The Biggest Los Angeles Restaurant Openings in June 2025
Los Angeles is no stranger to restaurant openings, whether splashy openings in iconic buildings helmed by big-name chefs, a humble neighborhood spot, or a pop-up leaping into a permanent space. Consider this monthly rundown a go-to guide for the newest and boldest debuts across the Southland.
Mojave Gold - Yucca Valley
Yucca Valley's Mojave Gold clocks in at 7,000 square feet as a 500-person capacity concert venue, lounge, and restaurant.. The spot opened on May 31 with a sustainable menu and local sourcing by former Workshop Kitchen and Bar chef de cuisine Beren Ekine-Huett. She'll serve twists on classic dishes like lamb meatballs with chimichurri, steak frites, and a smoked date sticky toffee pudding at the 125-person capacity restaurant. The bar takes the same approach by preparing concoctions like the gin-forward Wildflower Sour. It's a fun room that combines 1970s glam with natural desert tones and complementary Western art.
The De La Nonna team, who introduced their casual Italian restaurant to the Arts District in 2021, opened a Big Bear outpost on June 4 overlooking Big Bear Lake from inside the recently reimagined Hotel Marina Riviera. The second location resides just yards away from the water and has massive floor-to-ceiling windows that face north. Those familiar with the menu will see most of the favorites: focaccia sandwiches, whipped eggplant dip, salads, and thick, rectangular Sicilian-style pizzas. They also added tin fish and crackers, smoked trout dip, and rotating soft serve flavors finished with Maldon salt and olive oil. Staff can prepare a frozen Aperol spritz and espresso martini for the summer or ski season, or pour a glass of biodynamic and organic wine.
Sogo Roll Bar - Highland Park
On June 4, Sogo Roll Bar debuted its second location in the former Holcomb. It's got the same hand rolls and cut rolls, donburi, and starters, including cucumber salad, as chef Kiminobu Saito's original menu. Sogo Roll Bar is a partnership between David Gibbs and Kiminobu Saito of renowned Valley sushi restaurant Sushi Note, and Sarah Dietz and Dustin Lancaster, the industry veterans behind Los Angeles bars that include Bar Covell, L&E Oyster Bar, and Real Charmer.
Happies Hand Made - Arts District
Chef Joshua Skenes, the founding chef of Saison and Angler in San Francisco (and Angler in Los Angeles), opened a fast-casual restaurant on June 6 called Happies Hand Made in the Arts District. Skenes, who opened Leopardo in mid-2024 and temporarily closed it in early 2025 to work on Happies, is serving thick, spicy, Sichuan-inflected fried chicken tenders with fruit and tea drinks; heavily seasoned beef tallow fries; soft serve topped with passion fruit and strawberry; and frozen cocktails. The tenders will be served atop crispy waffles, milk bread slices, or a pile of dressed salad greens.
Restaurateurs Marissa and Matt Hermer opened their latest project, Bar Issi, on June 6 inside the Thompson Hotel in Palm Springs. The HBO-Max White Lotus -inspired restaurant is their first expansion outside of Los Angeles as a 180-seat space that joins Lola Rose Grand Mezze and Hall Napa Valley Tasting Room on the Thompson property. Bar Issi's original inspiration comes from the short-lived Issima that opened as an indoor-outdoor ground-floor restaurant in the West Hollywood La Peer hotel, with an easy Cal-Italian menu.
Diner Antonette - Santa Monica
Diner Antonette, named after owner Bob Lynn's late mother, opened on June 18 in the former Ingo's Tasty Diner along Wilshire Boulevard in Santa Monica, sporting a new adjacent retail wine shop, gift boutique, and spacious hidden back patio. Restaurateur Bob Lynn operates seven restaurants in Los Angeles and the Phoenix area, including Santa Monica's the Misfit. Reopening in Ingo's space is a tribute to classic American bistros where Bob's son and culinary director Jordan Lynn shines a light on ingredients at their seasonal prime, like poached baby artichokes, peaches with scratch-made ricotta and sorrel pesto, and pan-roasted Scottish salmon with braised Tuscan kale.
Minty Zhu and chef Alex Falco's Men & Beasts opened on June 18 in the former Cosa Buona on Sunset Boulevard and Alvarado Street. (The couple chose the restaurant's name from a quote by the ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius: 'Without feelings of respect, what is there to distinguish men from beasts?') The vegetarian and vegan-friendly menu includes seitan char siu and plant-based chicken tenders sauced with sweet sambal and Sichuan salt and pepper. They even offer a tea ceremony in a cozy lounge that seats 24.
