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Los Angeles Times
29-05-2025
- General
- Los Angeles Times
Our favorite L.A. restaurants: Gone, but not forgotten
In their soul, everyone has a historic restaurant they miss dearly in Los Angeles. Some fell victim to the mounting challenges that restaurants face in L.A.: gentrification, rising retail rental costs, and a prolonged financial fallout following pandemic closures, Hollywood industry strikes and the devastating January wildfires. Despite their untimely end, the city's most iconic restaurants have not faded from our collective memory. In the following list, Food writers reflect on some of L.A.'s bygone restaurants and what they meant to us. Whether it was the food, atmosphere or reliably warm service, these are the places that can never be replicated, and that we'd reopen if we could. Just recently, we've lost stalwarts including the century-old Original Pantry Cafe in downtown L.A. and Papa Cristo's, a bustling Greek market and restaurant in Pico-Union for 77 years. Which restaurants would you reopen if you could? Scroll down to the response form at the bottom to share your memories of our city's hallowed haunts. — Danielle Dorsey The final demise of Pacific Dining Car — the iconic steakhouse inside of a railway car on 6th Street — was a heartbreaker for Los Angeles. How many times did I slide into one of its green upholstered booths at a white-cloth table at any hour of the day or night (since it was open round the clock)? We ordered baseball steaks on Fridays to kick off the weekend, gathered for brunch to celebrate graduations, and ended up there for middle-of-the-night burgers or chocolate soufflés after shows or my sister's late shift as a waitress downtown, or when we'd exhausted all other options at 2 a.m. We were unruly but were always welcomed by the veteran waiters and received the same polished, patient service every time. The Pacific Dining Car, as well as its satellite site in Santa Monica, never reopened after the 2020 pandemic shutdowns. Two fires since 2024 finally led to the Westlake original's demolition in March. — Betty Hallock Shortly after moving to L.A. in the 2000s, I was running around with a group that included a bank teller, a stylist, a Diesel jeans person and two hairdressers, where the only thing that unified us was deep house and party clothes. One weekend morning that began with red wine before breakfast found us tumbling westward with no destination from Echo Park, till someone told us to meet them at the Overland Cafe in Palms. By the time we got there, the room was popping with ebullient singles energy, transmitted upon plates of eggs benedict, pancakes and so, so many mimosas. It was a riotous morning. We charmed the server to the point that she doubled up the Champagne, several times, and if memory serves, she actually agreed to hang out with us after her shift. And did! Palms wasn't 'cool' at the time, but the Overland Cafe was; there for the good old times, or an awkward first business meeting, reliable. In 2023, the Overland Cafe closed after 50 years in operation. How many sloppy mimosa brunches did you have there? Teardrop. — Daniel Hernandez Before I moved to L.A., friends and I would drive up from Riverside on weekends to attend concerts at the Knitting Factory and House of Blues, only to end up at Roscoe's on West Pico Boulevard afterward. The parking lot doubled as an after-party, with groups crowded on the hoods of cars that vibrated with the bass of hip-hop tracks as they waited for their parties to be sat. There was nothing better than rehashing the night over the Carol C. Special (one chicken breast and one waffle) paired with Lisa's Delight, a pucker-sweet iced tea lemonade, before we braved the freeway back home. The legendary location closed in 2023 after 32 years, making way for a larger outpost at the corner of Washington and La Brea. An honorable mention goes to the Pasadena location of Roscoe's that my family frequented after Sunday church and dance recitals when I was growing up. It closed last year. — D.D. When Yujean Kang's opened in 1991, it helped transform sleepy Pasadena into a culinary destination, introducing diners to Kang's distinctly haute takes on regional Chinese cuisines. I still dream of his miniature pork wontons swimming in an addictively tangy chile and vinegar sauce; the crispy beef in a sweet and spicy glaze and the tea-smoked duck, nestled into delicate crepes with perfect plum sauce. — Jenn Harris No Jewish-deli closure rocked the city so hard as Greenblatt's, which shuttered with little warning in 2021 after 95 years of pastrami and smoked-fish salads. Los Angeles has lost so many over the years, namely stalwart chain Jerry's Famous Deli (a childhood favorite of mine due to its stacked sandwiches) and Fairfax's Diamond Bakery. A two-story West Hollywood behemoth bedecked in stained glass, brass and dark wood, Greenblatt's doubled as a bottle shop but more importantly served as a gathering place for so many generations of Angelenos. It counted Marilyn Monroe, Marlon Brando and Janis Joplin as customers. It's where one of my best friends asked me to be her bridesmaid over a shared pastrami on rye and bowl of matzo ball soup. I sped over to the Sunset Strip on its last night of service to survey the scene and chat with its decades of fans who'd dropped by for a farewell bite — the gravity of the closure seemed to weigh on everyone there. We knew what we were losing, and it still stings. — Stephanie Breijo My first solo apartment as a student attending UCLA was in an alley behind Masayuki Ishikawa's unconventional French-Japanese restaurant Sawtelle Kitchen. I got to know Ishikawa (he parked his car in the spot next to mine) well enough that I could walk downstairs to Sawtelle Kitchen's back door and order coffee jelly (despite the fact that there was no takeout) and return the empty parfait glass after I'd finished the dessert. But I also loved eating inside the tiny, wooden house of a restaurant and ordering my favorite pasta: spaghetti with butter, shiso and ume, or pickled plum. I ate it so many times that I can still make a fairly close approximation. — B.H. It's true, the food wasn't exactly exceptional. But, open between 1989 and 2023 in a century-old bungalow off Vine Street in Hollywood, Off Vine for many occupied that ideal station: a California 'comfort' restaurant that gave you a fuzzy feeling for simply existing. By the time word of its permanent closure got around two years ago, old-timey locals of every stripe poured out their goodbyes. One of these was Associated Press reporter Linda Deutsch, the undeniable legend of ace courtroom journalism. Well into retirement but still somehow always reporting, Deutsch (whose star rose covering the O.J. Simpson trial) approached our desk with the news tip and offered to write the Off Vine obituary herself. She penned a stirring, diligently reported opus to the place, her veritable second home. 