The Eater LA Dining Starter Pack, 2024 Edition (2024)

Countless first-time visitors come to Los Angeles in search of delicious, exciting things to eat — with equal voraciousness for destinations that are unexpected and intrinsically LA. Eater LA’s restaurant starter pack is a guide to where to go for quintessential Los Angeles dining experiences: places that will give diners a taste of what Los Angeles has to offer and, inevitably, leave them wanting more.

By eating at all of these restaurants, visitors, transplants, and even longtime residents will gain a foundational understanding of what makes this city’s dining scene distinctive and special. While there are myriad other guides Eater puts together, from the Essential 38 restaurants in Los Angeles and Eater LA heatmap documenting the hottest new restaurants to dine in, to the dozens of cuisine, neighborhood, and dish maps across the city, this is the first place to start understanding the food landscape in Los Angeles.

Updated on May 24, 2024, adding Lan Noodle, Tacos Tamix, Coni’Seafood, Pardis, and Luv2eat Thai Bistro

Burger

Apple Pan

Matthew Kang

There are many burgers in Southern California but few boast the legacy and consistency of the Apple Pan in West LA, an institution that might be the most evocative, romantic place to experience a mid-century diner. The burgers are worth making Apple Pan a destination, if only for their bare simplicity and engineered construction. A cook spends a long part of the day shaping perfect crunchy mounds of iceberg lettuce to fit within each burger. Options of hickory or the relish-filled house sauce create deep divides among regulars. (Order whichever sounds better to you.) The soft white buns contain a juicy, griddled patty, lettuce, and, if requested, cheese, which drapes over the side of the meat like a shell. Servers run around the inner counter taking orders, hand-pouring ketchup from glass bottles, and dispensing soft drinks into paper cones held up by tin metal bases. And the fries, well, they’re fine, but you also need them with a burger order, or a tuna sandwich, or a ham sandwich stacked so high it’ll feed two people. If stomach room allows, get a slice of pie, especially the boysenberry. The Apple Pan claims “quality forever,” on its sign, and one truly hopes the restaurant lasts forever. 10801 W. Pico Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA, 90064.

Sushi

Sushi Gen

Sushi Gen

Sushi comes in virtually every style in Los Angeles, from high-end omakase to casual California rolls. Sushi Gen, a bona fide classic with 43 years of history inside a Little Tokyo strip mall, has the versatility to serve $23 sashimi lunch combinations blessed with at least seven different kinds of fresh fish, but also offers omakase dinners at the counter in front of a bevy of skilled chefs. Whatever one’s preference, the quality of fish is beyond reproach. Just be prepared to wait during prime hours because Sushi Gen does not take reservations. 422 E. 2nd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012.

Korean

Park’s BBQ

When people talk about great Korean barbecue, they start with Park’s. The longtime standard-bearer does virtually everything well, from banchan to non-grilled dishes, but the stars in the middle of every table are always pristine, well-marbled, tender cuts of beef, pork, and other meats that gain a bit of smoky flavor from the charcoal nestled inside the grills. What makes Park’s so accessible is its boisterous dining room, quick service, and quality ingredients from start to finish. One bite of the marinated short rib, dripping with fat and seared soy flavor, will convince anyone. 955 S. Vermont Avenue, Unit G, Los Angeles, CA, 90006.

Chinese

Lan Noodle

Wonho Frank Lee

When it comes to Chinese food in Los Angeles, there are a wealth of amazing regional choices from San Gabriel Valley and out to the Westside, though the options get more sparse the closer one gets to the ocean. Arcadia’s terrific Lan Noodle, which makes all of its noodles by hand in a variety of shapes, nails the balance of flavors for its soups and sauces, with proper aromatics and chile oils to perk up each bite. In 2023, the restaurant opened an expansion inside a West Hollywood retail complex, bringing legit Chinese noodles farther west than they’ve ever gone. Start with smashed cucumbers or an appetizer trio of shredded potatoes, seaweed, and kelp salad, then pick at least noodle dish per person. The richly flavored beef noodle soups work in virtually any noodle size, from angel-hair thin to triangle-shaped to ultra-wide hand-pulled. The menu can get a little confusing, so just ask the server for help with compiling the order and explaining some of the combinations. In the end, you’ll enjoy incredible handmade noodles at prices that won’t break the bank. 411 E. Huntington Drive, Suite 102, Arcadia, CA 91006; 7100 Santa Monica Boulevard, Suite 130, West Hollywood, CA, 90046.

