Best places to eat in Los Angeles in 2022, from old-school icons to budget-friendly delights

Los Angeles is an international city whose population rivals most US states and with more than 33,000 restaurants to choose from, condensing the list to the very best is a daunting task.

Get (re)acquainted with “La La Land” and make the most of your vacation with some of these inspiring meals.

High-end dining for special occasions

Fellow

Enter through an art gallery in Westwood for this Michelin-listed dining experience in a 1930’s building with ornate high ceilings. The coursed menu from Chef Chris Flint is presented in intimate artful bites. Share dishes like hamachi crudo, tempura fried maitake mushrooms, glazed lobster, and grilled wagyu.

An expert sommelier can provide insight into the 2500+ labels in their wine cellar or pair your meal with an exciting cocktail like the Miami Vice Milk Punch or El Camino (Mezcal, sherry, tropical fruit, and spice). Save room for a dessert finale consisting of bites of decadent chocolate layer cake with roasted squash ice cream and poached apple with miso caramel.

Grandmaster Recorders

Fine dining in Los Angeles does not necessarily mean white linen table cloths and stuffy attitudes – California has always been about a relaxed dining environment. Combine exquisite inventive Italian food in a building that was once a former recording studio from 1971 (where Kanye, Beck, and Stevie Wonder produced tracks) until its closure in 2016, and you have Hollywood dining at its best in 2022. Arrive at a chic gold entrance donned with old-school cassettes and vinyl record memorabilia and head to the rooftop for sunset cocktails with a view of the Hollywood sign. Then impress your date at the soaring restaurant space inside for extravagant flavor hits – caviar cannolis, marinated white beans and anchovies, and mortadella begging to be rolled around the cacio e pepe churros.

Laid out like a traditional multicourse Italian menu, Australian chef Monty Koludrovic’s creations are inspired by the history of the building as he reminds us, “During these times we all need a bit of fun.” Admire the chefs’ work in the exposed lengthy open kitchen while you feast on ink cavatelli and crab and gnocchi with slow-cooked lamb. For high rollers, order the infused olive vermouth Dirty Martini that arrives with a bump of Petrossian caviar laid on your hand by the server. Round out your evening under the disco ball from Dancing with the Stars in the sexy Studio 71 lounge for more cocktails and dancing, but not before cracking open the tiramisu – shaped and imprinted like a real record. The scene gets even buzzier for the weekly Sunday Aperitivo party.

Nozawa Bar

There are many high-end omakase experiences in LA but this one is superior, with over 20 courses of primarily nigiri sushi plus sashimi and handrolls. Adventurous eaters can expect surprises like clear Japanese jellyfish, monkfish liver, and the chef hoisting a 4-foot octopus tentacle. This intimate sushi bar tucked behind the famed SUGARFISH in Beverly Hills is led by Chef Fujita.

There are only ten seats available and guests must arrive on time as every course is served to all diners at once. Make a reservation to appreciate rare cuts of kama toro (bluefin tuna’s fatty collar meat), Santa Barbara uni, oysters (Pacific NorthWest), Baja California bluefin tuna, glistening Alaskan ikura (salmon roe), Maine lobster hand roll, scallop, sea eel, giant clam, large tamago portions, and more. There is a reason Nozawa Bar earned a Michelin Star. Splurge on a special night here.

The interior of the Wolfgang Puck restaurant at the Hotel Bel-Air with a view out to the garden terrace — Wolfgang Puck at Hotel Bel-Air is an iconic setting for a special occasion © Joe Schmelzer / Getty Images

Wolfgang Puck at Hotel Bel-Air

The 1950s hotel on a 12-acre plot surrounded by the wooded hills of Bel-Air is worthy of a stop just for the location alone. Cross the bridge and admire swans before dining in the elegant modern garden setting. To really impress, choose a private alcove or booth – the outdoor bar is the perfect spot to spend a long afternoon enjoying modern California fare with European and Mediterranean influences. This is the best of Wolfgang in LA. Think tagliatelle with truffles, Nancy Reagan chopped salad, cacio e pepe pasta with lobster, and veal wiener schnitzel and potatoes. Try the tortilla soup that has been on the menu since 1980. Come for brunch, high tea or a celebratory occasion because prices are steep.

The Restaurant at Mr. C Beverly Hills

While you may want to dine on fine white linens inside the glamorous European restaurant with servers donning white jackets and bow ties (which has become the trademark symbol), we suggest savoring your formal Italian dining experience outdoors with pink linen tablecloths or even poolside. The signature Bellini should be a mandatory start as the white peach puree and prosecco medley was first served here in 1948. Start with Italian classics such as prosciutto with melon and beef carpaccio (also invented by founder Giuseppe Cipriani in the 1940s) and save room for pasta like bucatini with guanciale and homemade potato gnocchi “pillows” with gorgonzola. Don’t miss Mr. C’s signature dessert, the triple-layer vanilla meringue sponge cake.