'It's not just a restaurant,' the last co-owner, Richard Falzone, told her. 'It's a home where there's love, good food and good cheer.' Deutsch worked hard on the piece, hustling as if she were a cub reporter all over again, the sign of a real one. And it would be her last byline. Deutsch died a year later at 80. — D.H. Many of the Silver Lake and Echo Park standbys that I'd cycle between in my early 20s have closed. Spaceland, Silver Lake Coffee, Pizza Buona. Brite Spot was a diner friends and I would land at after bouncing between Gold Room, Short Stop and the Echo, or because everything else was closed and we sought a florescent-lighted, vinyl-upholstered haven for pre-dawn yapping. The food was always mediocre, but the atmosphere, people-watching and round-the-clock hours made it a retro-hued oasis for neighborhood night owls. — D.D. My first introduction to Thai food was in the Pasadena dining room of Taste of Bangkok restaurant in the early 1990s. My family feasted on Sue and Phil Balderama's stir-fried noodles, curries and mango with sticky rice weekly. After more than two decades in business, the restaurant was forced to close to make room for a hotel restoration project. I'll always remember Sue's food, and how she made us feel like family. — J.H. For a few brief years one of the world's most famous film directors answered the question, 'What if you could eat submarine sandwiches inside of a submarine?' From 1994 to 1999, a bright yellow faux sub protruded from a corner of the Century City Mall (now the Westfield), where every 45 minutes a simulated 'dive' would occur — blaring sirens, flashing lights and bubbling porthole windows included. To a child of around 8 or 9 years, Dive! — from entertainment impresarios Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and Steve Wynn — was a wonderland. This wasn't just lunch, it was adventure. Kitsch. Insanity even in an era of Planet Hollywood and the Rainforest Cafe. I have never forgotten Dive! In fact, for Halloween in 2023, I dressed as Spielberg promoting the restaurant, sourcing vintage Dive! merch off EBay. I can't remember much of the food there, but I'll never forget the experience of sitting inside this singular, aquatic-themed, 11,000-square-foot extremely '90s restaurant with my dad, red lights blasting around us. — S.B.
Los Angeles Times
04-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Mimosas to bacon, stuffed olives or shrimp. Check out our list of L.A.'s Best 32 Weekend Brunch Spots
Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It's Sunday, May 4. I'm your host, Andrew J. Campa. Here's what you need to know: With Mother's Day a week away, it's a good time to preview suitable spots for celebrating mom. The Los Angeles Times' Food Team has, of course, aided the cause with its recommendations. They picked their 32 Best Weekend Brunch Spots in Los Angeles. They include old favorites such as tart and bubbly mimosas, tasty Bloody Marys and bountiful Benedicts. But there are other delights, from seafood towers to stacked sandwiches and caviar service. The locales range from breakfast nooks in Long Beach, to drinks in Pasadena and savory treats along the way on the Westside and in Inglewood. Of course, you don't need a special occasion to enjoy brunch, just an appetite, a little sense of adventure and an appreciation of quality. So, here's a sumptuous preview from that list. Of course, check out the entire article for all the details. Alder & Sage (Long Beach) Our Danielle Dorsey selected this Kerstin Kansteiner Retro Row cafe, which buzzes with locals picking up daily pistachio-rose cold brews. Others settle in for a few hours of remote work on the sandy wraparound patio. On weekends, the Streamline-style building is packed for brunch, with the restaurant serving as a popular stop before or after visiting nearby thrift stores or the beach. The brunch menu skews seasonal with soyrizo hash, French toast bedecked with apple compote and rosemary maple syrup, and quiche threaded with mushrooms and leeks. Cocktails encompass soju Bloody Marys, micheladas, a couple of low-ABV spritzes and mimosas that you can order with a flight of three juices, plus wine by the glass and bottle. A handful of nonalcoholic options are available, including a convincing mojito mocktail. Pez Coastal Kitchen (Pasadena) The brunch menu at Bret Thompson and Lucy Thompson-Ramirez's Pasadena restaurant is a celebration of seafood, with a grand chilled tower, ceviche, oysters and caviar that impressed my colleague Jenn Harris. There's a whole fried fish, and you can opt for smoked salmon on your eggs Benedict biscuit or avocado toast. The bar slings spritzes, build-your-own mimosas and a handful of brunch-appropriate cocktails. But Thompson has managed to create a menu that also will appeal to the diner looking for French toast or a breakfast sandwich. Harris believes in starting brunch with the bacon flight, a wooden plank of four slabs of bacon rubbed with various flavorings. Recently there was apple-cinnamon bacon, an apricot mustard variety and chipotle honey. The French toast fingers are more of a meal than the name might suggest, with tiles of perfect French toast that are crisp around all the edges and soft and tender in the middle. The dish is scattered with toasted walnuts and slices of sweet, jammy banana and a drizzle of salted caramel sauce. There should be at least one order on every table. Saltie Girl (West Hollywood) Seafood lovers, climb aboard, says my colleague Stephanie Breijo. Ever since docking in West Hollywood, the Boston-founded, seafood-slinging Saltie Girl has served some of L.A.'s best and most indulgent shellfish towers, lobster rolls and sea-tinged pastas, sandwiches and toasts — in addition to a tinned-fish list that's roughly 150 options long. But brunch is an especially good time to set sail, with dishes such as Eggs & Eggs, where caviar and crème fraîche top silken scrambled eggs; meaty hunks of fried lobster complement a fluffy-interiored waffle with spicy maple syrup and sweet corn butter; and the Benedicts can involve caviar, smoked salmon or lobster. But one item worth