Places to Dine in Los Angeles?
 

I'll be going to LA for two days then driving to Vegas.

What are some good restaurants to dine at in LA? I'll be staying in the West Hollywood area.


Suggestions? Thanks!!

Ajisai on Palm Ave, The Capital Grille on Beverly Blvd, Caffe Primo on Sunset

AOC on W. 3rd St between Beverly Hills & W. Hollywood.

Went there for dinner with friends 2 weeks ago and it was great! It's owned and operated by Suzanne Goin and sommelier Caroline Styne. Suzanne was in a meeting at the table beside us but Caroline came by to chat with us about our meal and the wine we chose.

Get their famous arroz negro (black squid ink risotto with saffron aioli) dish because it's absolutely delicious!

Reservations are highly recommended.

8022 W. Third St., Los Angeles, CA (323) 653-6359)
aocwinebar.com

Been doing research for my own LA trip. Here's the shortlist I have so far:

Providence
Animal
Bottega Louie
In N Out
Pizzera/Osteria Mozza
Soot Bull Jeep

Skip Capital Grille -> there's one in Seattle.

There's an In N Out just a few blocks from all the car rental spots off of LAX.

That was the first and last stop of my LA trip

i was actually looking at Providence too, most likely will give it a try!!

Hells Kitchen

It's definitely on the top of my list right now. Got my resos for the 25th :)

Here's another list someone wrote for me:

Beverly Hills, Mid-Wilshire, Hollywood:

Providence - Providence - Mid Wilshire - Los Angeles, CA
Supposedly the best tasting menu in all of LA

CUT - CUT - Beverly Hills - Beverly Hills, CA
Ate at the Las Vegas one, best meat I've ever had in my live

Pizzeria Mozza - Pizzeria Mozza - Los Angeles, CA
Pizza, hard to get resos so get one now in case, 1 month advance resos

Osteria Mozza - Osteria Mozza - Los Angeles, CA
Sister restaurant to Pizzeria Mozza, resos open 1 month in advance to the date

Animal - Animal - Mid-City West - Los Angeles, CA
Experimental, food is super rich, small restaurant and hard to get resos, do it now in case too

Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles - Roscoe's House of Chicken & Waffles - Hollywood - Los Angeles, CA
Chicken and waffles, also one in Long Beach and Pasadena

Umami Burger
Multiple locations, burgers are delicious

Santa Monica:

Melisse - Melisse Restaurant - Santa Monica - Santa Monica, CA
Never been but it's on my list of to try places

Gjelina - Gjelina - Venice - Venice, CA
Went for Valentine's, good food, would go again

Downtown LA, Korea Town, Japan Town:

Bottega Louie - Bottega Louie - Downtown - Los Angeles, CA
No resos, chaos there, long waits if you don't go at off hours

Road to Seoul - Road to Seoul - Los Angeles, CA
Best AYCE Korean BBQ I've had, not overly expensive either

Daikokuya - Daikokuya - Downtown - Los Angeles, CA
Ramen, wait can be a little long

Orochon Ramen - Orochon Ramen - Little Tokyo - Los Angeles, CA
Eat the Level 2 spicy ramen challenge and get your picture on the wall! Same place as Man vs Food

Sushi Gen - Sushi-Gen - Downtown - Los Angeles, CA
Sushi lovers like this place, I don't eat seafood though so I don't know

Arcadia, San Gabriel, Alhambra, Hacienda Heights, Rowland Heights, fob-area:

Ding Tai Fong - Din Tai Fung Dumpling House - Arcadia, CA
Xiao Long Bao, very popular but I think they are just alright

SinBaLa - SinBala Restaurant - Arcadia, CA
Taiwanese food, shaved ice!

Class 302 - Class 302 - Rowland Heights, CA
Taiwanese food, good desserts too

Long Beach, Orange County:

La Creperie Cafe - La Creperie Café - Long Beach, CA
Delicious savory and dessert crepes

Brodard - Brodard Restaurant - Garden Grove, CA
DEFINITELY come here if you're in the area, spring rolls!!!