Marisella - Santa Barbara County
Chef Danny Grant's California coastal restaurant started serving dinner on June 26 in Goleta's Ritz-Carlton Bacara, slightly north of Santa Barbara. Perched on a seaside cliff with unobstructed views, much of Marisella's menu hails from local vendors and farmers. The name is derived from the Latin term for 'star of the sea'; the team prepares things like a focaccia starter for dipping into whipped ricotta as well as a formidable seafood selection such as roasted prawns with salsa verde and a Calabrian emulsion, raw oysters, red snapper crudo, and sea urchin with roasted garlic. Fresh pasta is also on deck, while larger mains include a coal-fired chicken piccata.
Bacetti Trattoria owner Jason Goldman repurposed the shuttered and adjacent Tilda to open Bar Bacetti on June 26. The new bar is attached to his Echo Park restaurant and its menu is designed for ease: think spritzes, Italian wines by the glass, and zero-proof cocktails paired with pizza, charcuterie-inspired spreads, and chilled octopus. The Tilda interior took on a nice transformation with rich greens and a stone bar that resembles a slab of mortadella, dotted with hues of pink and pistachio. Bar Bacetti retains Tilda's existing natural wood frames, which add an intimate vibe to the airy interior. See More:
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Buzz Feed
8 hours ago
- Buzz Feed
25 Horrifying, Hilarious Predictions
Recently, I came across an Ask Reddit post from Reddit user Burndbridge where they asked people, "What's your 'I'm calling it now' prediction?" and the answers ranged from lighthearted and fun to honestly, pretty dark. I found people's answers fascinating. So, keeping in mind that these are the opinions and predictions of random people, I thought I'd share the most interesting takes: "People will start going to live performances like plays more often because AI-generated online content will overload the networks and get really boring/creepy." "Physical media is going to be the next trend. Everything from DVDs to CDs to vinyls, even books and physical art, will all increase in value over the next decade or so." "Internet search will be completely useless soon. You'll hear a rumor (or just make one up), and do a search for it, and AI bots will just generate pics and news stories confirming it. The truth will be completely indiscernible." "There will be a 'real internet' that will be made exclusively for people who link their online identity to their government identity." "Trying to think of a positive one. With our growing older population, the emphasis on curing Alzheimer's will be bumped more as a priority, and the current trials that have been looking good will get more of a push to mainstream practice, within the next 10 years." "All social networks will crumble under the weight of AI-generated content and will be deserted or will need to be completely overhauled to remain usable by humans." "No matter how Trump dies, a large portion of the country will call it a murder." "It's going to be the hottest summer we've ever had." "The UK will backtrack on Brexit." "There will be a farm crisis in this country like we had in the '80s in the next few years." "The Colorado Rockies will break two records this season but they'll both be bad ones. Most losses, most runs against, something like that." "Suddenly a global water shortage appears (considering now a 'new' threat: data centers and cooling them)." "'Naturally flavored' sparkling/bubble/fizzy water is going to be bad for you in some way. I'll be fucked." "Trump and Musk will turn on each other." "Once Trump is out of office, Republicans are going to run on how anti-Trump they really were." "AI managing 911 calls." "We will have some variety of Kent State-style government massacre in the US... It's a powderkeg right now, something's bound to pop off." "The long-term effects of concussions and impact injuries during childhood/adolescence will become more apparent, and the cost of liability insurance will make it so that public schools cannot afford to have a football team. Non-contact sports (probably soccer) will take over popularity like it has just about everywhere else in the world." "AI-generated video will be indistinguishable from reality by the end of this calendar year." "Tariffs. I remember the 2008 housing crisis taking a year to affect me. Tariffs will take at MOST a year. But this admin is speedrunning catastrophes and is on pace so far." "Hybrid cars will be the norm. Electric cars will stay a niche for a very long time." "Red states will replace teachers with for-profit computerized lessons with a proctor/security guard there to monitor the kids." "More nuclear reactors will be built in the USA within the next 10 years. Maybe Westinghouse AP1000 design. Just a guess out of left field." "Cable will make a comeback; with all the plethora of streaming apps nowadays, you're practically paying the same amount you would to have all the channels in one place." And finally: "The PT Cruiser will come back and be cool as hell." What do you think? Have any predictions of your own? Leave them in the comments; or, if you want to stay anonymous, you can check out this anonymous comment form. Who knows; your comment could be included in a future BuzzFeed article.
