The document provides a list and descriptions of 21 highly acclaimed restaurants in Los Angeles. It discusses the variety of cuisines available, from classic delis serving pastrami sandwiches to upscale tasting menus to food stalls at the historic Farmers Market. Many of the restaurants are pioneers that have shaped trends in American food over decades and introduced new styles of dining to the city.

1. The Best Restaurants in Los Angeles
With a vibrant immigrant population, access to fresh seafood and
produce, and a stable of ground-breaking chefs, Los Angeles has much to
offer on the food front. Visitors can sample foods at restaurants that date
back over a century or dine at the latest and hippest Hollywood hotspot.
The choices are endless, and the journey is exciting.
Here’s our favorites:

2. 1. Farmer's Market
The Farmers Market opened in way back in 1934 and is considered a
historic Los Angeles landmark. It’s open 7 days a week and boasts over 100
restaurants, vendors, and shops. Much of the food is local, the variety is
incredibly diverse, and everything is fresh. With everyone from restaurant
owners to tourists frequenting the place, the vibe is bustling, and the people-
watching opportunities are awesome. Be sure to go hungry, because there’s
plenty of food to sample. Places to eat at the Farmer’s Market include Du-
Pars Pie Shop, Gill’s Old Fashioned Ice Cream, Normandie Bakery, and the
Gumbo Pot. Also, consider taking a Farmers Market tour with Melting Pot
Food Tours - read more here (Photo by Eric Gardner)

3. 2. Spago
When Spago originally opened in 1982 on the Sunset Strip, Wolfgang Puck
introduced his California cuisine to the world and became a celebrity chef in
the process. Hollywood’s celebrities and power-elite flocked to the restaurant
and competed for the power tables. Spago spawned the designer pizza
movement is America, and Wolfgang Puck was one of the pioneers of Asian
Fusion and New American cuisine. The original Spago was located on Sunset
Boulevard in Hollywood and closed down in 2001. The current location
opened in 1997 and soon became the preferred location of celebrities. It went
through a major renovation in 2012 - read more here (Photo by Alan Light)

4. 3. Sugarfish by Sushi Nozawa
Sugarfish By Sushi Nozawa is master sushi chef Kazunori Nozawa’s foray
into bringing the omakase sushi experience to people at an affordable price
point. From 1987 until 2012, Nozawa ran Sushi Nozawa, a Ventura
Boulevard sushi bar where he attracted a celebrity clientele and built a
reputation as as Los Angeles’ infamous “Sushi Nazi.” In 2007, he gained
fame when Charlize Theron complained on The Tonight Show about being
kicked out of his restaurant after she advised him on which types of fish to
serve. For Sugarfish, Nozawa teamed up with tech entrepreneur Jerry
Greenberg to create high-quality, creative omakase menus at set price points
of $20, $30 and $40. The venture was a success, and now there are numerous
Sugarfish locations in the Los Angeles area. At the Beverly Hills Sugarfish
location, there is a reservation-only, 10-seat Nozawa Bar hidden in the back
of the restaurant - read more here (Photo by david_mah)

5. 4. Guelaguetza
Guelaguetza is run by the Lopez family and is widely regarded as one of the
best Oaxacan restaurants in the United States. In 2015, it was the first
traditional Mexican restaurant to be named an "American Classic” by the
James Beard Foundation. Expect a variety of complex and richly-flavored
mole sauces made from family recipes with combinations of chiles, nuts,
seeds, spices, and bitter chocolate. The mole sauces are featured in
everything from the breakfasts to the tamales to the desserts. Other authentic
Oaxacan food includes tlayudas (Mexican pizza), cactus, goat, and
grasshoppers. Wash the food down with a Michelada or one of the many
Mezcal or Tequila cocktails. Guelaguetza is located in the heart of Koreatown
is a small nondescript place. Inside, however, things gets lively, with live
music, festive decor, and people everywhere. The staff is friendly and caters
to both Spanish and English speakers and the atmosphere is family-friendly
- read more here (Photo by Charlie Kaijo)

