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Bon Temps Arts District Los Angeles — Sea urchin caviar tartlette at Bon Temps.

16 Most Important Los Angeles Restaurant Openings in 2019

From the nation’s first cannabis restaurant in West Hollywood to Tijuana-style tacos in Downtown

by Cathy Chaplin and Eater Staff Dec 10, 2019, 11:15am PST

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Sea urchin caviar tartlette at Bon Temps.

| Wonho Frank Lee

by Cathy Chaplin and Eater Staff Dec 10, 2019, 11:15am PST

2 comments / new

There is not a day that goes by without a new restaurant opening somewhere in the Southland. While most establishments serve the neighborhood in which they operate, the most exemplary places are able to meet diners’ needs and bring forth a culinary point of view that shapes and sways Los Angeles’s greater dining scene. From the nation’s first cannabis restaurant in West Hollywood to Tijuana-style tacos in Downtown, here now are the 16 most important restaurant openings in 2019.

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Eater maps are curated by editors and aim to reflect a diversity of neighborhoods, cuisines, and prices. Learn more about our editorial process.

Yang's Kitchen

Yang’s Kitchen is redefining Chinese cooking in the San Gabriel Valley by celebrating whole grains and traceable ingredients. The beef noodle soup and braised pork rice have emerged as the restaurant’s two runaway hits. Both are Taiwanese in origin but manage to capture a real sense of place with their ethos and execution.

112 W Main St, Alhambra, CA 91801

Visit Website

Overhead shot of dishes from Yang’s Kitchen. — Yang’s Kitchen in Alhambra

Also featured in:

Cannabis Cafe

Cannabis Cafe is America’s first licensed cannabis consumption lounge and restaurant where diners can eat a meal while consuming cannabis or eat cannabis-infused edibles on the premises. The vegan nachos are especially good because chef Andrea Drummer centers most of the cashew cheese towards the bottom of the dish, allowing crispy chips to thrive long after the plate lands on the table.

1201 N La Brea Ave, West Hollywood, CA 90038

Visit Website

Lowell Cafe’s sticky tamarind wings — Cannabis Cafe in West Hollywood.

All Day Baby

The highly-anticipated follow-up to Koreatown’s Here’s Looking At You opened just after Thanksgiving. The 2,000 square foot Silver Lake corner lot has been fully transformed and reimagined into an all-in-one neighborhood diner, bar, and bakery complete with patty melts, sticky buns, and boozy milkshakes. Early hits include the melty beef and cheddar sandwich, along with the fresh-baked conchas.

3200 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026

Visit Website

An overhead view of conchas, chicken, and pancakes. — All Day Baby in Silver Lake.

Also featured in:

Spoon & Pork

Purveyors of modern Filipino fare Spoon & Pork opened a physical location earlier this year on Sunset Boulevard in Silver Lake. The comforting menu is largely unchanged from what was served on the truck, including adobo belly nigiri and the Chori Burger, a house-made Filipino pork chorizo on a toasted Hawaiian bun.

3131 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026

Visit Website

Dark table with colorful Filipino dishes from Spoon & Pork restaurant. — Spoon & Pork in Silver Lake.

Also featured in:

Auburn

Auburn is the debut restaurant from chef Eric Bost, a North Carolina native who spent the last decade in the kitchens of Alain Ducasse in Paris, Guy Savoy in Las Vegas and Singapore, and most recently, République in Los Angeles. Here in this comfortably minimalist dining room, he’s striking out on his own in stunning fashion. The multi-course dinnertime tasting menus dazzle and delight at every turn.

Open in Google Maps

6703 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038

Visit Website

Turnips with Spanish mackerel at Auburn — Auburn on Melrose Avenue.

Also featured in:

Antico

Mozza alum Chad Colby finally has a place to call his own with Antico, a single-room strip mall restaurant at the edge of Larchmont, Koreatown, and Hollywood. The rustic Italian menu includes a rotating cast of pastas, lots of grilled meats, simple vegetable preparations, and the finest freshly spun ice cream around.

4653 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90004

Visit Website

A light pink swirled strawberry ice cream in a cup at Antico. — Antico on Beverly Boulevard.

Also featured in:

Ototo

Echo Park’s cozy Ototo is a small neighborhood anchor in a sea of competition. The Japanese snack shop and sake haven hides just up the hill from Sunset and steps from Dodger Stadium, which in any other city might mean there would be no room for a local hangout with under 40 seats that skews delightfully obscure. Thankfully this is LA, and Ototo is perfect for the neighborhood and the whole city, turning out intriguing sakes from a meandering, thoughtful list, while also cooking up Japanese-style chili burgers, katsu sandwiches, and some snappy and slightly spicy green beans (yes, really) that are the absolute mindless snack when drinking and conversing. That’s right: This is 2019, and Ototo is so good at what it does, it has made the green bean feel cool.