Anjin - Anjin - Costa Mesa, CA
Japanese BBQ, uber long waits if you don't get there when they open, very yummy meat

Boiling Crab - The Boiling Crab - Garden Grove, CA
If you like Cajun seafood, shrimp, crab and all that jazz

85C Bakery - 85C Bakery Cafe - Irvine, CA
An uber popular bakery, long waits

I can vouche for Daikoku-ya Ramen. Try their kurobota pork sausages. :)

Don't bother with Din Tai Fung. Nothing particularly special nor amazing. There is one in Seattle if you must.

Various locations but go Eat @ The Hat.

How does Eat @ The hat compare to Katz (if you've been)? might have to check that place out.

Agreed on Din Tai Fung - the asian ones are way better.

I tried the level 2 spicy ramen here and couldn't do it.

I finished all the noodles, meat & bean sprouts but 1/2 the bowl was full of jalapeno peppers and other chillis.

You have 30 minutes to finish it.

Hmm...Can't say I remember. I was in NYC in 2009 and I've had The Hat in Alhambra (original location) several times since. Wouldn't be a fair comparison but coming down to personal preference, I like The Hat better. They use a different bread (French roll) but I can't remember any kind of significant difference between the two pastrami other than the pastrami @ The Hat is juicier.

Just a warning if you go to the Alhambra location - it's really just a take-out location. There are some seats outside but it can get pretty busy. The food gets messy so be prepared or take it to go and eat at your hotel or something. :D

Edit: Try their chili cheese fries with pastrami. Holy shit. :D :D :D

Had my food tour:

Providence - amazing. Got the chef's tasting and a wine pairing. The wine pairing is an ASS TONNE of wine. 10 glasses so split it.

Bottega Louie - ok. Pizza is similar to campagnolo. Macarons are pretty solid.

Pizzera Mozza - very good pizza. A step above verace and nicli

Park BBQ - best korean bbq i've ever had. The wagyu and prime were melt in your mouth good.

Soot Bull Jeep - solid, but a step below park.

The Hat - Not bad. Not great... instead go to...

Langer's - the east coast version of katz.

Daikoku-ya Ramen - didn't blow me away. We can get similar quality in vancouver at santuoka and ramen in japan is better. Sausages were good. Pork tonkatsu sucked.

Miru 8691 - imaginative rolls and a really good kalbi burger.

El Chato (taco truck) - western and lexington - try everything! Refer to the great taco hunt website to see why. Favourites were the buche (stomach), tripa (tripe) and head (um I want to say cesa).

Bru's Wiffles - chicken and waffles were very good. Moist chicken, fluffy waffles...

Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles - this place sucks balls. I dont understand the appeal. The chicken is small, dry and overcooked and the waffles taste like rubber. Stupid tourist trap. *grumble*

Animal - rich food. Had fois gras, veal brain, rabbit and some other stuff which I dont remember. Super tasty. Full of hipsters.

There's Inn'n Outs scattered everywhere around LA, I must have ate it like 3 times on my last visit to LA, get the Animal Burger, mustard cooked into the patty with all the toppings, it's awesome!

I also tried "Spago" in Beverly Hills which was quite a pleasant experience too, supposedly lots of celebs go there.

I was so excited to go there then felt the same way when the food came.

^^ agreed. It's all hype.

http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot..._1244337_n.jpg

Been there just to say I've been there, won't go back again.

Also was advised to go to Sweet Lady Jane http://www.sweetladyjane.com/for supposingly "the best dessert in the world". Was utterly disappointed, don't go.

http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot..._1283789_n.jpg

Also heard lots of good things about Providence, but didn't get to go last time i was in LA.

goto Santa Ana, Ca.

Cafe Lu :D

Just got back from LA not long ago.

To touch on the DaFonz's post above:

Yeah. The Hat is one of those that aren't bad but aren't good. It comes down to personal preference, IMO.

Daikoku-ya is one of those places that are "good" but nowhere deserving to be categorized to blow anybody away. :p For the price, it's not bad. If there's a line up, I would personally say fuck it and suggest leaving and going elsewhere because you're not missing much if you've had Santuka or whatever in Vancouver.

Total tourist trap. I don't say much so people can experience it once and for all. :D

Next time you're in LA and you're a fan of classic American dishes, check out Chef Suzanne Tracht's Jar on Beverly Boulevard, just off La Cienega. :)