6. 5. The Bazaar by José Andrés
The Bazaar by José Andrés was named one of the “Best New Restaurants
for 2009” by Esquire. Chef José Andrés is credited with bringing the small
plate dining concept to America, and he made a name for himself in culinary
circles for his restaurants in the Washington, DC, area, including minibar,
Jaleo, and Oyamel. The Bazaar mixes old world tradition with modern
molecular whimsy to create a sensory dining experience. The small plate,
tapas-style dishes and specialty cocktails are served in a playful lounge
spaces. The modernist space was designed by Philippe Starck and is divided
into several distinct spaces within the lobby of the SLS Beverly Hills Hotel.
Progressive dining is available at Bar Centro, Rojo, Blanca and The
Patisserie. SAAM provides a 20-course tasting menu - read more here (Photo
by tannaz)

7. 6. Father's Office
Father’s Office is a bustling gastropub with awesome burgers – including
the famous Office Burger – and a rotating list of 36 craft beers on tap. The
original location opened in 1953 in Santa Monica, and, in the 1970's,
it became a pioneer in the craft beer movement when the bar began offering
California microbrews from Anchor Steam and Sierra Nevada. Sang Yoon
bought the tiny bar in 2000 and used his chef talents to up the ante in the
bar’s food offerings, which previously only consisted of cheese plates. Yoon
introduced the now-famous Office Burger, which featured only very high
quality ingredients and is often cited as the burger that initiated the gourmet
burger movement. In addition to the beer selection, Father’s Office also
serves small producer wines, and the Los Angeles location serves cocktails
made with spirits from micro-distillers.
In 2008, Yoon opened a second location in Los Angeles in the historic Helms
Bakery building - read more here (Photo by vmiramontes)

8. 7. Providence
Providence received two stars from the Michelin Guide in 2009, which was
the last year the guide was published for the Los Angeles area, and the
seafood restaurant has been declared one of the “One of America’s Top 50
Restaurants” by Gourmet magazine. Chef Michael Cimarusti opened
his restaurant in 2005, and he uses seafood sourced from longtime suppliers
from around the world to create dishes with modern European and Asian
influences that feature inventive combinations and beautiful presentations.
Expect offerings such as chorizo and squid lollipops and live scallops with
lemon and butter. Providence is elegant, softly lit, earth-toned - read more
here (Photo by vmiramontes)

9. 8. Melisse
Melisse celebrates classic fine dining and French-American haute cuisine
with Chef Josiah Citrin’s season-driven prix fixe menus. The restaurant is
elegant, yet unpretentious, and is perfect for diners wanting an upscale dining
experience with all of the accouterments. Expect exquisite service,
remarkable presentations, and gastronomical delights. Josiah Citrin takes
advantage of the fresh ingredients California has to offer in creating
his contemporary American dishes with French influences. Menus choices
range from 4-course to 10-course to the 15-course Carte Blance
extravaganza. Melisse is the only Forbes Five Star eatery in the city of Los
Angeles, and in 2013, Forbes Travel Guide named Melisse “One of the Finest
Five Star Properties in the World” - read more here (Photo by Krista)

10. 9. Wurstküche
Wurstküche is an exotic sausage emporium and biergarten that opened in the
Downtown LAArts District in 2008, and they later opened a location in
Venice Beach in 2010. The menu is simple and straightforward – it is
essentially sausages, Belgian fries, and beer. The beauty is in the quality and
details - everything is top-quality and prepared with care. Sausage choices
include Bratwurst, Vegetarian Smoked Apple Sage, Mango
Jalapeño, Rattlesnake and Rabbit with Jalapeño. The huge selection of
German and Belgian beers includes such obscurities as Floris Apple Ale and
Houblon Chouffe. The space is an old brick warehouse filled with communal
tables and outdoor seating. The clientele veers much more toward hipsters
than men in lederhosen - read more here (Photo by Ed Kwon)

