Trying to narrow down the best restaurants in Los Angeles can feel overwhelming.
The city is massive, the food scene is constantly evolving, and not every spot lives up to the hype.
If you want tried-and-true places that are actually worth your time (and your appetite), you’re in the right place.
Every restaurant on this list is somewhere we’ve personally eaten, many more than once, so these aren’t random recommendations pulled off a map.
These are the places we revisit for date nights, casual lunches, celebratory dinners, and when friends come into town and ask, “Where should we eat?”
If you’re looking for restaurants in LA that deliver great food, fun atmosphere, and experiences we’d confidently recommend again, start here.
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Best Restaurants In Los Angeles
I want to start off by saying if you’re looking for any of these specific areas, we have a separate blog post for them: Westwood, Beverly Hills, Hollywood, Fairfax District, Glendale, and Burbank.
All of those posts are much shorter, with only about 5-10 restaurants in each post.
So, here are all of our favorite restaurants in Los Angeles that aren’t in the above listed areas!
1. Don Antonio’s Mexican Food
You may recognize this restaurant if you’ve ever seen The Hills.
It’s a favorite of Heidi and Spencer Pratt, who still visit from time to time.
It’s kind of in the West LA area, right off of the 405 and 10.
With the dark interior, it makes for a romantic evening of chimichangas and flautas.
2. The Nice Guy
The Nice Guy is a celebrity hot spot near the Beverly Center.
There are no photos allowed inside (unless you’re discreetly taking photos of your food or drink), so you can see how it makes for an intimate and romantic evening.
They have a phenomenal craft cocktail list and a variety of small plates.
We had a drink called the Shake Down, which is essentially a mojito.
As an appetizer we shared some fried mozzarella.
For our meal we shared the rigatoni vodka with shrimp.
3. Father’s Office
Father’s Office has a Santa Monica and a Culver City location.
We love the Culver City location because it’s in the Helms Design District with some cool neon signs and other restaurants.
For appetizers, you should try the Chorizo Fritters.
The Office Burger is one of the best burgers in all of LA.
It has caramelized onion, bacon, gruyere, Maytag blue cheese, and arugula.
Then the side basket of fries comes with garlic parsley aioli.
4. VIPs Cafe
VIP’s Cafe is on Ventura Blvd in the Encino and Tarzana area.
John Wooden (a former UCLA basketball coach) had a favorite booth here that you can still dine in.
It still has a classic diner vibe, but it actually has only been open since 1998.
It’s very popular for breakfast and has all the staples like omelettes, hash browns, sausage patties, and biscuits.
5. Casa Vega
We actually went here specifically because they were offering a special cocktail for The Eras Tour and we were already in the area to take my sister to Universal while she was in town visiting.
Casa Vega in the Sherman Oaks area on Ventura Blvd and has been around since the 50s.
6. Johnnie’s French Dip Pastrami
Johnnie’s is a classic diner in Culver City that has been around since the 50s.
We went here one night after doing a night time Sony Studio Tour since it was on our way home and on our LA restaurant bucket list.
Like the sign says, they have French Dip Sandwiches, Pastrami Sandwiches, Hot Dogs, and Hamburgers.
We tried the pastrami sandwich, ham and cheese sandwich, and shared some onion rings.
7. Grand Central Market
Grand Central Market is a food hall in downtown LA with a little bit of everything.
The first place we went to was La Fruteria for a juice while we walked around and figured out what we wanted to eat.
For our meal, we went to Tacos Tumbras a Tomas.
We got a very well stuffed beef burrito with beans and rice.
For dessert, we took home some donuts from The Donut Man.
8. Chin Chin
We went to Chin Chin when they still had their West Hollywood location on Sunset Blvd.
Now they’re just in Brentwood and Studio City.
When we were there, there was a lot of filming going on outside on the sidewalk, so I shared some photos on Instagram and was informed it was some stars from Selling Sunset.
We were just there for a quick lunch while doing some other sightseeing, so we shared pot stickers and chow mein noodles.
9. Frisco’s Carhop
This one is a little more outside of town, over in Whittier, but it’s still LA county!
Frisco’s Carhop is a classic 50’s style diner, complete with booths inside of classic cars.
They have diner foods like burgers and sandwiches and fries.
We love the Frisco’s Patty Melt with the Parmesan Zucchini Sticks.
10. Mixt
Mixt has a few locations throughout the LA area, but we’ve only been to the one next to the La Brea Tar Pits.
It’s a great lunch spot to get something light and nutritious.
We loved the agua fresca with carrot, ginger, and turmeric.
