Aftertaste LA

The LA Times 101 Best Restaurants 2026 list is out, and we have notes. A professional chef and a Hollywood writer break down the origins of the list, what it gets right and wrong, where it loses us, and how critics should approach reviews and best-of lists. Bill Addison and Jenn Harris revealed this year's 101 with 31 new additions, which means 31 cuts. We dig into the unexplained churn, why resta...

Inside Marilyn Monroe’s former talent agency on the Sunset Strip, Bar Next Door is a West Hollywood cocktail bar and a love letter to LA history. Their menu of signature cocktails are inspired by LA institutions, like Chateau Marmont, Tower Records, and the Roxy, with each beverage beautifully illustrated in the style of a vintage magazine or newspaper. The bar sits next door (har har) to Prince S...

Ruen Pair opened in 1996 and quickly became an LA institution. Thai restaurants are ubiquitous across Los Angeles, especially in Thai Town, off Hollywood Boulevard, but very few have celebrated a 30th anniversary, as Ruen Pair did this year. It’s a family-run establishment, well into the second generation of ownership. In 2020, the original owners of the family restaurant, Pensri and Somchai Jansa...

Maree, the new Parisian-inspired bistro and wine bar from 3 Michelin Star Chef Marcus Jernmark, is finally open in Beverlywood in the former Manzke space. Jernmark already found restaurant success in Los Angeles with Lielle this year, which opened in the former Bicyclette space and quickly earned 1 Michelin star after three short months. Maree is located on the floor above Lielle, and is the perfe...

Darling in West Hollywood is celebrity chef Sean Brock's first restaurant outside the American south, initially opening in 2025 as a Californian, seasonally-driven restaurant. This did not go over well with Angelenos; they wanted the cornbread and the grits and the fried chicken, they wanted the classics. And we don't blame them. Imagine a rock star band coming to town and playing none of their hi...

Bar 109 is a cocktail bar in Melrose Hill, Los Angeles, that serves as the entry into 1-star Michelin restaurant Corridor 109 from Chef Brian Baik. Lucky for us, Bar 109 is also open for guests not wanting to shell out $325 a head plus 20% service, as you do in the back room. Up front, the cocktail menu and full suite of wines and sakes on offer are all available to order, as well as, a small food...

Lapaba, or La Pasta Bar, aims to be exactly that: a neighborhood pasta bar. Given that the neighborhood in question is Koreatown, it makes all the more sense to incorporate the Korean cuisine LA is known for into the cooking. But don't let that fool you into thinking this is a Korean restaurant. Lapaba is, at its core, LA-style Italian.⁠ ⁠ Husband-and-wife chefs McKenna Lelah and Matthew Kim are b...

Electric Bleu is a brand new French Bistro in Mar Vista by husband-wife duo chef Craig Hopson and creative director Mai Sakai.⁠ ⁠ Chef Craig's resume is truly impressive with stints at Troisgros, Guy Savoy, Le Cirque, and Picholine — absolute titans of the French dining world. Don't let that scare you away from trying the food here because the prices are some of the most reasonable we have seen in...

Not No Bar in Santa Monica comes to us from the team behind Dudley Market, transforming the old Isla space into a vibing tiki disco with solid Neapolitan pizzas and great cocktails. The space is small, loud, and what one could confidently call "a scene."⁠ ⁠ The place stays busy and becomes quite a party on weekends, usually with a line to enter and a DJ working the vintage hi-fi turntable. Leather...

Alta in West Adams is a completely revamped restaurant with a fresh concept, new menu, and a makeover of the dining room, but the story of Alta is the story of its chef and owner, Keith Corbin. ⁠ The professional kitchen has always been one of the great second-chance rooms in the American workplace where one's grit, grind, and determination are tested every night. Plenty of cooks come up through h...

Lielle just earned its first Michelin star, and it took four short months into its run at the former Bicyclette space for Marcus Jernmark, the executive chef who helped Stockholm's Frantzén earn three Michelin stars, and his team to secure it. You enter down a staircase into a moody wine cave: cork barrel-vaulted ceilings, warm antique lighting, smoked cherrywood tables and cozy leather booths mea...

We spent our anniversary on a bite-and-sip tour through New York, hitting 7 bars from North America's 50 Best Bars 2026, including 3 of the top 4 and the current #1. We came home and asked the obvious question: where does LA actually stand? We break down what each bar does well, where we would go back, and take a hard look at where LA's bar scene trails New York, where it can compete, and what we...

Curtis Stone's Michelin-starred steakhouse Gwen is Hollywood's award-winning destination for dry-aged meat — ranked #42 on the World's 101 Best Steak Restaurants list. ⁠ The space exudes modern Hollywood elegance without feeling gaudy, and features glass-enclosed dry aging rooms, open kitchen, and a fully operational retail butcher shop. ⁠ ⁠ The menu is anchored by seafood, vegetables, and dry age...