launching a thousand ships isn't seafood-focused at all: Don't miss the cinnamon roll sweet buns — made by Ben Sidell's SweetBoy bakery — which receive a tableside pour of a thick sweet-salty toffee syrup that will have your whole brunch party licking the mini cake stand clean. Please check out the entire list here. Trump administration policies and reactions Crime, courts and policing Los Angeles fires and recovery Education and testing More big stories Get unlimited access to the Los Angeles Times. Subscribe here. Column One is The Times' home for narrative and long-form journalism. Here's a great piece from this past week: Two men lay in a dark street in Pomona. The gunshot wounds made clear how they died. Their tattoos offered clues about how they lived: Swastikas. Lightning bolts. Iron crosses. The words 'Blood and Honor' and 'Death Squad.' The slain men were part of a white supremacist gang called Public Enemy Number 1, or PEN1. Prosecutors say they were killed in 2022 by members of their own crew, acting on orders from the Aryan Brotherhood, a syndicate with vast influence over white inmates in California prisons. More great reads How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@ Going out Staying in Get wrapped up in tantalizing stories about dating, relationships and marriage. She was tired of working too many hours, of battling chronic illness and running ultramarathons. She couldn't find love in New York, so why would Los Angeles be any different? Then one day, she went paddleboarding for first the time in Laguna Beach and found an unexpected neighbor, a 40-ton gray whale. The visit was a religious experience. Coming back to the shore, she gained new perspective and happened to run into James, an uncomplicated big guy who ran a bike shop. Would she fall for this other gentle giant, or is the perfect man her white whale? Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team Andrew J. Campa, reporterCheck our top stories, topics and the latest articles on
Los Angeles Times
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
10 Black-owned restaurants to visit before ‘Cowboy Carter' and ‘Grand National' tours at SoFi Stadium
Sidle up at the bar at Somerville in View Park-Windsor Hills, a sleek supper club from actor-producer Issa Rae and partners Yonnie Hagos and Ajay Relan. May 1, 2025 11:16 AM PT Fans who have been blasting 'Cowboy Carter' and 'GNX' on repeat for months will finally get the chance to experience the No. 1 albums live as Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar with SZA prepare to take the stage for multiple dates at SoFi Stadium. Lamar's 'Not Like Us' single has become a West Coast anthem since it was released last spring, and L.A.'s Black cowboy culture is on full display in preparation for Beyoncé's performance of her Grammy-winning country album. If you're looking to curate the perfect concert experience, consider pregaming at one of L.A.'s Black-owned restaurants, many of which are conveniently located near the Inglewood arena. Toast with Black-owned prosecco at a neighborhood wine bar, pick up flaky Jamaican patties before walking to the venue or 'Laissez les bon temps rouler' at a New Orleans-inflected favorite in Jefferson Park. No matching places! Try changing or resetting your filters Showing Places West Adams Breakfast/Brunch Soul Food $$ By Danielle Dorsey There's no bad seat in Alta Adams, chef-owners Daniel Patterson and Keith Corbin's California-soul restaurant in West Adams, with blond-wood banquettes and curated art hanging in the interior and a trellis woven with string lights and draping plants on the patio. The fried chicken, cornbread and black-eyed pea fritters are standard for me, but seasonally rotating plates — currently, suya-spiced roasted bone marrow and broccoli with mole negro — also are worthy of attention. The cocktail list has options that lean sweet and fruity or simple and bold: Try Hello Limoncello, a unique martini with limoncello-infused vodka, if you're in the mood for the former, and Mr. Street, with brown-butter fat-washed rum, espresso and cardamom bitters, for the latter. Route Details Inglewood Somali cuisine $ By Danielle Dorsey Head to the city's only Somalian restaurant for hearty plates of generously sauced halal goat and lamb, served with basmati rice and an herby-spicy green sauce, and big enough to share. This is where Inglewood tourists should go for a homey culinary experience unlike any other you'll find in L.A. You'll likely see owner Mohamud Hussein chatting up regulars and doling out complimentary cups of Somalian tea. Route Details Inglewood Jamaican $ By Astrid Kayembe It doesn't get more convenient than Blessed Tropical Jamaican Cuisine if you're heading to SoFi Stadium. The cozy, takeout-oriented restaurant is located less than a mile from the entrance, and you might need the walk to reenergize you after taking down generous plates of curry goat and jerk chicken. For something light and quick, grab a few Jamaican patties to go. Route 901 S. Prairie Ave., Inglewood, California 90301 Route Details Hyde Park Southern $$ By Danielle Dorsey The destination restaurant on Crenshaw Boulevard completed a lengthy renovation last year that swapped the previous cafeteria-style format for counter service. There are plenty of tables for two and four inside, and a covered patio overlooking the boulevard that's always crowded after Sunday church service. The menu remains straightforward with comfort-driven soul food plates: fried chicken or fish, oxtails, smothered pork chops or meatloaf — your hardest decision will be choosing which two sides to pair with your meal, with options such as baked mac and cheese, collard greens, candied yams and black-eyed peas. Each order comes with two pieces of perfectly bouncy and moist cornbread. Route Details Leimert Park American $ By Danielle Dorsey For a quick, casual bite on your way to SoFi Stadium, visit Earle's on Crenshaw, where brothers Cary and Duane Earle sling New York-style hot dogs, salmon and pastrami sandwiches and Jamaican patties, with plenty of vegan options. Grab a seat at one of the patio tables at the shopping center and, depending on the time of day, grab a cold-pressed juice from Crenshaw Juice Co. or head to the District by GS for a pregame cocktail. Route Details Jefferson Park Creole Cajun Soul Food $$ By Danielle Dorsey In Jefferson Park, Harold & Belle's is always a guaranteed good time. The Creole and Cajun restaurant that's helmed by third-generation owners Ryan and Jessica LeGaux takes a California-hued