There are best-of lists galore for where to eat in Los Angeles, but writer Irvina Lew brings us her bi-coastal take. Over the course of frequent visits to family and friends, she has honed in on her tried-and-true, absolute favorite places to eat when she’s in LA. Maybe they’ll become your favorites too! 

My 10 Favorite Places to Eat in LA

At 80, my dad–who had personally maintained our home since they bought it in the mid-30s—said: enough! My 70-year old mom agreed, but refused to follow her friends to Florida. Instead, they moved to Los Angeles, near my sister. Although I felt like the world’s oldest abandoned child, I decided to dedicate my travel to L.A. during their life spans and postpone dreams of foreign adventures. So, I started pitching LA stories, contributed to countless magazines and must SEES LA (a Michelin guide, 2004) and, before long, became bi-coastal. Then, my youngest daughter moved to Hollywood and now, though my parents are gone and she’s back on Long Island, I visit my sister, her children, grandchildren, an adorable great grandchild and, as of this year, my eldest granddaughter.

What follows is an alphabetical listing of ten of my favorite places to eat in Los Angeles; read on to know why.

AVRA
When my sister announced that her first choice for our annual birthday lunch was AVRA, a posh Greek restaurant from New York that had recently opened in Beverly Hills, I considered it too costly. As if reading my mind, she mentioned the daily, three-course prix-fixe lunch, (from noon to 4pm)  at $29.50. So, I booked reservations. Serendipitously, my teenage pal, Bill, who always takes me to lunch in LA, invited me to AVRA. Both meals were super and over-the-top. I loved the perfectly grilled whole fish; others ate chicken and the rich desserts. Still, the highlight of both experiences was an a la carte specialité: Avra Chips, the crispiest-ever tower of freshly fried, stacked zucchini and eggplant, served with tzatziki (the garlic, cucumber and mint enriched Greek yogurt).

CULINA AT FOUR SEASONS HOTEL LOS ANGELES AT BEVERLY HILLS
Meals served at Four Seasons properties world-wide might be described with these expressions: best quality, fresh ingredients, top brands, superior execution, fine service. In LA, culinary bargain is also true, but rarely acknowledged. At Culina & Vinoteca, the Pronto Market Lunch, a Monday to Saturday Farmer’s Market inspired prix fixe buffet (11:30am to 2:30pm) costs $35.00. It’s a gourmet, all-you-can-eat, beautifully-serviced event for which Chef Luca Moriconi incorporates extraordinary ingredients: Taggiasca olives, Treviso grapes, Persimmon, oven-roasted tomatoes, Piave cheese, Pecorino Toscana cheese, extra virgin olive oil, balsamic or wine vinegars. These or similar items are beautifully presented on the buffet table:

Salads: Deconstructed Market Salad, Farro Salad, Baby Kale, Little Gem Ceasar

Chef’s Daily Soup: Sweet Corn Purée; Tomato & Eggplant

Grilled Farmer’s Market Vegetables

Cheese trays and Charcuterie board

Choice of Protein: Tri-Tip, Grilled Salmon and Grilled Chicken.

Chef’s Daily Pasta

Seasonal Weekly Specials

Desserts, Tiramisu, Lemon Tart, Panna Cotta with Passion Fruit Gelée and Red Velvet Cake.

Fresh Fruit

FACTOR’S FAMOUS DELI
My sister enjoys a Sunday breakfast tradition, breakfast with her granddaughters, often at  Factor’s, a 70-year young, kosher-style deli. When I join them on the black banquette, we usually split a platter with Nova Scotia salmon, bagel, cream cheese, tomato and capers. The millennials order avocado toast, French toast, eggs, wraps, Huevos Rancheros or vegan specialties. Then, we leave with a to-go bag from the deli counter: turkey, chopped liver, rye bread, and salads. The family tradition of it all is one of the reasons it’s one of my favorite places to eat in LA.

FARMHOUSE LOS ANGELES
At Farmhouse, Executive Farmer, Nathan Peitso, is the Front Man, who highlights produce from his family farm, Kenter Canyon Farms, and from his childhood friends’ farms. He sources the heritage wheat for the restaurant’s housemade pasta, pizza and brioche from his mom’s company, Roan Mills. The easiest entry to Farmhouse is from the indoor valet at the newly redone Beverly Center shopping mall. The restaurant is an expansive space divided into different bars and restaurant areas: such as the high-ceilinged living room, a wood burning fireplace, or a greenhouse. My friend was delighted with yellowtail ceviche and seared salmon; though I couldn’t resist the Pizza Margarita and diver scallops, I longingly eyed the burgers that men at the next table were eating. Vegetarians opt for roasted cauliflower served with spiced yogurt, raisin & cumin; roasted Hen of the Wood mushrooms with lentils, radishes, and more.

JAFFA WEST THIRD
Jaffa, an ancient seafront neighborhood in Tel Aviv, lures visitors to its stone streets lined with galleries and shops. There’s no ancient history on West Third Street in LA, but it has its own quirky appeal with a series of one-of-a-kind, mom and pop shops, just a short walk from the Orlando Hotel and the Beverly Center. Jaffa West Third is a casual, light and airy Israeli eatery with outdoor seating and fresh California produce. There are salads, lavosh wraps, grain bowl shawarma with roasted eggplant and oven-dried tomatoes. I can make a meal on hummus, pita and tabbouleh, and often do; but, they offer Brisket, Chicken, Salmon and even Matzoh ball soup.

