandeado (whole grilled fish) and is priced very reasonably ($15/kg fish, $12 shrimp entrees).

Mori Sushi, great sushi just outside of Santa Monica. Sit at the counter and make sure to ask for fresh wasabi

Gjelina or Tasting Kitchen on Abbot Kinney in Venice. I like Gjelina for brunch or dinner and Tasting Kitchen for dinner. Good atmosphere and great food.

Langers - best pastrami. Not open for dinner.

Father's Office - culver city & santa monica. I prefer the culver city location since it is much larger and has full bar. Get the burger. Great beer selection and good mixed drinks. They are kind of like the soup nazi in that there are no substitutions and no ketchup available for the fries - but if you can get past this the drinks and the food are good.

Cora's Coffee Shop for breakfast in Santa Monica.

Geoffrey's in Malibu is only worth going to for the view. The food is ok and the drinks are good, but if it didn't have the view I'd never go. It's probably better to go for lunch and sit on the balcony, since it should be sunny out (bring sunglasses). At dinner it will be dark and much colder.

[Carolyn Tillie]

Ditto on Geofrey's -- What time is your reservation? Only if it is clear and you are seated by 4:30 or 5:00 will it be worthwhile to see a sunset. If it is cloudy or rainy, you aren't going to see anything but a big, black span and not get very good food.

[prelude_prince]

Thank you for the suggestions. Hmmm... I guess maybe I'll change the plan a bit and hit up Geoffrey's for lunch then... Also forgot to mention that Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles is on my list as well! And a lil bit about myself;

I travel back and forth from Vancouver, Canada, and Hong Kong. Both great places for food I love all cuisine, do not really have a preference... For drinks though, you could say I'm a sucker for trendy hip places with a spectacular ambience! Was in Vegas last month and went here...

Any similar places for drinks in LA area?

[Shamanjoe]

I'd definitely say hit up Trader Vic's.

800 W. Olympic

Los Angeles, CA 90015

A Mai Tai is a must, but try the other drinks too!

[Kouign Aman]

There's that place at LAX - its very 60's right now.

The one in the big spider... I have no idea what its called.

Especially nice if one has arrived much too early for a flight, or has a longish layover.

[heidih]

There's that place at LAX - its very 60's right now.

The one in the big spider... I have no idea what its called.

Especially nice if one has arrived much too early for a flight, or has a longish layover.

It is called "Encounter" and is undergoing exterior renovations but I checked and it is open. Hours: Mon through Wednesday 11 to 4, Thursday through Sunday 11 to 9:30.

[christinajun]

I second Gjelina's! It looks like you have a ton of recommendations for Santa Monica and the westside...

For Hollywood my personal favorites are Osteria Mozza (the Pizzeria is good also) and Hatfield's. I would stay away from the trendy Hollywood scene, the food is terrible and drinks are way over-priced.

[ScousechefinNZ]

Kind of on the same subject, I am an English chef Living and work permenantely in New Zealand with my Kiwi wife. We are taking a trip to the uk next year and are fortunate enough to stop in LA. It'll only be my second trip to the US after going to Hawaii last year.

Simple question, as a seriously over the top foodie who loves his food.....WHERE DO I EAT!

[Honkman]

Good restaurants in Los Angeles are so diverse that it would be helpful to give us some hints what your are looking for. Are you more looking for innovative high-end food, special ethnic restaurant, hole-in-the-walls, "classic" LA restaurants etc. ?

[Pilori]

Price range would be helpful, too!

[percival]

In regard to L.A. Japanese food, I'd definitely concur and say skip Little Tokyo. Real Japanese food is found in Torrance and Gardena area, where the Japanese people, especially the new immigrants and semi/permanent residents, actually live.

Of note:

Sanuki no Sato -- been around forever, known for their udon, though their izakaya tasting menu is amazing.

Gaja Moc -- real okonomiyaki, though only for dinner. DIY if you know what you're doing. Mix modern yaki if you want the works.

Santohka Ramen -- have the toroniku shoyu ramen. Wafer thin slices of succulent pork. It must be this location, not the others. Nothing comes close in SoCal.