The Los Angeles Playbook

The chef-and-pastry-chef husband-and-wife team of Ori Menashe and Genevieve Gergis opened Bestia in a hard-to-find Arts District alley in 2012 and turned it into the most coveted reservation in LA — a title it has barely surrendered in over a decade. The whole-animal Italian cooking, house charcuterie, and from-scratch pastas made it a national name. Still family-run; still worth the booking battle.

Reservations: OpenTable; book the moment the window opens for game weekends

Damian is the Los Angeles flagship of Enrique Olvera — the chef behind Mexico City's Pujol, long rated among the world's best restaurants — with chef Jesús 'Chuy' Cervantes running the kitchen. The cooking bridges Oaxacan tradition and modern LA in a converted Arts District warehouse with a tree-shaded patio. Refined without being fussy; one of the best Mexican dining rooms in the country.

Reservations: Resy; closed Mon–Tue, book ahead for Wed–Sun

République lives in a 1928 building Charlie Chaplin commissioned as his production offices — vaulted brick, a courtyard, decades of Hollywood history. Chef Walter Manzke and pastry chef Marge Manzke, a husband-and-wife team, run it as a bakery and café by day and a serious French-Californian restaurant by night. Nationally recognized year after year for both the kitchen and the pastry case.

Reservations: Dinner via Tock; daytime is counter-service, no reservations and the line is part of the ritual

Founder Jenee Kim opened Park's in 2003 and built it into the standard-bearer for LA Korean barbecue — the bar against which every other K-Town grill is measured. The draw is the meat: USDA Prime and Wagyu cuts, dry-aged in-house, with a banchan spread that arrives like a parade. A perennial Michelin-guide name in the country's most important Koreatown.

Reservations: Reservations by phone; book a day or two ahead for game-weekend groups

The single most important reason to eat near the Coliseum. Chef Gilberto Cetina's Yucatecan-and-Pacific seafood counter inside the Mercado La Paloma food hall earned a Michelin star — extraordinary for a stall in a community market — and has held a devoted following for years. Cetina runs it alongside his family's Chichen Itza next door; the cooking is pristine, sustainable, and unlike anything else within walking distance of the stadium.

Reservations: Walk-in only — counter-order, communal food-hall seating; expect a line at peak

The restaurant that defined Abbot Kinney and, arguably, modern Venice dining. Since 2008, Gjelina's wood-fired, vegetable-forward, market-driven cooking has been one of the most influential California menus of its era — copied everywhere, equaled rarely. The brick patio and the open kitchen still feel like the center of the Westside. Menu's strictly as-written; trust it.

Reservations: OpenTable recommended; walk-in bar and counter if you can't get a table

Founded in 1908 by Philippe Mathieu, who — as the story goes — invented the French dip sandwich when he dropped a roll into the roasting pan's drippings. Sawdust still covers the floor, the long communal tables haven't changed, and orders still come from a row of carvers behind a glass case. One of the oldest restaurants in Los Angeles and a genuine pilgrimage. Open early, daily.

Reservations: Walk-in only — counter-order, communal tables, cash-friendly

The Lopez family brought Oaxaca to LA in 1994, and Guelaguetza has been the city's temple of mole ever since — a James Beard 'America's Classics' winner and the cultural heart of the country's largest Oaxacan community. Live music, a vast festive room, house-made moles you can buy by the jar. This is heritage Mexican cooking at its most generous. Closed Mondays.

Reservations: Walk-in; large groups can call ahead

Open since 1947 and run by the Langer family ever since, Langer's makes what many critics — locally and nationally — call the best pastrami sandwich in America, full stop. The secret is the rye: baked twice for a crackling crust that holds up to the hand-cut, steamed-to-order pastrami. A James Beard 'America's Classics' honoree and a living piece of LA. Closed Sundays.

Reservations: Walk-in; there's a parking lot and they validate

A genuine LA chophouse that's barely changed since 1953 — red-leather booths, dim lighting, career waiters, and a 'please mute your phone' kind of hush. Family-run for generations and now improbably surrounded by Koreatown, Taylor's is the city's great surviving classic steakhouse: no scene, no reinvention, just a properly cooked steak and a stiff drink. The old-LA dinner the heritage hunter is looking for. Closed Mondays.

Reservations: Reservations by phone; weekend tables and booths book up

A tiny, perpetually packed oyster bar two blocks from the Manhattan Beach pier, from acclaimed chef David LeFevre (a James Beard nominee who also runs MB Post next door). The format is 'old and new' — classic raw-bar standards alongside modern seafood plates — executed at a level that punches far above a 20-seat room. The best reason to eat in the South Bay.

Reservations: OpenTable; small room, so book ahead or aim for an off-peak walk-in

A nautical-dive steakhouse a block from the Santa Monica sand, open since 1959 and barely changed — sawdust, red leather, ship's lanterns, and a half-century of Rat Pack-era Hollywood lore (one of its peanuts famously went to the moon on Apollo 14). Equal parts restaurant and landmark watering hole. The most charming old-LA dinner on the Westside.

Reservations: Resy; small room, weekend tables go fast

When Chris Bianco — the Phoenix pizzaiolo widely called the best in America, and a James Beard Outstanding Restaurateur — finally opened in LA, it landed in a former coffee roaster at Row DTLA and immediately earned back-to-back Michelin Bib Gourmands (2024, 2025). The dough, the Southern California produce, the restraint: this is pizza as a lifetime's craft, not a trend. A bulletproof newer pick.