JAR
JAR is a contemporary chophouse where chef and owner Suzanne Tracht reigns, after stints at the Bel Air, Noa, and as chef de cuisine at Nancy Silverton and Mark Peel’s Camponile. (While the Phoenix-born entrepreneur was Executive Chef at the Cal-Asian restaurant, Jozu, it ranked number two for “L.A.’s Best New Restaurants.”) She opened JAR in 2001, with her well-credentialed culinary partner (since 1996), Chef de Cuisine, Preech Narkthong. The appealing menu stars a Signature Pot Roast served with carrots and caramelized onions. The PRIME cuts of beef–rib eye, filet and Kansas City cuts–are offered with a choice of sauces: from Bearnaise, green peppercorn to spicy mustard and thyme butter. I enjoyed the Roasted Beets with Burrata, perfectly grilled Asparagus and Char Siu Pork Chop. Also available, Lemongrass Chicken, wild and sustainable fish, and yummy sides, including French Fries, Purple Yams and Duck Fried Rice.

JEAN GEORGES BEVERLY HILLS at WALDORF ASTORIA BEVERLY HILLS
My first Jean Georges Vongerichten meal was at his New York restaurant debut, JoJo, in the early 1990s. Jean Georges is a culinary and entrepreneurial genius, a magician with spices and, now, master of 36 restaurants, including every food outlet at the very elegant Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills. If only for a drink, every visitor to Beverly Hills will appreciate Jean Georges’ al fresco spot, The Rooftop, for its marvelous 360-degree views. Since June, 2019, a weekend brunch adds to the lunch, dinner and the bar menus. When I stayed there, I dined at Jean Georges Beverly Hills, the hotel’s fine dining restaurant, with Lyndsey, one of my grand-nieces. She ordered vegetarian side dishes–from JG’s signature truffle and fontina cheese pizza to steamed artichoke, mushrooms, an arugula salad with corn, avocado and radishes—and I chose the Tasting Menu, with paired wines. The meal started with a Bollinger Special Cuvée and a trio of pre-amuse caviar-centric-creations: one dollop of Osetra arrived atop an egg shell filled with a soft, shirred (lightly scrambled or baked egg) set in a bed of salt and with crème fraiche; another atop a Meyer lemon, filled with lemon gelée and topped with a circle of crème fraiche and the third, a Toasted Egg Yolk with Herbs (a tiny tea-sandwich-sized brioche, filled with a creamy egg yolk). After the amuse bouche, a watermelon/tomato/berry gazpacho, and Ahi Tuna Tartare, there was a minimalist heirloom tomato dish, JG’s signature lemongrass and coconut milk lobster dish (Chassagne Montrachet 2014). Then, Roasted Wagyu Beef Tenderloin served with spicy stewed peppers, (Santa Barbara Syrah by Copain) and finally, a warm chocolate cake with a soft center and vanilla ice cream, with a 30-year old Jerez, a Spanish sherry. Fantastique!

SI LAA
When I asked my eldest niece for a restaurant recommendation to take my (gluten-free) granddaughter and her (vegetarian) boyfriend, I was told about the family’s go-to Thai restaurant: Si Laa. It’s a narrow storefront on Robertson with a long banquette on one wall, mirrors along the other above four-top tables. I was delighted with their menu suggestions: Hidden Treasures, the mini-spicy shrimp, with blue crabmeat in a Thai basil coconut sauce; it arrives in a round dish under seven silver-topped circles, Sa-Tay (filet skewers with curry), Asian eggplant, garlic ginger rice; spicy papaya salad and always Pad Thai. The family owners are, I learned, relatives of the woman from Talesai, a now-closed restaurant that my husband and I favored.

TERRAZZA LOUNGE AT CASA DEL MAR
I’m a New Yorker but not a fan of the cold; I try hard to escape the February chill, often in LA, ideally in oceanfront Santa Monica, where I like to walk along the beachfront The Strand. I’ve stayed and dined at lots of places, there, including Casa del Mar. When I reconnected with a childhood transplant to LA, she proposed a Sunday night reunion at the Happy Hour at the Terrazza Lounge, in the historic hotel. From Thursday to Sunday, 3-6 pm, there’s discounted food and drinks. Also on Sundays, from 6-9 pm, there are impressive, low-cost Spanish tapas, from gambas al ajillo (shrimp and garlic) to Paella. Did I mention live music and a panoramic view of the beachfront and the Pacific?

THE ORIGINAL FARMER’S MARKET
This institution, at Fairfax and Third, opened in 1934. Located near LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) and adjacent to all the shops and restaurants at The Grove, it is an open-air market with more than 100 outlets. I tend to eat and shop there and often stop by to say Hi to my niece’s husband, Scott; he owns Bennett’s Ice Cream, where his family has been making fresh ice cream since 1946. (Fancy Nancy is named for her.) This is a tourist destination, for sure, it’s also where Angelenos, and nearby CBS employees, frequent and shop for fruit, chicken, eggs, ethnic specialties and meat (at Marconda’s, another family business from the 40s). It’s a place to graze the day away, from waffles and specialty coffees, to just-off-the-fire barbecue, to cookies and pie. For dinner, I am partial to French fare at Monsieur Marcel.

Taste your way around LA, with this list of favorite places to eat in LA as your guide. Or discover your own favorite places to eat in LA and let us know what you discovered in the Comments section, below.

— Story and photos except where noted, by Irvina Lew