11. 10. Botegga Louie
Bottega Louie is located on the ground floor of the historic classical and
Romanesque Revival Brockman Building in downtown Los Angeles. It’s a
combination restaurant, cafe, gourmet market, and grown-up candy store
that’s a suitable destination for breakfast, brunch, lunch, or dinner. The space
features high ceilings, white walls with brass and marble accents, and a huge
open kitchen. Come for one of their famous colorful macaroons, or for
cocktails from the bar. The vibe is upscale and hipster - read more
here (Photo by Jenny Huey)

12. 11. Animal
Animal is a meat-centric restaurant where the focus is often on the pig. In
that regard, Chefs Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo bring the whole hog to the
table: pig ears, pig tails, crispy pig’s head. Besides the pig, there’s also veal
brains and a grilled chicken hearts and other dished featuring various animal
parts. For dessert, there’s the bacon chocolate crunch bar. The restaurant
opened in 2008 to wide acclaim. Chefs and owners Jon Shook and Vinny
Dotolo offer adventurous dishes with bold flavors and a flawless
presentation - read more here (Photo by Ann Marie Michaels)

13. 12. Ink
Ink is Chef Michael Voltaggio’s highly anticipated restaurant that serves
cutting-edge, modernist, New American food using unusual ingredients and
presented beautifully on the plate. Image with substance seems to be the
modus operandi for chef Michael Voltaggio, who worked as chef de cuisine
at Jose Andres’ Bazaar before gaining widespread fame when he won Top
Chef. The cuisine boasts both the hubris and the ethnic fabric that defines Los
Angeles. Expect the use of unusual and daring ingredient combinations, such
as monkfish with chicken skin, but also expect the dish look so good the it
warrants a picture before messing it up by taking a bite. The wine and and the
cocktails do justice and stand up to the menu, as does the edgy decor and vibe
of the small place that GQ magazine named ink the best new restaurant in
America in 2012 - read more here (Photo by dinnerpants)

14. 13. Pizzeria Mozza
Pizzeria Mozza is a casual, yet trendy, restaurant specializing in artisan
California-style pizzas. Former James Beard “Pastry Chef of the Year” and
celebrity chef Nancy Silverton runs the restaurant with help from fellow
celebrity chefs Mario Batali and Joseph Bastianich. Before opening Pizzeria
Mozza and her other restaurant, Osteria Mozza, Nancy Silverton worked as
the pastry chef at Wolfgang Puck’s Spago restaurant. From there, she used
her vast knowledge of artisan breads to bring European-style bread to Los
Angeles with the opening of La Brea Bakery in 1989. When she got the itch
to begin a new venture, she turned her knowledge of baking toward making
pizza crust, and the results have been very popular with Los Angeles diners.
The pizzas at Pizzeria Mozza are praised for their thin, flaky, perfect crusts
and fresh, inventive toppings - read more here (Photo by Arnold Gatilao)

15. 14. Son of a Gun
Son of a Gun is Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo’s seafood-
centric counterpart to their more famous, meat-focused restaurant,
Animal. The food is tasty and reasonably-priced, but it’s not your basic fried
shrimp and fish and chips. The rotating menu is printed up daily and
divided into raw seafood, shellfish, fish, meat, seasonal, snacks, and dessert.
The small dish items include such staples as raw oysters, lobster roll, and
shrimp toast, plus fresh fish creatively prepared. Ironically, the fried chicken
sandwich from the meat section is one of the most popular items on the
menu. There’s a good selection of house cocktails and wines to accompany
the food. Son of a Gun a small, with seating at the six-stool bar or a at the
long communal table. Seats are split between reservations and walk-ins.
Kitschy nautical paraphernalia such as nets and bouys adorns the wood-
paneled walls walls - read more here (Photo by Emily C)