Reservations: OpenTable; walk-ins welcome but the wait builds at peak

A Bib Gourmand standout in a vintage Chinatown plaza (the same one that holds Howlin' Ray's), Lasita pairs a Filipino rotisserie with one of the city's most loved natural-wine programs. Born from a pop-up and built into a critical darling, it's been a fixture of every serious LA list since it opened — modern Filipino cooking with real roots, and the natural-wine answer for a corridor that's heavy on cocktails. Closed Sundays.

Reservations: Resy recommended; the room is small

The bar that helped kick off downtown LA's cocktail revival, Seven Grand has been the city's definitive whiskey lounge since 2007 — hundreds of bottles, expert bartenders, pool tables, and live music Thursday through Sunday. The vibe is upscale-clubhouse without the attitude. Open late.

Taxidermy-and-tartan hunting-lodge cool, with a hidden tasting room (the Bar Jackalope) tucked inside.

Reservations: Walk-in; the Bar Jackalope tasting room books separately

Born as Clifton's Cafeteria in 1935 (a Depression-era spot that fed anyone who couldn't pay), the building reopened in late 2024 as Clifton's Republic — a multi-level bar and event palace stuffed with vintage Americana, a 40-foot faux redwood, and hidden rooms. There is nowhere else like it in America. Currently open weekend nights (roughly Fri–Sat); check the calendar before you go.

A five-story fever dream — a redwood forest grows through the middle, with secret tiki bars, taxidermy, and a different world on every floor.

Reservations: Walk-in for general floors; some rooms host ticketed nights

One of the Arts District's enduring dives — a low-key, game-stuffed, no-pretense room that's the antidote to the neighborhood's pricier spots. The move is to grab a slice from Pizzanista next door and bring it in. Exactly the kind of honest neighborhood bar a fan wants after a long day.

A red-lit Arts District biker-leaning dive with pool, darts, ping-pong, board games, and a big back patio.

Reservations: No reservations; walk-in

Open since 1934, The Galley is the oldest restaurant and bar in Santa Monica — a genuinely old-LA beach institution wrapped in fishing nets, ship's wheels, and string lights that never come down. More bar than restaurant once the sun's down, and a perfect, unpretentious Westside watering hole for a beach-basing fan.

Santa Monica's oldest restaurant and bar — a nautical-kitsch grotto draped in twinkle lights, heated back patio, locals-deep.

Reservations: Walk-in; the bar fills on weekend nights

Chef Sang Yoon's Father's Office is an LA legend on two counts: the Office Burger — routinely named among the best burgers in America — and an encyclopedic, no-compromise craft-beer program that helped define LA beer culture. The famous house rule (no substitutions, and emphatically no ketchup) is part of the lore. The burger-and-beer pilgrimage on the Westside, at the original Montana Ave room.

A tight, buzzy gastropub built around the beer wall — order at the bar, grab a table, no ketchup, no modifications, no exceptions.

Reservations: Walk-in only; 21+; arrive off-peak to beat the wait

The Townhouse is the oldest bar in Venice — Caesar Menotti opened it in 1915, and during Prohibition the basement ran as a speakeasy supplied by rum-runners through tunnels under the boardwalk. Today you drink classic cocktails upstairs and catch live music below in the Del Monte. A real piece of Venice history, a block off the beach.

Cocktails in the 1915 upstairs barroom; live music and DJs most nights in the basement Del Monte Speakeasy, a genuine Prohibition-era room.

Reservations: Walk-in; cover for some Del Monte shows

Hinano Cafe has poured cold beer and griddled burgers steps from the Venice Pier since 1962 — a genuine, unreconstructed beach dive with sawdust on the floor and reportedly one of Jim Morrison's old hangouts. Beer and wine only, cash-friendly, and beloved by locals. The most authentic beach-bar hang on the Westside.

A sawdust-floored 1962 beach dive a step from the Venice boardwalk — pool table in back, cheap beer, world-famous burgers, live music on weekends.

Reservations: Walk-in; cash-friendly

Whiskey Red's sits right on the water in Marina del Rey's Fisherman's Village, with the largest waterfront patio and the best harbor views in the marina. Part seafood restaurant, part sunset-cocktail destination — the easy, scenic drink for fans basing on the MdR waterfront.

A big waterfront bar-and-patio in Fisherman's Village with 180-degree marina views — boats bobbing a few feet away, the sunset-drink spot for a Marina del Rey base.

Reservations: Walk-in for the bar and patio; book the dining room via their site

Ercoles has been the heart of downtown Manhattan Beach since the 1920s — the oldest bar in town, a true local dive a block from the pier, with a burger that regularly wins the beach cities and a footlong Dodger Dog to match. No pretense, all character. The South Bay base's home bar.

The oldest bar in Manhattan Beach — a no-frills neighborhood dive a block from the pier, packed with locals and game-watchers.

Reservations: Walk-in; first come, first serve

The de facto pregame headquarters at USC Village — an Irish-leaning sports bar steps from campus and a short walk to the Coliseum. On game day it's packed with Trojan fans hours before kickoff; the rest of the time it's a reliable burgers-and-whiskey hang. The closest thing USC has to a true gameday bar.

A big, loud USC Village sports bar with patios, walls of TVs, and a wall-to-wall Cardinal-and-Gold crowd on game day.

Reservations: Walk-in; large groups should call for game-day tables

A no-frills gastropub on Figueroa, about as physically close to the Coliseum as you can drink — which is exactly its appeal on game day. It fills with students and visiting fans before kickoff. Go in expecting a convenient, lively pregame spot rather than a culinary event, and it delivers.

A casual student-and-fan gastropub right on Figueroa, as close to the Coliseum as a bar gets.

Reservations: Walk-in