Clockwise from top left: a selection of sushi and nigiri from Morihiro, chicharrón with garlic mojo from Broken Spanish Comedor, bangers and mash from Wilde’s, a whole pie from Wallflour Pizza and an amaro cocktail from the Ramona Room.
(Maggie Shannon / For The Times; Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
The best places to eat and drink in L.A. this month, according to our Food writers
- Share via
We’ve reached the last month of the year, a time that zips by as we’re inundated with holiday music and decorations and discounts from seemingly every retail store we’ve ever purchased from. But it’s worth slowing down to appreciate the season, which typically involves a peaceful City of Angels as transplants empty out the last two weeks of the year.
And there’s still time to make tasty memories that you’ll carry into the new year, whether you’re opening a fresh advent calendar with Dandelion Chocolate or caviar inside, stopping by your favorite bar to sample new holiday-themed sips or gearing up for the annual 101 Best Restaurants reveal party at the Hollywood Palladium on Dec. 9.
Check out the list below for even more dining ideas this December, including a new Mar Vista restaurant from a local chef celebrity, a buzzy, modern British pub in Los Feliz and a peachy new option in the Century City mall.
Showing Places
Broken Spanish Comedor
Culver City Mexican $$
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
An institution responsible for elevating L.A.’s Alta California food scene, chef Ray Garcia’s Broken Spanish restaurant has reemerged as Broken Spanish Comedor, with a new, more accessible format in the former A-Frame and Best Bet space in Mar Vista. Some of Garcia’s most-loved dishes have returned to the menu, such as albondigas and chicharrón with garlic mojo. The in-house nixtamalization system is also back, with heirloom corn that’s used in tamales, tortillas and a masa-driven take on tres leches. Garcia is also sharing recipes passed down from his mother, including a riff on her enchiladas and fideo. Agave is the focus on the cocktail menu, with former B.S. Taqueria bartender Genaro Garcia leading the beverage program.
Show more Show less
Route Details
Cafe Matcha
Studio City Teahouse $
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
A new destination for matcha and over-the-top lattes can be found at diner-inspired Cafe Matcha in Studio City, courtesy of the Alfred Coffee chain. Matcha sourced from multiple provinces across Japan is served in cream-top lattes, cortados and lemonade, alongside other specialties including malted milkshakes, hojicha hot chocolate and double scoops of homemade ice cream. The food menu, created by Konbi alum Kiyoshi Tsukamoto, includes a hojicha apple galette, slices of sudachi pie and waffles topped with matcha milk jam.
Show more Show less
Route Details
Clark's Oyster Bar
Malibu Seafood $$$
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
The popular Austin-founded seafood bar has landed in a new location in Malibu, serving oak-grilled Spanish octopus, lobster rolls, rockfish with grits, cioppino and non-seafood options including steak and burger with Gruyère, with much of the seafood sourced from the Pacific Coast and a beverage menu that puts a focus on Central California wines. The 175-seat restaurant is part of the new Cross Creek Ranch development and includes a raw bar, aquarium, fireplace and patio.
Show more Show less
Route Details
Fiorelli Pizza
Beverly Grove Pizza Italian $
(Jenn Harris / Los Angeles Times )
L.A. has a style of pizza to fit every preference, as columnist Jenn Harris proves with her genre-spanning list of new favorite pies around the city, spanning Sicilian-style square slices in Los Feliz and the hybrid pizzas served at chef Michael Fiorelli and business partner Liz Gutierrez’s new Beverly Grove pizzeria. Here, Fiorelli slicks each crust with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkles on sea salt to ensure every bite is flavorful and well seasoned. The standout for Harris was his Bianco pie with four cheeses, roasted garlic, fingerling potatoes, fresh lemon and guindilla peppers.
Show more Show less
Route Details
Morihiro Sunset
Echo Park Japanese $$$$
(Maggie Shannon / For The Times)
L.A.’s best sushi restaurant has relocated to the ground floor of a sleek apartment building in Victor Heights, featuring a walk-in cocktail bar and à la carte options that make sampling celebrated sushi chef Morihiro “Mori” Onodera’s hand-formed nigiri easier than ever. Bar director Han Suk Cho is bringing the expertise she’s gleaned from working at ultra-fine-dining temples including Providence, SingleThread and, most recently, Kato to cocktails such as a house martini with sake-fortified vermouth. If the $400 omakase is out of range, make a meal out of cherry wood smoked chicken, sushi rolls, single-serving nigiri and new dishes including zabuton Wagyu and tuna tartare with caviar and a rice chip.