16. 15. Gjelina
Gjelina is a hip neighborhood restaurant in Venice known for super-thin
pizzas and fresh, seasonal American fare. A rustic front door leads to a softly-
lit dining room with both small, individual tables and long communal tables.
A patio bar is perfect for a drink. Their super-thin pizzas with inspired
toppings were voted one of the “Best Pizzas in America” by The Daily
Meal - read more here (Photo by T.Tseng)

17. 16. Philippe The Original Restaurant
Philippe The Original Restaurant is famous for their “French Dipped
Sandwich” – either Roast Beef, Roast Pork, Leg of Lamb, Turkey or Ham.
The sandwich comes with a choice of Cheese and is served on a lightly
textured, freshly baked French Roll which has been dipped in the natural
gravy of the roasts. The restaurant was opened in 1908 by Philippe Mathieu,
a Frenchman who emigrated to Los Angeles by way of Buffalo, and he lays
claim to being the inventor of the French Dip sandwich - read more
here (Photo by Bobak Ha’Eri)

18. 17. Langer's Deli
Langer’s Deli has been a landmark in the Westlake neighborhood since
opening in 1947, and the pastrami sandwich they make is considered to be
one of the best in the world. In 2001, Langer’s Deli was a recipient of
the James Beard “America’s Classics” award, and the #19-Pastrami
Sandwich has been featured on the Food Network‘s The Best Thing I Ever
Ate. Al Langer founded the restaurant, and his son, Norm, now runs it. In
their almost 70 years of being in business, they have served over 4,000,000
lbs. of pastrami - read more here (Photo by Ben Brown)

19. 18. Griddle Cafe
Griddle Cafe is a favorite breakfast spot of everyone form cool guys like
Tommy Lee to pretentious industry types to just plain regular folks. All are
welcome at this unlikely Sunset Boulevard hotspot. The food is top notch, the
pancake creations are inventive, and the portions are huge. The food and the
scene is very Hollywood - a combination of being very decadent with a bit
grunge thrown in for good measure - read more here (Photo by Marc
Kjerland)

20. 19. Porto's Bakery
Porto’s Bakery was founded in the 1960's by Cuban immigrants, Rosa Porto
and her husband, Rau. They had no money when they arrived in America, but
Rosa had a passion for baking, so she started a small cake business out of
their home selling Cuban cakes. When the business outgrew their tiny home,
they opened a small bakery. As the business grew they offered more products,
and their children joined in to help after graduating from college. In addition
to the original Cuban cakes, Porto’s is also famous for their potato balls and
cheese rolls. The menu is huge and also features Cuban sandwiches, breads,
and pastries - read more here (Photo by Cliff Hutson)

21. 20. Diddy Riese Cookies
Diddy Riese Cookies opened in 1983 and is famous for their ice cream
sandwiches. The build-your-own-ice-cream-sandwiches come with your
choice of 2 fresh-baked cookies and a scoop of Dreyers ice cream. Cookie
choices include Chocolate Chip with Walnuts, White Chocolate Macadamia
Nut, and Peanut Butter. There are a dozen flavors of ice cream from which to
choose. The low-cost ice cream sandwiches are popular with students from
nearby UCLA, and there is usually a line. In addition to the ice cream
sandwiches, Diddy Riese has brownies, sundaes, and Hawaiian shaved
ice - read more here (Photo by Tobin)

22. 21. Daikokuya
Daikokuya is a small restaurant in Little Tokyo with yellow awning and a
line of people out front. Inside, the comforting ramen soup is made from
kurobuta pork bones that have been boiled for nearly a full day. With an
impressive list of awards won, they are rightly known for being one of the
longest-standing and greatest ramen places in Los Angeles. They have a few
other stores scattered about Los Angeles, but the original location is the best.
The waits are long, but diners can leave their name with a server and then
explore Little Tokyo while waiting - read more here (Photo by LWYang)

23. Featured photo by Justin Vidamo. All photos CC-BY-2.0.
See our list of the 49 best things to do in Los Angeles here.