approach to Southern hospitality, with some of the city's best filé gumbo, jambalaya, po'boys and beignets, plus New Orleans-famous cocktails including Sazeracs and Hurricanes. With a spacious interior and back patio, this is the sort of place where hours can easily slip away — keep an eye on the clock so you don't miss the show. Route Details Inglewood Belizean $$ By Danielle Dorsey Tucked down a quiet street in downtown Inglewood, Little Belize is a popular outpost for fish- or bean-filled panades, banana-leaf-wrapped tamales and other specialties from the Central American country that borders the Caribbean sea. Instead of Taco Tuesday, Little Belize runs a Wednesday happy hour that includes tacos stuffed with proteins like shrimp and oxtails, plus two-for-one wine specials and $3 discounts on rum punch and margaritas. Route Details View Park-Windsor Hills Soul Food New American $$$ You may be wondering, 'Isn't Somerville notoriously one of the hardest reservations in L.A. right now?' That's true, if you prefer to slip into one of its velvet-clad booths, but you can also enjoy chef Geter Atienza's (formerly of New York's Bouchon Bakery and Broken Spanish) menu at the Art Deco-inspired bar, which accepts walk-ins. Pro tip: These are still competitive seats, so try to arrive when the restaurant opens to avoid a wait. Once you've settled in, place orders for house favorites such as fried chicken sliders smeared with honey mustard and caviar-dotted crème fraîche, and a creamy lasagna with braised collard greens. The beverage menu features a wine list curated by Westside Winos, the group behind West L.A.'s Offhand Wine Bar, with a similar emphasis on West Coast and organic wines. The cocktails are named after jazz and soul hits: Try a Love Supreme, a chartreuse-hued drink with rice vodka, Midori, Cointreau and lemon. Route Details Inglewood West African Southern $$ By Danielle Dorsey This colorful Pan-African bistro on North La Brea is the perfect pregame setting before heading to nearby SoFi Stadium. You're likely to spy other concert-goers in rhinestone-studded Stetson hats and thigh-high cowboy boots taking down plates of za'atar-spiced zucchini, panko-fried plantains topped with crab salad and smoked lamb tacos, with a complementary playlist filling the space. With whiskey, lime juice, soursop and ginger, the Sentinela Sour feels like the sort of strong, balanced cocktail that Beyoncé would favor, but look out for limited specials queued to the tour — a recent option was spiked with Sir Davis, Queen Bee's whiskey label. Reservations are recommended if you're coming with a large party for dinner; otherwise bar seating can accommodate a quick bite for two. Route Details Inglewood Wine Bars $$ By Danielle Dorsey Inglewood's first and only wine bar is owned by neighborhood locals and sisters LeAnn and Leslie Jones. The narrow space is unassuming, with a valet stand out front, but the interior is chic and intimate with gold accents and a glowing sign that spells out 'Inglewine' toward the back area. It's an ideal place to toast before heading to SoFi Stadium, with an impressive list of Black-owned wine labels to choose from. The food menu spans bites like Rockefeller oysters, beef suya skewers and black-eyed pea fritters, plus large-format plates including whole fried fish and piri piri chicken. Route Details
Los Angeles Times
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
32 of the best weekend brunch spots in L.A.
Brunch is a no-holds-barred meal for maximalists. Mimosas aren't just customary, they're poured endlessly. Bloody Marys and micheladas serve as appetizers, garnished with celery stalks, bacon, stuffed olives or shrimp. French toast, frittatas and benedicts share menu space with seafood towers, stacked sandwiches and caviar service. Weekend brunch invites us to suspend belief — it's easy to pretend that eggs don't run $10 for a dozen as we order forearm-length breakfast burritos and plate-sized scrambles. Furthermore, it's an excuse to say yes — yes to adding avocado, bacon and another round of drinks. Here in Los Angeles, we do brunch right. That means sun-dappled patios and rooftops overlooking the Pacific Ocean or the Hollywood sign. Creative menus that celebrate local producers and our city's diverse culinary landscape. Alongside the usual pancakes and hashes, you'll find Taiwanese egg crepes, pistachio-dusted mochi beignets, Turkish flatbread topped with spicy soujouk sausage and gochujang-glazed fried chicken. The best part of brunch — typically offered between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. — is that the day is just beginning. It reminds us of the limitless possibility that weekends hold: After we're done, we might frolic to a museum or pool party, take a nap, or all three before Monday rolls back around. From rustic cabins serving oak-grilled sirloin and eggs off Mulholland to beachside destinations with nostalgic coffee cake, here are 32 L.A. restaurants to bookmark for a memorable weekend brunch. —Danielle Dorsey No matching places! Try changing or resetting your filters Showing Places Long Beach Coffee Breakfast/Brunch $$ By Danielle Dorsey During the week, Kerstin Kansteiner's Retro Row cafe buzzes with locals picking up their daily pistachio-rose cold brews or settling in for a few hours of remote work on the sandy wraparound patio. On weekends, the Streamline-style building is packed for brunch, with the restaurant serving as a popular stop before or after visiting nearby thrift stores or the beach. The brunch menu skews seasonal with soyrizo hash, French toast bedecked with apple compote and rosemary maple syrup, and quiche threaded with mushrooms and leeks. Cocktails encompass soju Bloody Marys, micheladas, a couple of low-ABV spritzes and mimosas that you can order with a flight of three juices, plus wine by the glass and bottle. A handful of nonalcoholic options are available, including a convincing mojito mocktail. Route Details West Adams Breakfast/Brunch Soul Food $$ Brunch at Alta Adams feels like a leisurely afternoon at a friend's house, where you recline on pillows against the banquette inside or under the trellis on the spacious back patio. The food is meant to be shared, with hands reaching across the table for another piece of chef-partner Keith Corbin's excellent fried chicken, to pass the Fresno hot sauce or break off a triangle of waffle dripping with caramel maple syrup. A bowl of grits smothered in Corbin's oxtails is singularly restorative, as is the cornmeal pancake, as big and round as a truck tire