Show more Show less
Route Details
Old Gold Tomato Pies
Los Feliz Pizza $$
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
After honing his Sicilian-style pies at pop-ups for years, former Konbi chef Jeffrey Vance has opened his first restaurant, Old Gold Tomato Pies, in Los Feliz. The square slices span vegan options topped with artichokes, Kalamata olives and spinach as well as classic pies with charred pepperonis and a white pizza with Baja clams and crème fraîche. Salads packed with farmers market produce and baked pasta round out the menu.
Show more Show less
Route Details
The Ramona Room
Echo Park Cocktails $$
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
The owners of Echo Park’s now-shuttered Elf Cafe have reimagined the space as the Ramona Room, an amaro bar with California and Italian amari, European ports and sherries. A selection of bar bites from head chef Marc Lopez (formerly of Little Dom’s and Budonoki) features broad influence, including house-smoked mussels escabeche and tacos on fresh tortillas.
Show more Show less
Route Details
Redwood Pie
Hermosa Beach Italian Pizza $
(Jenn Harris / Los Angeles Times )
After years spent working under Steve Samson at Sotto, and baking bread for Ca’d’Oro Bakery in Inglewood, chef Erik Vose is slinging pizzas that defy categorization at Redwood Pie in Hermosa Beach. The slices are bready and chewy, and columnist Jenn Harris describes the pepperoni as “textbook perfect.” The white pie, dubbed D-Fresh, features a mozzarella base with crumbles of spicy Italian sausage, basil and pickled serrano chiles.
Show more Show less
Route Details
Super Peach
Century City Eclectic Korean $$
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
Celebrity chef David Chang’s Momofuku restaurant group has expanded to a new sunset-hued space in the Century City mall, serving an all-day menu of Korean and globally influenced comfort staples, including kimbap stuffed with fried chicken and baby back ribs coated in soy barbecue sauce. The beverage menu takes similar cues with a subtly sweet lychee tequila concoction and the tiki-inspired Holiday in the Tropics with rum, banana, curry leaf and avocado. A handful of classic cocktails are also at the ready, including a Duke’s-style martini.
Show more Show less
Route Details
Tokyo Noir
Long Beach Cocktails $$
(Jenn Harris / Los Angeles Times )
A new destination for craft cocktails has emerged in Long Beach with Tokyo Noir, a speakeasy located down an alley behind El Barrio Cantina restaurant, with a glowing red lantern hung above its green door to help lead the way. Here, cocktails are created with the complexity and thoughtfulness of a multicourse tasting menu, including the umami-forward Dirty Soba that’s served in a soup bowl with a spoon, with bonito dashi, Iichiko shochu, buckwheat shochu, gin, sake vermouth and yuzu swirling inside and grated daikon as a garnish. Opened by co-owners Kevin Lee and Jesse Duron in late 2024, the bar pays homage to Japanese cocktail bars with whiskey, shochu, gin and umeshu all sourced from Japan. Even the crystal-clear blocks of ice bobbing in the cocktails are sourced from the Japanese city of Kanazawa.
Show more Show less
Route Details
Wallflour Pizza
Eagle Rock Italian Pizza $
(Jenn Harris / Los Angeles Times )
After first launching the Quarantine Pizza Co. pop-up out of their Highland Park home in 2020, Brandon Conaway and Carolina Pedroza-Conaway have rebranded to Wallflour, with a new bricks-and-mortar location off Colorado Boulevard in Eagle Rock. The tangy sourdough pies put innovative spins on classic pizzeria staples, including the Spiceroni with pepperoni, pickled jalapeños and house-made hot honey.
Show more Show less
Route Details
Wilde's
Los Feliz British $$
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
If you’re wondering how to score one of 10 tables at the buzzy, modern-British restaurant in Los Feliz, reporter Stephanie Breijo has the answer. The restaurant reserves roughly 80% of its seating for walk-ins, and lines trailing down the avenue have become common. One option is to arrive when the restaurant opens to hopefully snag a seat at the small counter along the restaurant’s window, where wine and small plates are served until a table becomes available. If you prefer a later dinner, co-owner Tatiana Ettensberger said there’s usually space for walk-ins by 9 p.m. Or, try scones with clotted cream, persimmon tea cakes and sausage rolls during the restaurant’s daytime service, when tables tend to turn over quicker.
Show more Show less
Route Details
No matching entries.
Please reset filters to see all entries.
No matching entries.
Please reset filters to see all entries.
More From the Los Angeles Times
Top