Los Angeles · for a first-time visitor
Just follow this.
Three ready-made food itineraries — one, three and five days — built only from places on the list, so you can eat well without doing the research. Every place links back to the guide.
Itinerary
One day
East side to Downtown. A truck at noon, a Bib at eight, Koreatown after midnight.
One day, one car. LA is a driving city; plan by neighborhood, not by list. Book one dinner. Book one thing: dinner at Kismet (Resy) or Bestia (Resy).
The day
- 8:30Go Get Em Tiger (Larchmont)The coffee that set LA's standard, and a breakfast burrito. Walk-in.
- 10:00République (La Brea)The pastry case, for the road — or sit, for the eggs. Walk-in; the line moves.
- 12:00Mariscos Jalisco (Boyle Heights)The shrimp taco truck: crispy, dorado, with avocado and salsa, from a window on Olympic. Cash. The best $4 in the city.
- 1:30Grand Central Market (DTLA)Sarita's for a pupusa, Villa Moreliana for carnitas, Eggslut if you must. Then Philippe's ten minutes north for the French dip since 1908 — or Cole's, and pick a side.
- 3:30The Arts DistrictBread Lounge, Hauser & Wirth, a look at the Row where Kato lives. Then Everson Royce Bar for the burger and the patio.
- 6:00Thunderbolt (Echo Park)LA's 50 Best bar. Walk-in early; the patio is the seat.
- 8:00Kismet (Los Feliz) or Bestia (Arts District)Kismet for Sara Kramer and Sarah Hymanson's Middle Eastern (Bib, Resy); Bestia for the room that started the Arts District (Resy, 30 days). Backup: Pine & Crane (Bib, walk-in) or Little Fish (Bib, the new one).
- 10:30KoreatownDan Sung Sa for the pojangmacha, then Sun Nong Dan for galbi jjim at 1am (Bib, 24 hours). Or Tiki-Ti in Los Feliz, cash, since 1961.
Itinerary
Three days
The east side, then the west, then the San Gabriel Valley. One freeway a day.
A long weekend. Day one is the one-day plan; day two is Hollywood to the ocean; day three goes east to the SGV. Book three dinners the day reservations open: Kismet or Bestia, Providence or n/naka, and Bistro Na's.
Day 1 · East
- All dayFollow the one-day planLarchmont, République, Mariscos Jalisco, Grand Central Market, the Arts District, Thunderbolt, Kismet, Koreatown.
Day 2 · Hollywood to the ocean
- 9:00Sqirl (Virgil Village)The ricotta toast and the sorrel pesto rice bowl. Walk-in; the line is the ritual.
- 11:00Musso & Frank (Hollywood)A martini at the bar since 1919 — they open at 11. Then the sign from the flats, and Yamashiro's terrace for the view if it's clear.
- 1:00Sonoratown (Mid-City)Flour tortillas from Sonora, mesquite carne asada — a 2026 Bib. Walk-in.
- 3:00VeniceGjusta's deli counter, the canals, Abbot Kinney. Menotti's for an espresso.
- 5:30The Bungalow (Santa Monica)One drink at the Fairmont's bungalow at golden hour, the pier below. Or Chez Jay next door, since 1959.
- 7:30Providence (Hollywood) ★★★ or n/naka (Palms) ★★Providence for Michael Cimarusti's seafood — the first three-star in the city (Tock); n/naka for Niki Nakayama's kaiseki (Tock, weeks out). Backup: Felix (Venice; Resy) or Pasjoli ★ (Santa Monica; Tock).
- 10:30The Roger Room (West Hollywood)No sign, the tarot mural. Or Bar Lis on the Thompson's roof.
Day 3 · The San Gabriel Valley
- 10:00Sea Harbour (Rosemead)Dim sum from the carts — the best in the country. Walk-in; arrive before 10:30 or wait an hour. Lunasia in Alhambra if the wait is too long.
- 12:30Alhambra & San GabrielHui Tou Xiang for pan-fried dumplings (Bib), Chengdu Taste for the Sichuan, Yang's Kitchen if you'd rather sit (Bib).
- 2:30Fosselman's (Alhambra)Ice cream since 1919. Then Din Tai Fung in Arcadia, the American original, if you're still standing.
- 4:30Little TokyoBack west: Fugetsu-Do for mochi since 1903, Mitsuru for imagawayaki, a look at the Japanese American National Museum.
- 7:00Bistro Na's (Temple City) ★Imperial Chinese with a star in a strip mall — the most SGV restaurant on the list. Resy. Backup: Newport Seafood (the lobster; walk-in) or Hayato ★★ in the Arts District (Tock) if you want the counter.
- 9:30The Prince (Koreatown)Fried chicken and the Chinatown film set. Then Break Room 86 through the back of the Line if you want to dance.
Itinerary
Five days
The three-day plan, plus the Valley and Thai Town, and a day for the counters and the coast.
