Nine New Restaurant Openings Around LA to Know About This Week

A wave of new restaurant openings (and reopenings) has washed over Los Angeles in the past few days, from notable chef names in Downtown to a former gas station upstart now moving into a formal address in Culver City. Let’s take a look:

• Best Girl has reopened in Downtown Los Angeles at the Ace Hotel. The restaurant, overseen by chef Michael Cimarusti (Providence) has pulled out a number of seats into the wide sidewalk there, allowing diners to eat and drink beneath the historic marquee of the former United Artists theater at the hotel. The box office will even serve as a bar, while the coffee shop inside remains open for takeaway only. Hours are 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday through Sunday, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. for brunch on Saturday and Sunday.
• Little Llama, the popular Smorgasburg vendor, opens on Friday in Downtown at 222 S. Main Street. That means Peruvian tacos, burritos, bowls, and more from chef Jean Valcarcel, and a space that includes colorful patio seating and takeout and delivery as well.
• Botanica reopens for patio dining starting this Wednesday in Silver Lake. The popular restaurant right near the reservoir has been pivoting hard since the start of the pandemic, operating as a market, a small takeaway restaurant, a place for kabobs and other Mediterranean dishes, and now as a limited sit-down restaurant with al fresco tables and room for small groups — plus natural wine, of course.

• Clark Street Bread has opened its Brentwood location as of this morning. The popular bakery already has a flagship location on Glendale Boulevard in Historic Filipinotown and a small takeaway cafe in Echo Park; this is the first time owner Zack Hall has expanded further west.
• Yxta Cocina, the 11-year-old Mexican restaurant at the edge of the Arts District, has reopened. Owner Jesse Gomez turned on the lights to the neighborhood beacon restaurant late last week, and is now doing al fresco lunch and dinner dining on site.
• Eszett is back in Silver Lake as well, having expanded its outdoor seating into a tight patio parking lot space. Expect limited hours to start (5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday through Sunday) on the covered space, but the same collection of inexpensive wines, wings, and more.

• The Bombay Frankie Company is opening at the Westfield Culver City mall on October 15. The restaurant has become synonymous with its menu of frankies (affectionally called Indian burritos), served for years out of a gas station on the Westside. Now the restaurant is taking its full menu, including breads and bowls and more, to the Westfield Culver City Mall.
• RVCC Intersect in the Arts District is open once again. The mellow hangout for breakfast bites and espresso now has shaded outdoor seating and is doing daily hours from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.
• SocialEats, the Santa Monica food hall, has expanded into Hollywood with a formal lineup of multiple vendors. That includes Supertoro for Japanese food, Pop’s Burgers and Shakes, STRFSH from the Voltaggio brothers, Azule Taqueria, and Street Noods for noodles, gyoza, and the like. The space at 1542 N. Cahuenga was formerly just a Supertoro but has been outfitted with room for all the brands under one roof, and the K2 group behind the food hall says they’ll even be offering limited-radius no-cost delivery as well.