1360 Allison Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90026

Visit Website

ototo — Ototo in Echo Park.

Also featured in:

Nightshade

From the bay scallops with a coconut vinaigrette to the Szechuan hot quail and the squid ink tagiatelle with cuttlefish bolognese, there isn’t a single miss on chef Mei Lin’s globally-influenced menu. The desserts are as memorable as the savories, so be sure to save room for the coconut mousse with lime coconut granita.

Open in Google Maps

923 E 3rd St #109, Los Angeles, CA 90013

Visit Website

Shrimp toast with Cantonese curry at Nightshade — Nightshade in the Arts District.

Also featured in:

Tacos 1986

Tacos 1986 found a permanent home this year in Downtown on the corner of 6th and Spring. Victor Delgado and Jorge “Joy” Alvarez-Tostado’s Tijuana-style taco shop makes fresh tortillas, grills meats over fire, and builds each taco with guacamole and salsa. There’s plenty of melty cheese, which distinguishes these from more typical LA specimens.

609 S Spring St, Los Angeles, CA 90014

Visit Website

Tacos 1986 Los Angeles — Tacos 1986 in Downtown.

Also featured in:

Bon Temps

Chef Lincoln Carson is serving up good times from morning until late-night in the Arts District. For breakfast are some of city’s finest croissants and pastries, while lunchtime brings a casual daytime menu with oysters and composed plates. Best of all is dinner, where savories and sweets are thoughtfully composed, expertly balanced, and dreamily plated.

Open in Google Maps

712 S Santa Fe Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90021

Visit Website

Bon Temps Arts District Los Angeles — Bon Temps in the Arts District.

Also featured in:

Onda

Jessica Koslow, the force behind the impossibly hip daytime cafe Sqirl, has teamed up with Gabriela Cámara, arguably one of Mexico’s most important restaurateurs (Contramar in Mexico City, Cala in San Francisco), to open Onda on the ground floor of the Proper Hotel in Santa Monica. The menu leans light, vegetable-forward, and herbaceous, with items like jackfruit sopes and a hearts of palm ceviche.

700 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90401

Visit Website

Turkey al pastor quesadilla at Onda on a plate. — Onda in Santa Monica.

Dear John's

Dear John’s, the Frank Sinatra co-signed steak and martini bar in Culver City, is a collaborative effort between chefs Hans Rockenwagner and Josiah Citrin. There’s a punchy shrimp cocktail and a rich chicken Parmesan on offer, plus cocktails like martinis and Manhattans for all to enjoy. Come by before April 2021 when the restaurant gets demolished to make way for a new development.

11208 Culver Blvd, Culver City, CA 90230

Visit Website

Dear John’s in Culver City.

Also featured in:

Pasjoli

Here at chef Dave Beran’s upscale but relaxed Santa Monica bistro, diners indulge in French classics like beef tartare, chicken liver pate, and turbot meunière. The restaurant’s table-side preparations are especially fetching — caviar is weighed on an 1840s postage scale, while a whole roasted duck is pressed in an antique contraption.

2732 Main St, Santa Monica, CA 90405

Visit Website

Beef tartare at Pasjoli. — Pasjoli in Santa Monica.

Also featured in:

American Beauty

Grilled simply over wood and dressed with butter, the 15-day dry-aged Flannery steak at American Beauty exemplifies the restaurant’s simple, but modern approach to the classic steakhouse experience. American Beauty comes to Venice thanks to Jeff Goodman and Paul Hibler of American Gonzo Food Corporation, along with Bruce Horwitz of the Tasting Kitchen and chefs Elisha Ben-Haim and Anthony Goodwin.

425 Rose Ave, Venice, CA 90291

Visit Website

A rare steak cut into section, with knife on top. — American Beauty in Venice.

Also featured in:

Court Cafe

In early summer, the South LA trio known as the Foodminati opened a daytime restaurant. Nestled on the border of Westchester and Inglewood, Court Cafe is a collaboration between Taco Mell’s Jermelle Henderson, Bleu Kitchen’s Calvin Johnson, and Keith Garett of All Flavor No Grease. The menu aims to please with original dishes like Garret’s ocho burrito with lobster, chicken sausage, shrimp, bell peppers, spinach, eggs, etouffee sauce, and smoked gouda cheese sauce.

Open in Google Maps

5496 W Centinela Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90045

Visit Website

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Foodminati’s “The Court Cafe” (@thecourtcafe_inc) on Dec 4, 2019 at 10:35am PST

Also featured in:

Colossus

Owner Kristin Colazas Rodriguez has been popping up at farmers markets around San Pedro for some time now and finally settled in on Alma Street. Rodriguez’s breads and pastries lean into the San Francisco tradition featuring long fermentation, non-commodity wheat, and tons of personal touches.