Jean-Georges Beverly Hills and The Rooftop by JG

The Waldorf Astoria is what 90210 dreams are made of, especially when you catapult yourself to the hotel’s Rooftop by JG for a garden setting with stunning panoramic views. Soak up the glamor and celebrity scene down below in the elegant dining room with the finest California dishes from Jean Georges Vongerichten, three-star Michelin chef and James Beard award-winner.

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Pair wines with the seasonal tasting menu with options like sea urchin and caviar atop crispy potato, green asparagus with morel mushrooms, and rice cracker crusted tuna – so rich you might mistake it for steak. The artistry continues with buckwheat crepes wrapping lobster-like little cigars or a light sauce drizzled over sea trout presented with its skin puffed like a cracker. The Passion Fruit Flower dessert looks too pretty to eat embedded with hazelnut praline and caramel.

No visit to LA is complete without dining at one of these cultural icons

If a restaurant can survive a year in LA, it’s a winner. But some old-school classic establishments have managed to survive decades. When we think of classic LA food experiences we also think of venues that seem to define LA culture – like In-N-Out, Dan Tana’s, Bestia, Republique, Matsuhisa, and Giorgio Baldi, to name a few. Here are some other longstanding classics you shouldn’t miss.

Musso and Frank Grill

Step out of the grit and grime of Hollywood Boulevard into this legendary venue that hasn’t changed in more than 100 years. The waiters and bartenders wear the same red coats they have worn for decades. Close your eyes and imagine dining next to Frank Sinatra, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Francis Ford Coppola, Lauren Bacall, Bob Dylan and countless other stars who considered this restaurant their safe haven. Several feature films and TV shows have been shot inside, most recently Quentin Tarantino’s film “Once Upon a Time In…Hollywood.”

Sip the famed Perfect Martini (stirred not shaken) in the same red leather booths where the Rolling Stones sat and delve into the classics – lobster bisque, chicken pot pie, short ribs and fettuccine alfredo (featuring a recipe from the original Alfredo’s restaurant in Italy that was brought to Musso’s by Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks). The kitchen is also known for its meat, with ribeye steak on the grill as the most popular option. But also consider grilled lamb kidneys with bacon, Charlie Chaplin’s favorite. Today many stars, authors, and studio execs still consider Musso’s their home away from home.Play Video

Introducing Coastal California

Jitlada

This LA institution in a strip mall in Thai Town has been in operation since the 1970s, pleasing guests with spicy southern Thai fare. On any given night you may be seated next to a celebrity or film writer as you gawk at over 200 menu items, including many passed down recipes.

You’ll have the chance to eat something you have never tried or at a spicy heat level you never thought possible. Of course, pad thai, tom kha, Jitlada fried rice, and green curry are a must but other items to put at the top of your ordering list include steamed New Zealand green mussels, spicy mango softshell crab, and southern spicy beef. In 2019, Jitlada earned a Bib Gourmand distinction.

Park’s BBQ

You can’t visit LA without trying Korean BBQ, as LA is home to the USA’s largest Korean population. Let the meat sizzle on your tableside grill while the highest quality cuts roll out with an array of banchan (small side dishes). Order a combo platter with bulgogi, rib eye steak, short rib, galbi, brisket, and Ggot Sal (known as flower meat in Korean due to the marbling), and expect to leave satisfied and smelling like a meat stick.

Yamashiro

Completed in 1914 this hilltop mansion was built as a replica of a palace in Kyoto and has some of the best views of Los Angeles. Spiral up the driveway to this teak-and-cedar mansion in the Hollywood Hills for a dinner above beautiful gardens, a 600-year-old pagoda, and a bronze Buddha. Dining in the inner courtyard gardens also makes for an enchanting setting.

The views alone produce major awe, but the menu also offers a way over-the-top experience. Guests can order a sushi boat or a 4-foot sushi yacht for $500. The 36-ounce Cowboy Steak marinated in garlic smoked shoyu sauce arrives on a cooking stone with lobster tail and octopus on top. While the Chef Val Roll (salmon, tuna, hamachi, topped with avocado, serrano peppers, truffle aioli, spicy mayo, eel sauce, crispy onions) is the most popular, high rollers will want to order off the Secret Menu. Ask for the Billionaire Roll stuffed with lobster and topped with A5 wagyu, uni, truffle aioli, and gold flakes or the Pressed Sushi Cake Roll that neatly packages four fishes atop layers of spicy tuna, cucumber, and rice.

The Pagoda Bar on a terrace above the pool will soon be a hookah lounge, while new outdoor sushi and cocktail bars are coming. The former carriage house offers sake tastings with a small menu. For a special occasion, order a smashable cake in advance. This chocolate heart the size of a dinner plate is cracked open to reveal sugary candy treats – the wow factor is what La La Land is all about and you certainly will find it here.