Celebrated Chicago chef Dave Beran of Alinea and Next made headlines when he moved to Los Angeles. His first project, a diminutive tasting menu in Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade, might be one of the most innovative places to dine right now. The nearly $200 experience comes in around 20 courses, with a whirlwind of elegantly plated textures, flavors, and ingredients.

Phillip Frankland and Margarita Lee have taken their tasting menu restaurant to the next level thanks to a retooled dining experience (like the cocktails and amuse bouches at a secret new bar entrance) and sharper, more polished flavors. This Encino restaurant is now the premier dining destination in the Valley, with a slew of creative dishes that excite and delight diners with every course. Reservations required.

This iconic Venice restaurant has undergone a complete makeover, offering a wide-ranging menu to anticipate the neighborhood’s every dining need, from breakfast through dinner service. Jason Neroni's produce-driven, pasta-centric menu is sure to please most people, while the multifaceted building allows for everything from a casual bite at the bar to a more composed sit-down experience on the patio.

LA’s pizza game has been very strong lately, and this newer entrant in Brentwood takes the artform to new heights thanks to its detailed approach to Neapolitan pizza. But unlike many other pizza specialists, Pizzana isn’t afraid to play around with the medium, incorporating new techniques and flavor combinations that reflect the diversity of LA. And the best part? The racked pizza dishes mean that every bite has a slightly crispy crust without any of that standard sogginess.

Niki Nakayama’s phenomenal California-Japanese kaiseki might possibly be the most impressive restaurant to visit in Los Angeles. If the Michelin Guide were still rating in LA, n/naka would be a strong contender for three stars. The hidden-in-plain-sight building in Palms hosts one of the warmest, loveliest dining rooms, with fantastic wine pairings and pristine seafood prepared with a master’s touch. Reservations required, often weeks in advance.

Sang Yoon put together one of the most impressive (and most unsung) dining rooms in the city. Yoon continues to tinker with the Asian-inspired menu, pulling off old favorites like the General Tso’s chicken pops and testing new ones without any remorse. All the flavors will seem familiar, but come presented in a fresh, more thoughtful way. There’s also a chef’s tasting menu at the counter for anyone that wants to see Yoon’s A-game in action.

Suzanne Goin and Caroline Styne’s enduring West Third Street classic has one of the most pleasant patio spaces in town, making for a quality lunch with pristine produce and great execution. Dinner’s even more expansive, with Goin's trademark touch on rustic American cuisine coupled with suave service. Nearly everyone has a plate of the Spanish fried chicken on their table, though anything from the wood oven would be a solid dish to order. A.O.C. is one of LA’s modern icons, and everyone should dine here at least once a year.

Ricardo Zarate makes a triumphant return with this popular West Hollywood ode to Peruvian cuisine. The scene is bustling most nights, and often celebrities come in hordes (apparently the cast of Crazy Rich Asians met up here recently). Start with some of the most creative cocktails in town, then order up a slew of ceviches and small plates before ending with a grand platter of paella or lomo saltado.

When Walter and Margarita Manzke took over the iconic Campanile space, they knew the stakes were high. And who in LA would have thought they would’ve succeeded this much, offering a swell breakfast-to-dinner menu with a French point of view? Throw in some pockets of new American and even Asian influences, and the bill of fare will likely appeal to everyone. The desserts, breads, and pastries by Margarita are as good as one can expect, while the charcuterie board is sure to stun anyone.

Nancy Silverton’s enduring pizzeria opened ten years ago, heralding a new kind of elevated but casual restaurant in LA. And the salads, pizzas, and desserts are still extraordinary, a credit to the James Beard award winner and years of consistency. Order the tricolore or chopped salad to start, follow up with a wood-fired pizza, and finish with the caramel coppetta dessert.

Ludo Lefebvre perfected this facsimile of a Parisian bistro right next to his first effort, Trois Mec. Serving near-ideal renditions of classics (with some leeway here and there), Petit Trois is probably the most well-executed French restaurant in the city. Try the omelet, steak frites, escargot — pretty much everything on the tight menu is worth ordering.

Gwen’s menu has meandered from a tasting menu to a more approachable a la carte bill of fare, and it’s done wonders for the overall usability of celebrity chef Curtis Stone’s grand Hollywood restaurant. Though meat and seasonal roasted vegetables are still the stars of the show, carefully prepared seafood now plays a solid supporting role. With magnificent ambience and impeccable service, Gwen stands as one of LA’s more upscale dining experiences.

There are a bevy of excellent Oaxacan restaurants in Los Angeles thanks to influx of settlers from the 1990s, and Gish Bac might be the best of the bunch thanks to the work of chef and owner Maria Ramos. This Mid-City classic serves a bit of everything from Oaxaca, including a great tlayuda and delicious torta, but the star of the show is the goat barbacoa enchilada, slow cooked for five hours in guajillo chiles. Truly one of LA’s best regional Mexican restaurants.

Former Animal chef Jonathan Whitener has opened a bustling restaurant in the heart of Koreatown with some of the most creative and delicious cuisine in Los Angeles. There’s no easy way to categorize these plates, but perhaps the best way would be to describe them as an elemental, but unexpected presentation of global flavors.