with brittle edges that are all crunch. The Not Like Us, the restaurant's rendition of a Bloody Mary, is a little spicy and extra savory with roasted tomato and extra-virgin olive oil washed vodka. That same vodka is used to make the Ol' Dirty Bastard, delivering the vibes of a dirty martini without the olive juice. With mini loaves of cornbread, deviled eggs, black-eyed pea fritters and the ever-alluring option to add a side of macaroni and cheese to whatever you order, brunch at Alta Adams registers as a real treat. It's one I'm happy to indulge in as often as possible. Route Details Downtown L.A. Japanese French $$ By Betty Hallock Azay opened on 1st Street in Little Tokyo in 2019 and quickly became a community hub, known as much for its classic Japanese breakfast as its legacy French Asian cuisine, which was pioneered by chef Akira Hirose. Hirose died last year, but his family keeps Azay going, with chef Chris Ono recently at the helm. On weekend mornings the sidewalk tables are filled with couples, friends and families, and many of them order the same thing: the Japanese breakfast set menu, served on a lacquer tray, that comes with marinated black cod or tofu; tamagoyaki omelette; fruit; pickles; soft tofu; miso soup; steamed vegetables tossed with yuzu zest or sesame seeds; roasted vegetables daubed with miso; and a bowl of rice sprinkled with furikake or powdered purple shiso. It feels celebratory and simply nourishing at once. Other daytime specials might include the daily bento or a breakfast skillet of duck sausage, roasted winter vegetables and egg with okonomiyaki sauce. Tables are scarce, and servers rev high. The good news is that Japanese breakfast also is served weekdays. Route Details Breakfast/Brunch Steakhouse $$$ Brunch at this Brentwood steakhouse feels like a lavish party, with music from a DJ and a crowd that arrives dressed for the occasion. It's priced at $85 per person and food is served family-style, with a selection of starters for the table. Ribbons of gravlax are plated next to warm blinis. The zucchini bread comes with whipped honey butter. There's a seasonal citrus salad and a variety of Mediterranean spreads with whipped feta, hummus, baba ganoush and labneh. Each diner chooses an entree from a menu of 10 options. The prime filet benedict is served with tender slices of steak over a fluffy English muffin and the Wagyu cheeseburger is stacked on a buttery brioche bun with truffle mayonnaise. The menu alone is quite the affair, but the restaurant offers a bevy of ways to upgrade brunch with tableside mimosas, a Champagne cart, a Bloody Mary cart, caviar bumps and a raw bar. The most enticing of the offerings may be the cinnamon roll. The pastry is as tall and wide as a birthday cake, wheeled on a cart and slathered with frosting at the table. It's swirled with just the right amount of cinnamon and served with an extra saucer of smooth cream cheese frosting. A fitting end to one of the most over-the-top brunches in the city. Route Details Downtown L.A. French-Japanese-California The vivid burgundy egg, gently poached in red wine, arrives beside an arrangement of halved green asparagus stalks and what appear to be French fries but are actually cleverly shaped batons of fried bread — toast soldiers ready for service. A shower of grated Parmesan over the plate adds a dash of exuberance. But it isn't until the moment your fork sets loose the egg's golden yolk, oozing a bright yellow splash of color between the green and the burgundy, that this brunch dish from the kitchen of Giles Clark reaches peak intensity. The flavors are as engaging as the plate's appearance, with umami from the Parmesan keeping you eating until you've used the last toast baton to wipe up every bit of yolk. This is just one of many dishes that has quickly attracted a devoted following in the Arts District for Cafe 2001, an industrial-chic space that opened earlier this year on the backside of Junya Yamasaki's izakaya-inspired Yess. Clark was Yamasaki's sous chef before turning his attention to the mostly daytime spot with weekend wine bar hours. If you go savory, try Clark's terrine plate, his avocado toast topped with a garden of greens and pea tendrils, his hard-to-stop-eating caponata or smoked trout slices on fried hash brown blocks with a dollop of huckleberry jam that works beautifully with the fish. If there are jelly doughnuts or cherry pie or, really, any of the cafe's baked goods, don't hesitate to add something sweet to your order. There isn't a full bar, but there are shandies with matcha and beer, hot shochu toddies with yuzu and a smartly curated selection of wine. Route Details Downtown L.A. California Portuguese Avocado toast may be a California cliché, but the lovely version served each morning at Caldo Verde, the Portuguese-inspired restaurant from A.O.C. partners Suzanne Goin and Caroline Styne, shows why we keep ordering it. Set on grilled pumpernickel, the mash of avocado is topped with creamy burrata cheese, a piri piri red pepper sauce, cherry tomatoes, slices of gorgeous purple radish and a halved soft-boiled egg. Breakfast is served seven days at Caldo Verde, but weekends take on a brunch vibe with daytime cocktails, including a Bloody Mary and orange or grapefruit mimosas. The brioche French toast comes with whipped ricotta mascarpone and a blackberry compote, and instead of bagels with your smoked salmon, Goin's team serves excellent Johnny cakes. Route 1100 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, California 90015 Route Details Highland Park Mexican $$ By Stephanie Breijo Chef Francisco Aguilar burst onto the culinary scene with modernist mariscos and some of L.A.'s best tacos at Simón, his bright blue food truck. But at Carnal, his first bricks-and-mortar, Aguilar wanted to share a bit of his Oaxacan upbringing with Highland Park — especially when it comes to the region's hearty rancho-style desayunos. He says 'heavy flavors' are signatures of these traditional breakfasts, where you might find chilaquiles made with freshly fried chips, or breakfast sopes drenched in mole or skirt steak. His more modern, L.A.