2311 S Alma St, San Pedro, CA 90731

Visit Website

Pastries from Colossus Bread in San Pedro, arranged on a table. — Colossus in San Pedro.

Also featured in:

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Yang's Kitchen

112 W Main St, Alhambra, CA 91801

Yang’s Kitchen is redefining Chinese cooking in the San Gabriel Valley by celebrating whole grains and traceable ingredients. The beef noodle soup and braised pork rice have emerged as the restaurant’s two runaway hits. Both are Taiwanese in origin but manage to capture a real sense of place with their ethos and execution.

112 W Main St, Alhambra, CA 91801

Visit Website

Overhead shot of dishes from Yang’s Kitchen. — Yang’s Kitchen in Alhambra

Cannabis Cafe

1201 N La Brea Ave, West Hollywood, CA 90038

Cannabis Cafe is America’s first licensed cannabis consumption lounge and restaurant where diners can eat a meal while consuming cannabis or eat cannabis-infused edibles on the premises. The vegan nachos are especially good because chef Andrea Drummer centers most of the cashew cheese towards the bottom of the dish, allowing crispy chips to thrive long after the plate lands on the table.

1201 N La Brea Ave, West Hollywood, CA 90038

Visit Website

Lowell Cafe’s sticky tamarind wings — Cannabis Cafe in West Hollywood.

All Day Baby

3200 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026

The highly-anticipated follow-up to Koreatown’s Here’s Looking At You opened just after Thanksgiving. The 2,000 square foot Silver Lake corner lot has been fully transformed and reimagined into an all-in-one neighborhood diner, bar, and bakery complete with patty melts, sticky buns, and boozy milkshakes. Early hits include the melty beef and cheddar sandwich, along with the fresh-baked conchas.

3200 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026

Visit Website

An overhead view of conchas, chicken, and pancakes. — All Day Baby in Silver Lake.

Spoon & Pork

3131 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026

Purveyors of modern Filipino fare Spoon & Pork opened a physical location earlier this year on Sunset Boulevard in Silver Lake. The comforting menu is largely unchanged from what was served on the truck, including adobo belly nigiri and the Chori Burger, a house-made Filipino pork chorizo on a toasted Hawaiian bun.

3131 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026

Visit Website

Dark table with colorful Filipino dishes from Spoon & Pork restaurant. — Spoon & Pork in Silver Lake.

Auburn

6703 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038

Auburn is the debut restaurant from chef Eric Bost, a North Carolina native who spent the last decade in the kitchens of Alain Ducasse in Paris, Guy Savoy in Las Vegas and Singapore, and most recently, République in Los Angeles. Here in this comfortably minimalist dining room, he’s striking out on his own in stunning fashion. The multi-course dinnertime tasting menus dazzle and delight at every turn.

Open in Google Maps

6703 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038

Visit Website

Turnips with Spanish mackerel at Auburn — Auburn on Melrose Avenue.

Antico

4653 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90004

Mozza alum Chad Colby finally has a place to call his own with Antico, a single-room strip mall restaurant at the edge of Larchmont, Koreatown, and Hollywood. The rustic Italian menu includes a rotating cast of pastas, lots of grilled meats, simple vegetable preparations, and the finest freshly spun ice cream around.

4653 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90004

Visit Website

A light pink swirled strawberry ice cream in a cup at Antico. — Antico on Beverly Boulevard.

Ototo

1360 Allison Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90026

Echo Park’s cozy Ototo is a small neighborhood anchor in a sea of competition. The Japanese snack shop and sake haven hides just up the hill from Sunset and steps from Dodger Stadium, which in any other city might mean there would be no room for a local hangout with under 40 seats that skews delightfully obscure. Thankfully this is LA, and Ototo is perfect for the neighborhood and the whole city, turning out intriguing sakes from a meandering, thoughtful list, while also cooking up Japanese-style chili burgers, katsu sandwiches, and some snappy and slightly spicy green beans (yes, really) that are the absolute mindless snack when drinking and conversing. That’s right: This is 2019, and Ototo is so good at what it does, it has made the green bean feel cool.

1360 Allison Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90026

Visit Website

ototo — Ototo in Echo Park.

Nightshade

923 E 3rd St #109, Los Angeles, CA 90013

From the bay scallops with a coconut vinaigrette to the Szechuan hot quail and the squid ink tagiatelle with cuttlefish bolognese, there isn’t a single miss on chef Mei Lin’s globally-influenced menu. The desserts are as memorable as the savories, so be sure to save room for the coconut mousse with lime coconut granita.

