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Canter's
Canter's
Canter's

The Essential Guide to Fairfax Restaurants

Keeping with strict neighborhood boundaries.

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Canter's
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LA's expansive landscape can be both a blessing and a curse. While its segmented neighborhoods allow for a great diversity of restaurants and vibrant fare, making long treks during peak dinner hours isn't always a viable option. Enter Eater LA's neighborhood guides, handy maps of essential restaurants grouped strictly by neighborhood boundaries.

After finding the essential restaurants in Downtown, Silver Lake, Santa Monica, West Hollywood, and the South Bay, we now look to Fairfax, an area known for delis, hip sneaker shops, and a concentrated selection of standout restaurants. We asked Eater LA readers for the restaurants they would recommend in the tiny neighborhood, and curated this handy list of classics and newer favorites, presented in alphabetical order.

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Angelini Osteria

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Angelini Osteria has been a longstanding LA staple for excellent Italian cuisine that comes by way of Gino Angelini. The restaurant that opened back in 2001 has been going strong thanks to dishes like its signature lasagna verde and salt-crusted whole branzino.

Opened back in 2008, Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo’s debut restaurant Animal was a monumental addition to the revitalization of Fairfax. The restaurant known for its meaty, offal-heavy menu was the first step in building the power duo’s restaurant empire.

Canter's Delicatessen

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This 1931 institution is a Fairfax landmark. With its retro digs, you’ll feel like Canter’s regulars Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller while noshing on some of the city’s best pastrami and matzo ball soup.

Threw back a few too many last night? In need of some serious morning-after sustenance? Luckily there’s Cofax, where smoked potato breakfast burritos are the name of the game, and there’s plenty of cold brew to wash it all down.

Jon & Vinny's

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The Animal duo’s eponymous all-day eatery has just about everything you want to eat at all hours of the day, from perfect pancakes to those juicy meatballs and popular LA Woman pizza.

Paramount Coffee Project

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Have Paramount Coffee Project’s gorgeous toasts and breakfast dishes invaded your Instagram feed? Well if you haven’t gone yet you should, as PCP has become a mecca for Fairfax hip kids and coffee aficionados alike.

Pita Bar and Grill

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An Eater LA reader favorite, Pita Bar and Grill is a go-to for shawarma in laffa and the condiment bar with friendly service and delivery to boot.

Plan Check Kitchen + Bar

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One of LA’s standbys for fantastic fried chicken sandwiches and ketchup leather-topped burgers is an ideal spot to spend a leisurely afternoon drinking your way through a solid selection of craft beers.

Prime Pizza

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It was a sad day when Damianos closed its longstanding doors on Fairfax. Thankfully Prime Pizza stepped in just down the block, with plenty of New York-style thin crust pizzas by the slice.

Schwartz Bakery

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The oldest kosher bakery in Los Angeles, Schwartz is a favorite for deli classics and baked goods like chocolate babka and poppy seed danishes.

Terroni

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Beverly Boulevard’s Terroni often flies under the radar, which might be a good thing, as the restaurant probably couldn’t handle many more patrons in its perpetually crowded space. Locals know Terroni is the spot for solid pastas and housemade bread that comes before your meal.

The Golden State

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A true homage to California cuisine, Golden State holds it down with some of LA’s best burgers. Don’t have to head back to work post burger? Go for a beer float that’s made with local ice cream and Old Rasputin stout.

Urban Garden

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George Abou-Daoud’s (Bowery Bungalow, Rosewood Tavern) Urban Garden has been quietly serving some of the most underrated falafel in the city since 2012. Daoud’s dedication to authenticity is seen throughout his menu, with everything from housemade za’atar bread that is made to order on custom dome-shaped grills to exceptionally moist chicken shawarma.

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Angelini Osteria

Angelini Osteria has been a longstanding LA staple for excellent Italian cuisine that comes by way of Gino Angelini. The restaurant that opened back in 2001 has been going strong thanks to dishes like its signature lasagna verde and salt-crusted whole branzino.

Animal

Opened back in 2008, Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo’s debut restaurant Animal was a monumental addition to the revitalization of Fairfax. The restaurant known for its meaty, offal-heavy menu was the first step in building the power duo’s restaurant empire.

Canter's Delicatessen

This 1931 institution is a Fairfax landmark. With its retro digs, you’ll feel like Canter’s regulars Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller while noshing on some of the city’s best pastrami and matzo ball soup.

Cofax

Threw back a few too many last night? In need of some serious morning-after sustenance? Luckily there’s Cofax, where smoked potato breakfast burritos are the name of the game, and there’s plenty of cold brew to wash it all down.

Jon & Vinny's

The Animal duo’s eponymous all-day eatery has just about everything you want to eat at all hours of the day, from perfect pancakes to those juicy meatballs and popular LA Woman pizza.

Paramount Coffee Project

Have Paramount Coffee Project’s gorgeous toasts and breakfast dishes invaded your Instagram feed? Well if you haven’t gone yet you should, as PCP has become a mecca for Fairfax hip kids and coffee aficionados alike.

Pita Bar and Grill

An Eater LA reader favorite, Pita Bar and Grill is a go-to for shawarma in laffa and the condiment bar with friendly service and delivery to boot.

Plan Check Kitchen + Bar

One of LA’s standbys for fantastic fried chicken sandwiches and ketchup leather-topped burgers is an ideal spot to spend a leisurely afternoon drinking your way through a solid selection of craft beers.

Prime Pizza

It was a sad day when Damianos closed its longstanding doors on Fairfax. Thankfully Prime Pizza stepped in just down the block, with plenty of New York-style thin crust pizzas by the slice.

Schwartz Bakery

The oldest kosher bakery in Los Angeles, Schwartz is a favorite for deli classics and baked goods like chocolate babka and poppy seed danishes.

Terroni

Beverly Boulevard’s Terroni often flies under the radar, which might be a good thing, as the restaurant probably couldn’t handle many more patrons in its perpetually crowded space. Locals know Terroni is the spot for solid pastas and housemade bread that comes before your meal.

The Golden State

A true homage to California cuisine, Golden State holds it down with some of LA’s best burgers. Don’t have to head back to work post burger? Go for a beer float that’s made with local ice cream and Old Rasputin stout.

Urban Garden

George Abou-Daoud’s (Bowery Bungalow, Rosewood Tavern) Urban Garden has been quietly serving some of the most underrated falafel in the city since 2012. Daoud’s dedication to authenticity is seen throughout his menu, with everything from housemade za’atar bread that is made to order on custom dome-shaped grills to exceptionally moist chicken shawarma.

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