-inspired spins on Oaxacan morning meals are just as worthy of an order, including a toast that smothers avocado, pickled onions and lobster in a salsa macha hollandaise. Be sure to maximize Aguilar's flavors by ordering the salsas made in molcajetes, and wash it all down with cafe de olla or the effervescent house-made tepache. Route Details Long Beach Breakfast/Brunch $$ By Danielle Dorsey Named in honor of late artist Claire Falkenstein, this oceanfront restaurant shares a campus with the Long Beach Museum of Art and boasts views of the Queen Mary and Catalina Island, in addition to a fountain sculpture by Falkenstein called 'Structure and Flow' that anchors the tiered patio that's dotted with yellow umbrellas. The interior buzzes during weekend brunch, with diners scattered across different hardwood-floored rooms in the historic two-story home. It's easy to lose an afternoon here, with your choice of four Bloody Marys, seasonal sangria, a peach mojito or mimosas with blood orange, pomegranate or passion fruit juice. The food menu has equal appeal, with brunch classics including crème brûlée French toast, chilaquiles and mashed-avocado toast loaded with sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms and almonds. After your meal, take a stroll around the sculpture garden or visit the exhibits at the museum next door. Route Details Downtown L.A. Sandwich Shop $$ By Betty Hallock Cozy and neighborly, DTLA Cheese Superette is a gourmet mini-market, cheese shop and weekday lunch spot, where on weekends chef Reed Herrick and his team make brunch: floppy crepes with cultured butter and salty ham; cheesy hash browns, fried egg and bacon; big seasonal salads loaded up with, say, spring asparagus; and specials such as chilaquiles or steak and eggs. That's in addition to the regular rotation of excellent sandwiches and homemade soups. Herrick and his partner, Lydia Clark, also own the wine bar next door, Kippered. So if you want some sparkling wine with your scramble, you have the option of brunch brought to you at Kippered. Herrick and Clark make everyone feel at home. (While there, pick up a favorite, perfectly cared-for cheese and provisions such as tinned fish or farmers market vegetables.) Route Details Santa Monica American $$ By Danielle Dorsey Tucked off Main Street in a brutalist, Frank Gehry-designed building is Edgemar, a sleek new restaurant from Jared Dowling (Winston House, the Waterfront) and Jonathan Thoma (Great White) with a wide-ranging, London-inspired menu. Brunch spans dim sum like shrimp toast, chile-soaked wontons and imperial rolls stuffed with lump crab and shrimp, as well as larger plates such as butter chicken with ruby curry and fish and chips. Ask about the daily specials: A hefty shawarma wrap with tender lamb was offered at my last visit. Mimosas can be ordered by the glass or bottle with orange, grapefruit or seasonal fruit juice, but the cold brew carajillo and Doe Eyed Doll #3, with cognac, aperol, apple and lime, prove equally tempting. Route Details East Hollywood Seafood $$ By Danielle Dorsey It's always summer on Found Oyster's cozy streetside patio that overlooks Fountain Avenue. That must be why, even though the interior feels like hanging out in a sommelier friend's dining room after they've cleared out your local fish market, the outdoor deck remains my preference for weekend brunch. That said, on a sunny weekend, you'll find yourself waiting for just about any seat in the East Coast-inspired seafood shack. Thank goodness they now take reservations. The dinner menu is available for brunch. The scallop tostada with apple and yuzu kosho is standard for me, along with a dozen oysters featuring as many varieties as they'll let me sample, the pucker-inducing Sicilian crudo and lobster bisque roll with fries (and topped with caviar if I'm feeling fancy). The wine here is too good to subdue with juice. Instead, ask your server for a recommendation from the natural-leaning list. Route Details Hollywood Mexican cuisine By Stephanie Breijo Guerrilla Tacos chef-founder Wes Avila wanted his Hollywood restaurant, Ka'teen, to replicate the Yucatán Peninsula: That means a tropical, verdant patio, a thrumming soundtrack and bold flavors on the plate. During Sunday brunch, those flavors take the shape of campechana ceviche, its hamachi, shrimp, octopus and cucumbers spilling from the top of a young coconut; handmade tortilla enfrijoladas hiding citrus-tinged prime short rib; and, for a sweeter note, fluffy, eggy, flan-inspired pancakes coated with a just-brûléed custard topped with berries and toasted nuts. Strawberry conchas might form the backbone of a spin on French toast, while the breakfast burrito is loaded with birria. It's a breezy scene — especially on the plant-lined patio — and one that feels all the more transportive with a fresh agua fresca or a Bloody Maria in hand. Route Details Bell Mexican $$ Their restaurant may be more than 25 years old, but Jaime Martin del Campo and Ramiro Arvizu, founding chefs of La Casita Mexicana, haven't stopped coming up with fresh ideas, often inspired by the fruits, herbs and vegetables they grow behind the restaurant's covered patio. On one recent visit, I loved their take on ceviche maracuya, or passion fruit ceviche, amped with habanero. It was sweet, but not too sweet; spicy, but not too spicy. Of course, there is always mole — either verde, pepian or burnished, near-black mole poblano — and their justly famous chile en nogada filled with ground pork, dried fruits, walnuts and candied cactus topped with a pecan cream sauce and ruby red pomegranate seeds. During brunch hours, the restaurant specializes in chilaquiles served not only with mild red or spicy green salsas (or divorciados style if you want both on the plate) but also with your pick of smoky chipotle salsa, habanero salsa, a creamy seven-chile sauce and two different moles. Omelets can be filled with cactus strips, chorizo and queso fresco or a raja of poblano chiles. It all goes down easy with different micheladas, margaritas and mimosas. Route Details Monterey Park American $$ At the hilltop public golf course of Monterey Park, in an events building with a sweeping view over the jagged gully of the 60 and 710 interchange, a weekend patio brunch is popping. Here you'll find Luminarias, a nostalgic spot for San Gabriel Valley natives. Open since 1971, it's seen countless quinceñeras, weddings and Very Important Dates, not to mention corporate and political happy hours for the ages. Luminarias in recent years is enjoying something of a renaissance. It now calls itself a New American restaurant 'with a Latin twist,' so there's crab cake eggs benedict with chipotle hollandaise, a Cuban sandwich and a starter of beef birria empanadas that I'd double order for next time. After the valley views, the draw here is the unabashedly theatrical cocktail menu: La Muerte is tequila, mango, lime and cilantro in a sugar-skull mug topped with a chamoy stick and a