Enough time to eat like a resident: Thai Town at 2am, the Valley's delis, Malibu's picnic tables, and the counters that need weeks. Set alarms for Somni or Providence, Kato (Tock), and Anajak's Taco Tuesday.
Days 1–3
- AllFollow the three-day planEast, Hollywood to the ocean, the SGV.
Day 4 · The Valley & Thai Town
- 9:00Porto's (Burbank)Potato balls, guava strudel, the line. Cash-friendly, walk-in.
- 10:30Bob's Big Boy (Burbank)The 1949 original; Friday night is classic-car night. Then the Warner lot or Universal if you must.
- 1:00Anajak Thai (Sherman Oaks)If it's Tuesday: Taco Tuesday, the most-argued-about meal in the Valley (Resy). Otherwise the regular menu, still a Bib and a Beard finalist.
- 3:30Thai TownSapp Coffee Shop for boat noodles, Bhan Kanom Thai for sweets, Ruen Pair for the papaya salad (Bib).
- 6:00Tabula Rasa (Thai Town)Natural wine and a listening bar's calm. Then Harvard & Stone next door.
- 8:00Jitlada (Thai Town)Southern Thai, spice you'll remember. Walk-in, or Resy. Then Sanamluang across the street at 2am if you're still going.
Day 5 · The coast, and the counter
- 10:00MalibuMalibu Seafood's picnic tables, or Neptune's Net with the bikers. Cash-friendly.
- 1:00Nobu MalibuLunch on the deck if you can get it (OpenTable); Malibu Farm on the pier if you can't.
- 4:00Harriet's Rooftop (1 Hotel West Hollywood) or Bar Lis (Thompson Hollywood)One drink at golden hour.
- 6:00Death & Co LA (Arts District)The New York bar's LA room. Resy.
- 8:00Somni ★★★ or Kato ★★Somni for Aitor Zabala's fourteen seats in West Hollywood (Tock; the hardest ticket in the city); Kato for Jon Yao's Taiwanese counter, promoted in June (Tock). Alternative: Hayato ★★ (Tock) or Corridor 109 ★, the new one (Tock).
- 11:00Jumbo's Clown Room (Los Feliz)Cash at the door. Or Canter's, 24 hours since 1931, for a pastrami on the way home.
Gotchas & reminders
Before you go.
The things New Yorkers know and visitors learn the expensive way.
LA is not walkable between neighborhoods and the 405 is not a joke. Group each day by area — east side, the SGV, the westside — and never cross the city at 5pm. Rideshares are reliable; budget $30–50 a hop after dark. Metro's B and D lines link Downtown, Koreatown and Hollywood usefully.
Somni, Providence, n/naka, Kato, Hayato and most omakase counters sell tickets on Tock, often weeks out and prepaid. West Hollywood's scene restaurants (Delilah, Catch, the Nice Guy) book on SevenRooms and hold tables for the house. Resy runs the neighborhood rooms, 30 days out.
Mariscos Jalisco, Leo's, the Tire Shop, Tiki-Ti, Jumbo's and most of Boyle Heights and Thai Town are cash-only or cash-first. Carry $80 on the east-side day.
Many LA restaurants add a 3–5% 'wellness' or service fee to the bill — legal if disclosed, not the tip. Sales tax on meals is 9.5–10.25% depending on the city you're standing in. Read the check.
Sun Nong Dan, Sanamluang, Canter's and California Donuts are 24 hours; most of the city's kitchens close at 10. Last call is 2am statewide — no exceptions.
Somni, Providence, n/naka, Hayato and most chef rooms close Sunday and Monday. The trucks, Koreatown, the SGV and the diners run seven days.
Philippe's and Cole's both opened in 1908 and both claim it. Philippe's is sawdust floors and 10-cent coffee; Cole's has a bar (and, maybe, the Varnish behind it). Try both; don't take a side out loud.
Alhambra, San Gabriel, Rosemead, Arcadia and Temple City are 20 minutes east and have the best Chinese food in America. Go for lunch — the dim sum lines start at 10am — and bring a car with parking patience.
Platinum $100 per quarter, Gold $50 twice a year, at any Resy or Tock venue showing the 'Resy Credit eligible' badge. A prepaid Tock ticket at n/naka is the easiest use of it.
LA lost the Original Pantry, Nightshade, Employees Only, the Walker Inn and Sweet Lady Jane within two years; three restaurants lost stars in June. A minute on Resy or Google before you get on the freeway.
Al pastor: off the spinning trompo (Leo's). Tijuana-style: on a mesquite grill with guacamole (Tire Shop). Sonoran: flour tortillas, carne asada (Sonoratown). Dorado: fried shell, shrimp inside (Mariscos Jalisco). Order two of each; it's still under $20.
LAX has a Sam First jazz club across the street and, in Terminal 2, an Eggslut. Burbank's terminal is a ten-minute drive from Porto's — buy a box.