Big Night Out

Pasjoli

Wonho Frank Lee

The notion of great French food has always felt elusive in Los Angeles, a city steeped in standout Asian, Italian, and Californian food from east to west. Enter: Pasjoli. Dave Beran’s Santa Monica bistro operates like a fine dining restaurant in its elegance, detailed plating, and polished dishes. It’s the kind of place where you can’t really feel overdressed, which means something in always relaxed LA. Dry-aged beef tartare comes with fragrant nasturtium pesto while scallop mousse quenelles melt in the mouth with pops of briny caviar in the beurre blanc. Entrees like butter-poached halibut are unimpeachable, but swing the pressed duck if you can, served with medium-rare roasted breast sporting crisp skin and a pan sauce of all the pressed innards. The dish is meant for two, but can easily be shared with more if accompanying other mains. For dessert, opt for the trend-setting Basque cheesecake or the off-menu pain perdu that could be the most astoundingly rich celebratory finish in LA. 2732 Main Street, Santa Monica, CA 90405.

Italian

Felix

Stan Lee

Angelenos love Italian food, and the city’s lens of California-influenced Italian cuisine goes back decades. Chef Evan Funke takes his fervent approach to fresh pasta to its logical conclusion at Felix with pristine seasonal ingredients and strong execution. The focaccia’s crust crackles, well-dressed salads burst with citrus flavor, and the pastas are some of the best in the country, from the extruded rigatoni all’amatriciana to the hand-curled trofie with pesto Genovese. Blistered Neapolitan-style pizzas are very good, while the entrees, like the heritage pork chop and the 60-day dry-aged costata di fiorentina, bookend the substantial Italian feasts. 1023 Abbot Kinney Boulevard, Venice, CA 90291.

Old-School Hollywood

Musso and Frank Grill

Los Angeles can credit its rise as a global city to the film industry. Even before motion pictures became California’s greatest export, this classic restaurant and bar was serving hungry (and thirsty) Angelenos with its robust menu of grilled steaks, seared fish, and hearty pastas from a charming dining room. The bar area, serviced by red-tuxedoed bartenders, is the place of Hollywood lore, where stiff gin martinis and boisterous imbibers gather at all times of the day. Musso and Frank’s food might not be among the top in LA, but the sheer history of the room is truly peerless. It’s also the one place where someone wearing a co*cktail dress or dinner jacket will never feel out of place. 6667 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood, CA, 90028.

Tacos

Tacos Tamix

Matthew Kang

Street tacos are everywhere in Los Angeles, and while most of them are acceptable to very good, some of them are standout. Tacos Tamix does a great al pastor taco prepared by a cadre of Mixe Indigenous chefs from Oaxaca, many of whom trained in Mexico City before bringing their talents to Los Angeles. The well-marinated al pastor meats are the specialty, carved to order from a trompo. The best way to go is to start with two to three al pastor, then try one of the other plancha-cooked meats before sharing a cheesy flour tortilla quesadilla called a gringa or a monstrous twice-cooked alambre studded with griddle vegetables, topped with cheese, and served with a stack of corn tortillas. Find Tamix in various truck locations, including Palms/Culver City, Mid-City, Arts District, and Pico-Union.

All-Day

République

Elizabeth Daniels

This wonderful, towering space is a storied restaurant venue in Los Angeles. Once Charlie Chaplin’s office spaces, and then the decades-long home of classic California restaurant Campanile and influential La Brea Bakery, it’s been a French and globally influenced all-day restaurant from Walter and Margarita Manzke for the better part of a decade. From morning to lunch, its counter service offers fresh-baked pastries and bread, salads, sandwiches, and polished comfort fare like kimchi fried rice, pupusas, and shakshuka. With open seating and a space bathed in sunlight, this bustling daytime dining room delivers effortless, fresh ingredients, and proper cooking on every plate. Come dinner, things get darker, more intimate, and more upscale with full service, stellar wine, and top-flight co*cktails. The menu boasts glorious wood-rotisserie chickens, intricate pastas, and braised short ribs. Always order a slice of cake to finish. 624 S. La Brea Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90036.