chamoy-slathered popsicle; Belle is peach-flavored Ketel One, St. Germain and clarified lemon 'revealed' with 'essence of rose and plumeria' — in other words, the presentation is a glass dome cloche a la the wilting rose in Disney's 'Beauty and the Beast,' filled with rosy smoke. Heads turn on the patio when the Belle reaches a table. Brunch can't get any brunchier than this. Route Details Manhattan Beach Restaurant By Danielle Dorsey Brunch at chef David LeFevre's plant-filled, New American restaurant is a raucous affair. Tables and bar seats turn over quickly as locals, families and tourists place back-to-back orders for craggy, palm-sized bacon cheddar buttermilk biscuits. The menu is ideal for sharing, including charcuterie boards with creamy blue cheese and duck prosciutto, turmeric-spiced naan that's grilled to order, pecan sticky buns and extra-crispy French fries with house-made ketchup. If you're limited to just one item, the eggs benedict with Casella's prosciutto on the signature biscuit combines the restaurant's greatest hits. Brunch cocktails include bottomless mimosas with Cava and orange-mango or guava-lime juice, Bloody Marys with bacon-infused vodka, a minty take on the espresso martini, white sangria, a spicy margarita and a house Mai Tai and Painkiller. This is where to go before or after setting up a blanket on the nearby shores of Manhattan Beach — I prefer a postbrunch beach hang so I can bring biscuits to-go. Route Details Sherman Oaks Creole Southern $$ Mardi Gras Tuesday brings a dose of New Orleans-inspired Southern hospitality to Ventura Boulevard with live jazz and $10 bottomless mimosas during weekend brunch. The menu takes similar cues with dishes including New Orleans hash with sauteed shrimp and andouille sausage, shrimp and grits, and benedicts topped with your choice of fried oysters, shrimp or crawfish and featuring crab cakes instead of the usual English muffin. The Southern-fried half-chicken with two waffles is big enough to share and proved so similar to versions I've had in the Big Easy that, for a moment, I swore I was dining on Bourbon Street (the mimosas might have contributed to that fantasy). The lunch menu with po'boys and jambalaya is also available — get the buttery, char-grilled oysters bubbling with a Parmesan cheese blend to complete the experience. The restaurant has only a beer and wine license; cocktails, including a French 75 and a Hurricane, are made with soju-based spirits. Route Details West Hollywood Breakfast/Brunch Korean $$$ The new Korean fried chicken brunch at Wolfgang Puck's restaurant at the top of the Pendry hotel on Sunset Boulevard unfolds like an extravagant multicourse meal. Inspired by executive sous chef Nicole Abisror's Korean heritage, the table is treated to eight banchan, including kimchi made in-house, wood ear mushrooms, carrots and dates. The spread rivals the banchan collection at your favorite Korean barbecue restaurant. There's a green salad and milk bread buns filled with kimchi. Then comes the fried chicken, plated on a hot skillet with a sweet and spicy gochuchang glaze poured over the top at the table. It's more than enough food to satisfy for brunch, but the $95-per-person reservation also includes a selection of entree and dessert. The marinated short ribs are nicely caramelized and served with rounds of grilled onion. A delicate omelet envelops a plate of crab-studded fried rice doused in a savory gravy. For dessert, a deep purple slice of ube cheesecake or chocolate cake with a molten center. There will be leftovers. You will leave happy. The Korean fried chicken brunch is available weekends from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Route Details Hollywood Eclectic $$ By Danielle Dorsey The rooftop restaurant from celebrity chef Michael Mina and executive chef Fernando Darin crowns the fourth floor of Heimat, an exclusive fitness club whose members you'll see languishing by the pool and hot tub outside. Here, you'll struggle to choose between the jewel-toned, Art Deco-inspired interior and the open-air patio with scalloped umbrellas and clear views of the Hollywood sign. Perhaps because of its somewhat hidden alleyway entrance, weekend brunch is a surprisingly relaxed affair, making it a great option for groups or last-minute planners. The health-minded, prix fixe menu is $39 per person and includes a key with information on which dishes are keto-friendly, plant-based, anti-inflammatory or intended to boost cognition. First-course options include shiitake mushroom larb or Pacific Stripe bass crudo, while entrees range from a house Benedict with turmeric hollandaise to a breakfast burger with charred avocado and shakshouka. Oysters, flatbread and dips, and caviar with sweet potato latkes are available a la carte. Bottomless still and sparkling rosé is $30 per person, while brunch cocktails include fruity, smooth-sipping spritzes and produce-packed concoctions, like Lost in the Jungle with mezcal, cucumber, kale, agave and lime. Route Details Hollywood Restaurant and lounge By Stephanie Breijo The DJ is spinning soul, disco and other good-vibes records on the patio, which feels like a bit of a party in Hollywood's Sycamore District. It's Sunday brunch at Mr. T, the Paris-born restaurant that made its way to L.A. in 2022: The $19 bottomless mimosas are flowing and the pastries are flying out of the case. Nearly every table sports croissants, cookies and tarts, the spoils of patissier François Daubinet's hours of labor and pastry expertise. Order several for the table before moving on to chef Alisa Vannah's sunny, savory food such as salmon tartines topped with ikura, a marinated egg and burrata; pillowy pancakes under blueberries and pistachios; and, the best of both worlds, a fluffy-egged breakfast sandwich on one of Daubinet's must-order croissants. Route Details Pasadena French Bakery $$ The convivial Pasadena bakery features quirky hanging lamps, draping plants and framed posters advertising French destinations, with floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook Colorado Boulevard. It feels like the sort of place that's been around forever, with a quick-moving line of regulars who pick up French baguettes, wine and fresh-baked pastries to pair with morning coffee. Weekend brunch is busy, but tables turn over quickly and by the time you place your order at the counter, you'll likely see a few spots opening up. The menu has the standards you'd expect, like a breakfast burrito and avocado toast, but here I'd urge you toward the French-inspired specialties, including