This is the Korean barbecue to end all arguments, with the highest quality meat and banchan one can find in Los Angeles, which is one of the world’s epicenters for Korean cuisine. Order some wagyu beef and prime American short ribs and eat with the restaurant’s pristine kimchi and fresh lettuce wraps.

Sara Kramer and Sarah Hymanson opened this sleek modern Middle Eastern restaurant in early 2017 with a commitment to refined, restrained technique and top-quality farmers market produce. The result is one of the most popular new restaurants in the city. The morning Turkish-ish breakfast is a solid daytime pick, while the mezzes and small plates rule the roost for dinner service.

Jessica Koslow realized that the Eastside was bereft of a great everyday breakfast and lunch spot, and Sqirl was the answer everyone was waiting for. Tucked away on a sleepy stretch of Virgil, this seasonal kitchen produces surprising food that balances flavor with superb ingredients. Consider the rice bowl, topped with ricotta and fermented hot sauce, or the incredible ricotta toast covered with its signature jam. Just be ready to wait in line.

Yes, the No. 19 pastrami sandwich is an amazing sandwich, but the pure pastrami on house-based rye is simplicity at its best. There's a reason why people make pilgrimages to try this place’s pastrami and even corned beef: There is no better version anywhere in town. Pro tip: Try the No. 54, a blend of both the pastrami and corned beef in one sandwich. And don't skip the rest of the classic Jewish deli menu — it's all very well executed in one of the best daytime dining rooms in town.

Kris Yenbamroong built this place from the ground up, and while his original spot in West Hollywood still goes strong, this second rendition in Silver Lake seems to reflect the young chef's ethos a tiny bit more. With a cadre of excellent Thai dishes — pork toro, Bangkok mall pasta, and larb — in a fun, convivial atmosphere (crack open a tall boy of Miller Lite to start a meal), Night + Market Song is the place to be any night of the week on the Eastside.

Steve Samson, whose Southern Italian accomplishments at Sotto continue to excel in West LA, opened this incredible ode to Northern Italian cuisine, especially from the region of Bologna and Emilia-Romagna. The modern dining room is one of the most attractive spaces in the city, while the wood-roasted meats and pastas would please anyone. Try the tortellini in brodo.

Regarded as one of LA’s most impressive taco restaurants, this tiny Downtown LA spot prepares an authentic Sonoran-style tacos and quesadillas with grilled meats and flour tortillas. Don’t forget to order the chivichanga, a burrito with cheese and shredded chicken or machaca beef. It’s all really affordable too, though parking can be tough in this part of Downtown.

Don’t be fooled by the diminutive size of Echo Park’s Tsubaki. The modern Japanese restaurant carries a small footprint but is big on flavor, with dishes like sake-marinated foie gras terrine and rich yakitori skewers. Don’t sleep on the robust sake list or the pre-Dodger game deals from this Sunset Boulevard star situated just down the hill from Chavez Ravine, either. —Farley Elliott

If there’s a restaurant that represents modern Los Angeles cuisine with a heavy dose of seasonal produce, Bäco Mercat might be it. Chef Josef Centeno’s four restaurant empire, all located on a single block in Downtown LA, has multiple perspectives, but Bäco remains the most malleable, the one that fuses Latin, Middle Eastern, and Asian influences across easy, shareable plates. Order the ox tongue baco, a sort of folded flatbread sandwich.

Johnny Ray Zone and Amanda Chapman might have the single busiest restaurant in Los Angeles, with a line that snakes around Far East Plaza in Chinatown for nearly every hour. What's everyone waiting for? Nashville-style hot chicken, made to perfection. Everybody should order at least one item as spicy as they can handle, and try the fried chicken sandwich too. It's truly a marvel of fried chicken in Los Angeles.

Ori Menashe and Genevieve Gergis’s second restaurant is a true winner, representing both of their varied Middle Eastern heritages in one lovely-looking Arts District restaurant. The bustling space demands reservations for prime meal times, and there’s often a line of people waiting to walk in. Order the duck nduja hummus, grilled oyster mushrooms, spicy prawns, and lamb shawarma for a polished modern Middle Eastern dinner.

David Chang’s Chinatown restaurant has been one of the most impressive openings in Los Angeles this year, and he’s done a masterful job of blending seasonality with many of the Asian flavors and cuisines that Angelenos love and understand. The sleek industrial environs work well with the often modestly presented plates. Start with bing breads and dips, then venture into the noodles or raw seafood before finishing strong with tableside smoked short ribs.

Pine & Crane founder Vivian Ku has another casual winner in her second restaurant, Joy, which opened in Highland Park in 2018. With a very affordable menu of shrimp wontons, mapo tofu, dan dan noodles, and minced pork over rice, Joy is a delicious Taiwanese restaurant that’s good enough to visit every week. Don’t forget the milk tea drinks, which might be the best in town with house made puddings and tapioca balls.

This sprawling Monterey Park dim sum palace stands out for its consistency and quality, where diners can order siu mai, har gow, and other classics from a menu. Dishes come out as they’re prepared instead of being served from carts, though servers do roam around with trays of ready-to-eat snacks. The congee is especially good here, as are the taro dumplings. Weekday waits aren’t too bad but weekends can mean hour long queues for some of LA’s best dim sum.