Soul Food

Dulan’s on Crenshaw and Dulan’s Soul Food Kitchen

Wonho Frank Lee

Inglewood’s enduring soul food institution Dulan’s has reopened on Crenshaw serving plates with red beans and rice, collard greens, smothered pork chops, and fried chicken from founder Adolf Dulan. This is Los Angeles soul food at its finest — rib-sticking and packed with flavor without being too heavy. Portions are always generous and fairly priced, adding to its approachability. Dulan’s Soul Food Kitchen and its sister restaurant, Dulan’s in Inglewood, are among the most beloved restaurants in South LA for good reason: They embody the essence of comforting soul food. 1714 W. Century Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90047.

Mexican

Coni’Seafood

Matthew Kang

With two handy locations, one on the Westside and another in Inglewood, this Nayarit-style seafood restaurant has become a beloved Los Angeles institution. Founder Vicente Cossio, nickname Chente, started grilling whole snook Nayarit-style called pescado zarandeado in the late ’80s in his backyard, later opening a namesake restaurant in Lennox. His daughter Connie carries the tradition in Coni’Seafood, serving pristine seafood that tastes like it ought to be served in a beachside shack. The spicy shrimp aguachiles swim in a spicy pool of green sauce, while marlin tacos come with onions and melty cheese. The star of the show, pescado zarandeado, can sell out, so make sure to come in early. The expertly grilled fish are covered in a slightly spicy marinade that’s spread on while cooking. It’s served on a wide metal platter with soft, seasoned red onions and corn tortillas. Order up a few beers and imagine the Pacific waves crashing a few feet away. 4532 S. Centinela Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90066; 3544 W. Imperial Highway, Inglewood, CA 90303.

Persian

Pardis

Wonho Frank Lee

Excellent kebabs and especially Persian cuisine abounds in Los Angeles. One of Glendale’s newest kebab houses, Pardis, specializes in huge platters of grilled meat skewers served with various kinds of seasoned rice. Meals at Pardis start with baskets of the restaurant’s tandoor flatbread, served warm and blistered and then cut into smaller slices. Slather with butter and eat with raw onion and herbs, Persian-style. Order some of the comforting refreshing salads like shirazi or tabouleh, and maybe some spread like eggplant kashk bademjan or hummus while the meats cook up. Comforting stews like chicken fesenjoon or ghormeh sabzi show the kitchen’s versatility with classic home-style recipes. The meats are juicy and packed with flavor, best enjoyed with all the appetizers and fluffy piles of basmati rice. In LA, nothing feels more festive than a Persian feast. 738 N. Glendale Avenue, Glendale, CA 91206.

Thai

Luv2eat Thai Bistro

Matthew Kang

Most folks will recommend their favorite Thai restaurant around Los Angeles, and there are so many excellent choices. Luv2eat Thai Bistro stands out for its central location in Hollywood, a wide menu of classic dishes prepared by veteran chefs Noree Pla and Fern Kaewtathip, and real showstoppers pulled Pla’s roots in phu*ket, Thailand. Start with the fried sour sausages served with raw ginger, peanuts, and cabbage, then delve into all the familiar varieties of pan-fried noodles like pao kee mao, pad thai, and pad woon sen. The Southern Thai specialties include an aromatic crab curry kanonjean served with soft vermicelli rice noodles and the pungent kua gling (ground pork or beef tossed in turmeric curry paste). The cooks prepare things to appropriate Thai spice levels, so asking for “mild” will approach something closer to medium at other restaurants, and medium will be extremely spicy for most diners. Anyone asking for full Thai spicy at Luv2eat should be warned now: have the Thai iced tea ready to douse the heat. 6660 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA, 90028.

Food Hall

Grand Central Market

Wonho Frank Lee

If there’s one place to get a taste of almost anything and everything in Los Angeles, it’s Grand Central Market, the city’s original food hall and one of its most influential dining destinations. Mixing old-school produce vendors and food stalls with newer restaurants, the market is a smorgasbord of Latin American favorites from Sarita’s pupusas, new-school Jewish deli sandwiches at Wexler’s, small-batch ice cream at McConnell’s, homestyle Korean dosirak (Korean bento plates) by Shiku, third-wave coffee at G&B Coffee, vegan ramen by Ilan Hall at Ramen Hood, and seasonal strawberry doughnuts at the Donut Man. Some newer entrants include the ever-popular Villas Tacos, which opened its second location inside the market, Maple Block Meat Co., which now operates out of the window outside with a nice semi-shaded patio, and For the Win, one of the city’s most highly regarded smash burger spots. Grand Central Market is the place to wander around, sip on fresh juices, or share a few incredible slices of pie from Fat + Flour. 317 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, CA, 90013