Open in Google Maps

923 E 3rd St #109, Los Angeles, CA 90013

Visit Website

Shrimp toast with Cantonese curry at Nightshade — Nightshade in the Arts District.

Tacos 1986

609 S Spring St, Los Angeles, CA 90014

Tacos 1986 found a permanent home this year in Downtown on the corner of 6th and Spring. Victor Delgado and Jorge “Joy” Alvarez-Tostado’s Tijuana-style taco shop makes fresh tortillas, grills meats over fire, and builds each taco with guacamole and salsa. There’s plenty of melty cheese, which distinguishes these from more typical LA specimens.

609 S Spring St, Los Angeles, CA 90014

Visit Website

Tacos 1986 Los Angeles — Tacos 1986 in Downtown.

Bon Temps

712 S Santa Fe Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90021

Chef Lincoln Carson is serving up good times from morning until late-night in the Arts District. For breakfast are some of city’s finest croissants and pastries, while lunchtime brings a casual daytime menu with oysters and composed plates. Best of all is dinner, where savories and sweets are thoughtfully composed, expertly balanced, and dreamily plated.

Open in Google Maps

712 S Santa Fe Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90021

Visit Website

Bon Temps Arts District Los Angeles — Bon Temps in the Arts District.

Onda

700 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90401

Jessica Koslow, the force behind the impossibly hip daytime cafe Sqirl, has teamed up with Gabriela Cámara, arguably one of Mexico’s most important restaurateurs (Contramar in Mexico City, Cala in San Francisco), to open Onda on the ground floor of the Proper Hotel in Santa Monica. The menu leans light, vegetable-forward, and herbaceous, with items like jackfruit sopes and a hearts of palm ceviche.

700 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90401

Visit Website

Turkey al pastor quesadilla at Onda on a plate. — Onda in Santa Monica.

Dear John's

11208 Culver Blvd, Culver City, CA 90230

Dear John’s, the Frank Sinatra co-signed steak and martini bar in Culver City, is a collaborative effort between chefs Hans Rockenwagner and Josiah Citrin. There’s a punchy shrimp cocktail and a rich chicken Parmesan on offer, plus cocktails like martinis and Manhattans for all to enjoy. Come by before April 2021 when the restaurant gets demolished to make way for a new development.

11208 Culver Blvd, Culver City, CA 90230

Visit Website

Dear John’s in Culver City.

Pasjoli

2732 Main St, Santa Monica, CA 90405

Here at chef Dave Beran’s upscale but relaxed Santa Monica bistro, diners indulge in French classics like beef tartare, chicken liver pate, and turbot meunière. The restaurant’s table-side preparations are especially fetching — caviar is weighed on an 1840s postage scale, while a whole roasted duck is pressed in an antique contraption.

2732 Main St, Santa Monica, CA 90405

Visit Website

Beef tartare at Pasjoli. — Pasjoli in Santa Monica.

American Beauty

425 Rose Ave, Venice, CA 90291

Grilled simply over wood and dressed with butter, the 15-day dry-aged Flannery steak at American Beauty exemplifies the restaurant’s simple, but modern approach to the classic steakhouse experience. American Beauty comes to Venice thanks to Jeff Goodman and Paul Hibler of American Gonzo Food Corporation, along with Bruce Horwitz of the Tasting Kitchen and chefs Elisha Ben-Haim and Anthony Goodwin.

425 Rose Ave, Venice, CA 90291

Visit Website

A rare steak cut into section, with knife on top. — American Beauty in Venice.

Court Cafe

5496 W Centinela Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90045

In early summer, the South LA trio known as the Foodminati opened a daytime restaurant. Nestled on the border of Westchester and Inglewood, Court Cafe is a collaboration between Taco Mell’s Jermelle Henderson, Bleu Kitchen’s Calvin Johnson, and Keith Garett of All Flavor No Grease. The menu aims to please with original dishes like Garret’s ocho burrito with lobster, chicken sausage, shrimp, bell peppers, spinach, eggs, etouffee sauce, and smoked gouda cheese sauce.

Open in Google Maps

5496 W Centinela Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90045

Visit Website

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Foodminati’s “The Court Cafe” (@thecourtcafe_inc) on Dec 4, 2019 at 10:35am PST

Related Maps

Colossus

2311 S Alma St, San Pedro, CA 90731

Owner Kristin Colazas Rodriguez has been popping up at farmers markets around San Pedro for some time now and finally settled in on Alma Street. Rodriguez’s breads and pastries lean into the San Francisco tradition featuring long fermentation, non-commodity wheat, and tons of personal touches.

2311 S Alma St, San Pedro, CA 90731

Visit Website

Pastries from Colossus Bread in San Pedro, arranged on a table. — Colossus in San Pedro.

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