Miami Herald
9 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Forget the Whopper, Burger King is launching a wild new sandwich
As July draws near and with it, some of the hottest days of the year, people will be outside on the weekends more than ever, enjoying the sunshine with friends and family. For many, that means grabbing a meal on the go - something fast-food chains anticipate all year. Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter For summer, beloved chains like McDonald's and Burger King (QSR) tailor their offerings to the season. Burgers and fries may be the main event, but when the temperatures are in the 90s, menu items that help you stay cool matter. You can count on just about all the chains to lean into frosty drinks and desserts, for obvious reasons. Related: Wendy's menu adds something McDonald's, Burger King won't offer But another tactic some brands use is to debut an entirely new menu item just to shake its customers up and pique their curiosity. And if it happens to also be unusual enough to capture the attention of TikTok and go viral, like the Dubai chocolate bar recently did, you just might have a hit on your hands. That's what Burger King is hoping to get with the release of its latest burger, which is different enough that it's sure to capture people's attention. In a tweet shared on the official Burger King Japan account on June 30, the fast-food chain announced a new sandwich in collaboration with the Japan Sumo Association. Called the Baby Body Burger, Burger King describes the limited-edition sandwich as "Yokozuna-class." This refers to the top skill tier of sumo wrestlers, of which there have been less than 100 since the term was coined in the early 1900s. The burger boasts five of the chain's signature flame-broiled patties, two slices of cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and a creamy sauce. Related: Forget the Whopper, Burger King has a wild new burger The burger will be released on July 11 and will cost 2,590 yen ($17.96 U.S.) on its own or 2,890 yen in a combo ($20.04 U.S.), making it the priciest fast-food option in the market. It's also 1,876 calories, making it the highest-calorie item on Burger King's menu. Burger King will also sponsor the Japan Sumo Association for the Nagoya tournament in July. Burger King is employing an interesting strategy with its international audience, planning not one, but two collaborations this year. In addition to the Baby Body burger collaboration, the chain also released the Pickleball burger earlier this year, in collaboration with the Pickleball Japan Federation (PJF). That burger was described as a "large, American-style rice burger, with three flame-grilled 100%-beef patties sandwiched between special rice patties that have been jointly developed with Hachidaime Gihey, a long-established rice shop in Kyoto." Even though it's not a Whopper, which is the company's most successful product, this burger resonated with the Japanese audience, which has responded positively in the past to burgers with rice buns instead of bread. CEO Josh Kobza mentioned the strength of its international business in a recent earnings call. "I think when you look at the Burger King brand in international, it's a bit different," he said. "It has some really great qualities it to grow so well. We've got a strong brand positioning," he said. "We've got modern restaurants in almost all of our markets." Related: Struggling burger chain closing restaurants, won't raise prices The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
Elle
9 hours ago
- Elle
Loro Piana's Montauk Soirée Mixed Italian Ease With East-Coast Cool
If there's any brand that captures the essence of refined summer living, it's Loro Piana. To celebrate the carefree spirit of the season and the unveiling of its resort 2025 collection, the Italian maison hosted an intimate soirée at The Crow's Nest on the sandy shores of Lake Montauk. Among the linen-clad guests was Your Friends & Neighbors actor Jon Hamm, who sported a pair of newly launched Loro Piana sunglasses. The eyewear collection marks the brand's first full foray into the category, with frames made in Japan from lightweight titanium and hypoallergenic acetate. As the sun dipped behind the dunes, actress Alexandra Daddario relaxed on one of the many rattan loungers and enjoyed a quick game of backgammon—using a handcrafted walnut wood set from Loro Piana's very own game collection. Artist Josh Diesenhaus and director and photographer Tyler Rizzuto battled it out in a game of four in a row, reimagined by Loro Piana with polished wood chips and hand-stitched leather. Actors Anna Osceola and Will Arnett enjoyed upbeat tunes from DJ Bec Adams, while others nibbled on passed hors d'oeuvres and sipped on signature cocktails with Calabrian chili and watermelon juice. Loro Piana set the scene with a vision of sophisticated ease: a string of globe lights, terracotta pots, and the scent of strawberry Sorrento drifting through the air. Luxe details, like monogrammed aprons and Loro Piana blankets in leather-trimmed baskets, added warmth to the alfresco setting. Click through to see how Loro Piana brought the energy of the Amalfi Coast to the Hamptons.