LA finally has an answer to NYC in the elite cocktail bar space — and it's tucked into Los Feliz on Hillhurst Ave. We're calling Vandell our new favorite bar in Los Angeles. In this episode of Aftertaste LA, we break down why this neighborhood cocktail bar is the real deal. It only took 4 short months after opening for Vandell to be named #68 on the 100 best bars in North America. It's creative, i...

The restaurant has positioned itself as THE neighborhood ⁠bar & grill; a place that does the simple things right. Easy on paper, but a tough feat to actually pull off. ⁠ A classic bar & grill MUST nail specific essentials to be great. A burger, a steak, fries, a martini, comfortable seats, and a staff that knows how to make you feel like you're in your living room. It seems they have done...

When the pandemic caused the original Broken Spanish to close, Los Angeles lost an absolutely outstanding restaurant. https://brokenspanishcomedor.com Broken Spanish Comedor continues the ‘authentically inauthentic’ philosophy of Chef Ray with a more approachable price point and clear nod to Mexico’s comedores: small, typically mom-and-pop restaurants and stalls serving home style cuisine. Chef Ra...

“Sool jib” translates literally to “drinking establishment,” and that is exactly what Jilli is. The vibe here is drinks come first, but incredible food is a close second. ⁠ ⁠ The team behind Chimmelier — the Korean fried chicken spot that blew up in Ktown — took over the former Kinn space and turned it into one of the most fun places to eat and drink in the neighborhood. The dining area at Jilli i...

Avner Levi, a Bestia alum, started Cento as a pasta pop-up inside a downtown LA bar. Now he's got a permanent home in West Adams — and two very different restaurants to show for it.⁠⁠ Cento Pasta Bar is the concept that put him on the map: a modern and sleek room built around handmade pasta and a chef's counter where you can watch every bowl come together. The food is Italian at its core, but Levi...

Lucia on Fairfax is owner Sam Jordan's vision of a restaurant that feels like an event the moment you walk in. ⁠⁠The European influence drives the room: a late-night party atmosphere complete with a live DJ, but never crosses into tacky clubstaurant territory. (They do have a dress code — no hats, no sleeveless shirts — though enforcement is...flexible.)⁠⁠The food and drinks take you on a trip thr...

Electric Bleu is a brand new French Bistro in Mar Vista by husband-wife duo chef Craig Hopson and creative director Mai Sakai.⁠ ⁠ Chef Craig's resume is truly impressive with stints at Troisgros, Guy Savoy, Le Cirque, and Picholine — absolute titans of the French dining world. Don't let that scare you away from trying the food here because the prices are some of the most reasonable we have seen in...

Our Meal At Daisy Margarita Bar | Sherman Oaks | Los Angeles| California | Opened April 2025 https://www.daisyla.com/ @daisy.losangeles Daisy is a Northern Mexico–inspired cantina from the team behind Mirate in Los Feliz.⁠⁠ Come to Daisy if you covet flawlessly executed, high-craft cocktails and margaritas. The beverage program is unapologetically focused on showcasing Mexican-made spirits and ing...

Our Meal At Bar Benjamin | Bar Review | Melrose | Los Angeles | California | Opened May 2025 Bar Benjamin sits above The Benjamin on Melrose, delivering a modern day Hollywood cocktail den built for date nights and lingering rounds. The space feels classic, with wood tones, Art Deco style, and mohair banquettes. It’s intimate, it’s elegant, and that’s before you even get to the drinks. The drinks...

Our Meal At Firstborn | Restaurant Review | Chinatown | Los Angeles | California | Opened March 2025 https://www.firstborn.la @firstborn.la ⁠Chef/Owner Anthony Wang took over the former Pok Pok space and transformed it into his vision of a modern Chinese restaurant in Los Angeles. The menu is a journey through Chef Anthony’s biography—both personal and professional.⁠ The food is whimsical in execu...

Our Meal At Cobi's | Restaurant Review | Santa Monica | Los Angeles | California | Opened October 2021 https://www.cobis.la/ @cobis.la Cobi’s began as a pandemic pop up called Cobi’s Curries started by Chef Cobi Marsh. Its popularity was enough to open a brick and mortar in the former Dhaba space on Main Street in Santa Monica. The food is heavily inspired by Indonesian, Thai, Malaysian, and India...

Our Meal At Alba | West Hollywood | Los Angeles | California | Opened February 2025 https://www.cucinaalba.com/ @cucinaalba (NY AND LA shared) When Cucina Alba opened in New York in 2022, it became an instant classic. Earlier this year, its sister restaurant, simply called Alba, opened in West Hollywood and has garnered positive reviews, quickly becoming one of the premier classic Italian destinat...