Nobu Ryokan

Chef Nobu Matsuhisa’s Malibu restaurant is one of the places dedicated foodies must know.

Perched on Carbon Beach, also known as “Billionaire’s Beach,” the exclusive Nobu Ryokan in Malibu features a specialty menu for guests and gives them prime access to Nobu Malibu, which is one of the best spots in L.A. for spotting Hollywood’s A-list.

It’s also one of the most difficult reservations to obtain in the country. That is, unless you’re staying at the Ryokan, and your concierge gladly assists. Savor the priceless sunrise view from your private balcony while feasting on the Nobu-style toasted bao buns. The delectable bites are exclusively served in-room and arrive with golden yolked eggs prepared sunny side up, crispy Nueske bacon, nestled in buttery pan-fried Chinese-style steamed buns. It’s an ideal way to start the day in L.A.

22752 Pacific Coast Hwy., Malibu

Ardor

New York chef John Fraser returned to California and showcases why he is a master of plant-based cooking. At Ardor, located inside Ian Schrager’s The West Hollywood Edition, the menu blends Mediterranean influences with hyper-locally grown California produce to create vegetable-forward dishes. The charred carrots with hummus, fresh herbs and pine nuts, crisp onion rings, and heirloom tomato-topped milk bread entice. Yet, the desserts are the showstoppers. A phyllo-dough “pizza” with vanilla creme, gooseberries and 25-year aged balsamic vinegar is cut tableside and best enjoyed cozied in one of the swanky leather banquettes. Michelin guide dubbed Ardor as “ultra-chic” with a luxe rainforest vibe.

9040 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood

Ototo

Ototo is the ultimate L.A. destination for sake aficionados. This nondescript Echo Park restaurant serves sake on tap, including special seasonal releases from Japan. The ever-changing menu melds chef Charles Namba’s childhood memories of his mom’s yoshoku cooking. The food is decidedly Western, but the style has deep roots, originating from Japan’s Meiji period in 1889. Think: potato salad with fried capers and Kurobuta pork sausage, crispy panko-crusted Caledonian prawns with house-smoked roe, and rock shrimp okonomiyaki, a crispy egg-based pancake with cabbage, sprouts and bonito flakes. The menu changes often to echo California’s changing seasons and to best pair with what’s being poured.

1360 Allison Ave., Los Angeles

Lulu at the Hammer Museum

Acclaimed food activist Alice Waters brought Lulu at the Hammer Museum to fruition in 2021. The open-air space decorated with Chinese elm trees is best enjoyed with the lunch prix fixe tasting menu conceived by chef David Tanis, who cooked with Waters at Chez Panisse. The restaurant celebrates “regenerative food,” which takes food sourcing beyond sustainability and what Nature magazine calls “a food system to restore the planet.” Lulu also plans to work with the University of California system to educate students about local food sourcing and cooking.

Hammer Museum, 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles

n/naka

The two Michelin-starred Japanese kaiseki restaurant displays the creativity of chef Niki Nakayama and her wife/partner/sous chef Carole Iida-Nakayama. The 11-course tasting menu changes almost daily, but one signature dish represents the culmination of Nakayama’s creative take on California kaiseki: The creamy abalone pasta with delicate fish roe and shaved truffles. Nakayama appeared on “Master Chef” and teaches kaiseki-style cooking via her “Master Class,” but the best way to experience her food is eating at n/naka.

3455 Overland Ave., Los Angeles

Knife Pleat

Ravioli stuffed with wild Burgundy snails served in a porcini mushroom broth at Knife Pleat in Costa Mesa (Photo by Brad A. Johnson, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Chef Tony Esnault and his team at Knife Pleat create tasting menus that celebrate holidays such as Nowruz, the Persian New Year, and the start of white truffle season.

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With his wife/partner Yassmin Sarmadi, Esnault expanded Knife Pleat’s offerings: a Saturday afternoon tea service and fashion-forward lunches where the lobster Caesar salad remains one of the best lunchtime offerings in OC.

South Coast Plaza, 3333 S. Bristol St., Costa Mesa

Casa Vega 

The iconic L.A. red-boothed Mexican restaurant is an Angeleno favorite. Recently, it was elevated with a couple of cameos in Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” and Apple TV’s “Mythic Quest.” In February 2022, this family-owned restaurant in the Valley also was honored as a James Beard “America’s Classics.” At Casa Vega, the guacamole is still prepared tableside. The esquites (creamy corn with cotija cheese, cilantro and lime) and the cornflake-crusted vanilla ice cream are old-school Mexican-American fare that represents nostalgic bites of SoCal’s culinary past.

13301 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks