Jonathan Gold’s 101 Best Restaurants: The top 20
Jonathan Gold on his list of the best 101 restaurants in Southern California
Here it is, the second annual list of 101 best restaurants from The Times restaurant critic Jonathan Gold. You’ll need to be a member to experience the entire, fully responsive rundown, to save restaurants to a wish list, to create a brag list of places you’ve been, share your comments and to use the map. It’s a gorgeous display that highlights utility.
So, how much has changed since we brought you his first list of 101 restaurants in 2013? The 2014 version has no mention of Urasawa, which was No. 2 last year. Kogi has jumped out of the top 10, but chef Roy Choi’s Pot makes a strong debut. Trois Mec takes a huge 15-spot leap up – it’s now at No. 8. A few Orange Country restaurants make the cut. But if all you care about is the best restaurant in L.A., well, that hasn’t changed. Providence repeats.
Already feeling your blood boil? Or eager to find out more? On Monday, Jonathan will take your questions during a noon video chat.
Below, we offer his top 20 restaurants and an embeddable map available to other publications who want an easy way to get the information to their audience. But you’ll want to see the whole list to validate what you already know: Whether you have $5 or $500 to spend, L.A. is a great place to eat.
20République
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Your feelings about République may well depend on whether you... Read more »
19Church & State
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
You can find something like Church & State in every arty wa... Read more »
18n/naka
(Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)
The ideal of Japanese kaiseki, multi-course feasts designed to... Read more »
17AOC
(Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)
AOC has been an institution for so long that it seems almost odd... Read more »
16The Tasting Kitchen
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
Casey Lane is the dark prince of "No Substitutions nor Modifications... Read more »
15Rivera
(Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)
We should all be a little more obsessed with John Sedlar than we seem... Read more »
14Bestia
(Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)
Bestia exemplifies the modern Italian restaurant in Los Angeles, deeply... Read more »
13Red Medicine
Red Medicine isn't a Vietnamese restaurant anymore — not that it ever per... Read more »
12Alma
(Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times)
In the year since we last checked up on it, Alma was named as the best new... Read more »
11Orsa & Winston
(Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times)
What ties Josef Centeno's cooking together? What might a plate of grilled gre... Read more »
10Cut
(Los Angeles Times)
It is possible, I think, for a restaurant to be too good, to realize its giv... Read more »
9Animal
Do you remember the first time you tasted a bacon dessert? Did you notice the... Read more »
8Trois Mec
(Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times)
Ludovic Lefebvre is either the chef who saved French cooking in Los Angeles or... Read more »
7Ink
(Ann Cusack/Los Angeles Times)
If you cherish good reasons to hate a new restaurant, you will probably find eve... Read more »
6Rustic Canyon
(Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
If you are even remotely interested in the restaurant world, you probably know the... Read more »
5Lucques
(Cheryl A. Guerrero / Los Angeles Times)
When people chat about restaurant cooking, the conversation usually flirts with ing... Read more »
4Shunji
There has never been a better time to eat sushi in Los Angeles, whether your tastes... Read more »
3Mozza
The consensus hit of L.A.'s meat world this year is probably Chad Colby's tomahawk cho... Read more »
2Spago
(Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)
You have to give it to Wolfgang Puck — he is really good at this reinvention thing... Read more »
1Providence
(Mariah Tauger / For The Times)
Once again, the best restaurant in Los Angeles is Providence, that refuge of fine din... Read more »
View the full list »
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