For lunch we shared the Zesty Bowl, which is quinoa, kale, grilled chicken, feta, oranges, avocado, cabbage, pickled red onion, fresh herbs, and lemon herb vinaigrette.
11. Maria’s Italian Kitchen
Maria’s Italian Kitchen also has a few locations throughout LA, but we’ve only been to the location in Calabasas.
We went here specifically we had seen it on an episode of The Kardashians and decided to give it a try.
We shared a side salad and a plate of chicken fettucine alfredo.
12. L.A. Full House Seafood Restaurant
This is a Chinese restaurant in LA’s Chinatown.
We went here one night for dinner before being hosted on a ghost tour through the area, which I highly recommend.
We had the wonton soup, juicy pork dumplings, bbq pork fried rice, and then when they brought out the fortune cookie they also brought some orange slices and nuts.
13. Boo’s Philly Cheesesteak
There’s a Silver Lake location and a Koreatown location – we’ve only been to the Koreatown location, which is on Wilshire Blvd.
They have really cheesy Philly Cheesesteaks with a really soft bun and they’re loaded up really well.
I couldn’t find a picture from when we went, but if you look up their menu they have photos on it!
14. The Original Tops
Tops is an old-school diner from the 1950s in Pasadena.
They have really great patty melts and pastrami sandwiches.
As a side, I recommend their zucchini sticks.
15. Nobu Malibu
Nobu Malibu is a celebrity hot spot for a very good reason.
The ocean views and atmosphere just cannot be beat.
I’m not a martini drinker at all, but they have a melon sake martini that is as smooth as juice.
Their Old Fashioned is also delicious.
A great appetizer to snack on is their Edamame.
Getting sushi rolls for the table is also a great way to sample the menu.
We tried the spicy tuna roll, baked crab roll, California roll, and vegetable roll.
16. Broad Street Coffee Co
This is a great coffee shop to do some work on the go.
It’s in Malibu, not too far from the pier.
We loved the French Toast Latte.
17. Vicky’s Doghouse
Vicky’s Doghouse is a gourmet hot dog kitchen at the USS Iowa in San Pedro.
We got to eat here as part of a hosted event when they were launching a new escape room style scavenger hunt on the USS Iowa, which I highly recommend!
Since we had a group of 4 we were able to try a little bit of everything.
You can choose a regular Nathan’s hot dog or upgrade to others like an Italian Sausage or Polish Sausage.
18. San Pedro Fish Market
That same night, we also went over to the San Pedro Fish Market for dinner.
It’s right on the water, so the sunset views are great.
It gets very busy, especially when they’re doing karaoke!
The portions are massive and your meal is served on a whole tray.
19. Green Acres Market
This is all the way up in Simi Valley, which is still sort of the LA area.
It’s pretty low-key and it’s good for taking food to go.
I personally love their mac n cheese, but they also have good burritos, which is what JP gets.
I think the one in the photo is a tri-tip burrito with rice and beans.
20. The Alamo
The Alamo is a great place to go for Taco Tuesday specials in Thousand Oaks.
JP and I have been here a handful of times, but I somehow never got any photos of the actual food.
They have a great variety of margaritas and a great chorizo bean dip.
Fun Things To Do In Los Angeles
We have a blog post of some of our favorite Secret Spots In Los Angeles and they are located all over.
If you’ve never been, Universal Studios Hollywood is perfect for a full day visit and they have a ton of new attractions in the last few years.
If you’re visiting in the Fall, there are a couple popular night time events including Nights of the Jack in Calabasas and Carved at Descanso Gardens.
If you’re visiting in the Winter, check out the LA Zoo Holiday Lights.
Where To Stay In Los Angeles
We’ve stayed in a few hotels in the LA area, including the Waldorf-Astoria in Beverly Hills, but our favorite place we’ve stayed is the iconic Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel.
You might know it as the hotel from Pretty Woman with Julia Roberts!
We stayed once for New Year’s and absolutely love it.
It’s in walking distance to all the Rodeo Drive shops and restaurants too.
Click Here To Book Your Beverly Wilshire Stay Today!
Conclusion: Best Restaurants In Los Angeles
LA is massive and there are an insane amount of restaurants, making it hard to narrow down exactly where to go.
We tend to stick to the classics that are on all the must-do lists, while also trying a few newer, trendy ones too.
Over the years we’ve also just found a few hidden gems on our own that we love to visit over and over and take our friends and family to when they visit.
Don’t forget we have a separate blog post for each of these specific neighborhoods and towns around LA too: Westwood, Beverly Hills, Hollywood, Fairfax District, Glendale, and Burbank.
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