the weekend-only veggie quiche, a croque-monsieur with baked Parisian ham, and potato gravlax with layers of crispy, thin-sliced potatoes topped with cured salmon and lemon-chive cream cheese. A selection of coffee and matcha drinks is available, plus mimosas with fresh-squeezed OJ, bellinis turned sweet with a dollop of homemade strawberry jam and sangria bobbing with fruit. Route Details Cornell By Stephanie Breijo The journey is part of the beauty of the Old Place: The hearty, flame-grilled food at this mountain gem tastes all the more gratifying after a trek, especially at brunch. Wind through the Santa Monica Mountains to Cornell, a tucked-away community founded in 1870. While the Old Place isn't that old — it opened in 1970 — its original structures date back nearly as long, and the rustic steaks and baked potatoes echo that founding era. Only on weekends can you find the steak-and-potatoes cuisine in brunch form, with oak-grilled sirloin steak and eggs, one of the city's best breakfast burritos , thick wedges of breakfast potatoes and gooey-centered cinnamon buns coated with thick vanilla frosting. Because only outdoor seating is permitted during brunch hours, the Old Place comes alive with families, motorcyclists, classic-car aficionados and large parties of friends mixing it up at picnic benches and wooden tables surrounded by tall trees. Head to the Old Place for equal parts Wild West fantasy, respite from the city and hearty, comforting, stick-to-your-ribs brunch. Route Details Pasadena Breakfast/Brunch Mexican Seafood $$ The brunch menu at Bret Thompson and Lucy Thompson-Ramirez's Pasadena restaurant is a celebration of seafood, with a grand chilled tower, ceviche, oysters and caviar. There's a whole fried fish, and you can opt for smoked salmon on your eggs benedict biscuit or avocado toast. The bar slings spritzes, build-your-own mimosas and a handful of brunch-appropriate cocktails. You get the idea. But Thompson has managed to create a menu that also will appeal to the diner looking for French toast or a breakfast sandwich. I suggest starting brunch with the bacon flight, a wooden plank of four slabs of bacon rubbed with various flavorings. Recently there was apple-cinnamon bacon, an apricot mustard variety and chipotle honey. The French toast fingers are more of a meal than the name might suggest, with tiles of perfect French toast that are crisp around all the edges and soft and tender in the middle. The dish is scattered with toasted walnuts and slices of sweet, jammy banana and a drizzle of salted caramel sauce. There should be at least one order on every table. Route Details Playa del Rey Breakfast/Brunch Seafood American $$ There are two ways to experience Brook Williamson's Playa Provisions, with a walk-up counter to order pastries, grab-and-go salads and sandwiches and ice cream, and the sit-down Dockside restaurant for a full brunch menu with cocktails. Williamson delivers an elevated version of all the brunch classics, with Cream of Wheat and quinoa, Cajun shrimp and Dungeness crab eggs benedict and a beet-cured salmon bagel with fish cured in-house and all the fixings. Many of the seafood-focused dinner starters are available for brunch, like the smoked trout dip with crackers coated in everything bagel seasoning and the bay scallop and shrimp ceviche with mango salsa. I'm partial to Williamson's sandwiches, with a BLT that rivals any version in the city. The breakfast sandwich is worth equal praise, with a turkey and pork sausage patty on crusty ciabatta with vinegar collard greens that melt into the runny egg and a lashing of habanero hot sauce. The ideal Sunday involves a breakfast sandwich in one hand and a Pop Secco (a house-made tangerine Popsicle in a glass of Prosecco) in the other, with the ocean breeze cooling my skin on the sunlit patio. Route Details Downtown L.A. American $$$ By Laurie Ochoa Sweet or savory? That's always the question when contemplating Neal Fraser's brunch menu at Redbird, one of the city's most beautiful sun-filled restaurants with a glass-ceilinged dining room, part of the complex that was once the Cathedral of St. Vibiana. Each time I go savory, I look longingly at the pumpkin-spiced French toast and airy ricotta blueberry pancakes going by and remember how good they are. But Fraser's shrimp and grits ringed with a charred tomato sofrito is hard to resist. I also like his duck confit chilaquiles sauced with mole, short rib hash and richly spiced Basque baked eggs. For a long stretch, I'd order the lobster congee, a light and elegant take on the rice porridge I love in the San Gabriel Valley. These days, Redbird is serving its congee with ground free-range chicken and charred corn; if you need lobster with your Bloody Mary, Fraser serves a terrific lobster roll with yuzu kosho aioli. And if you're looking for a sweet bite with your savory, tender buttermilk biscuits with strawberry-rhubarb jam or a gooey cinnamon roll are good calls. Route Details Hancock Park American $$$ By Danielle Dorsey It's not unusual for a line to snake out the door of République and down La Brea Boulevard on weekend mornings. Some are lining up for fresh-baked crostatas and savory hand pies from James Beard Award-winning pastry chef and co-owner Margarita Manzke, while others are hoping to place brunch orders at the counter before finding a seat in the nearly century-old building with vaulted ceilings. At first glance, the brunch menu might not seem groundbreaking, but each item carries the decidedly French ethos of being painstakingly prepared. You'll find a handful of toasts (the brioche French toast proves most memorable), daily-changing quiche, a breakfast sandwich with pork belly sausage and kimchi fried rice with short rib and a soft-poached egg. Spicy fried chicken and Cuban sandwiches hit the menu at 11 a.m., along with a dry-aged beef burger. Brunch cocktails include mimosas and sangria by the carafe, plus a sriracha-spiked Bloody Mary and a house gin and tonic with jasmine tea. Route Details Venice Japanese American $$ By Stephanie Breijo By night, Travis Lett's modern izakaya is moody, sexy and low-lit. On weekends from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., it's more like a casual, feel-good party, with records spinning and that Venice sunlight streaming in through the windows and skylights. Here the Gjusta founder and his co-chef, Ian Robinson, stray from the typical eggs-and-bacon menu by incorporating a few well-considered, brunch-only dishes into their rotation of temaki, kushiyaki and seasonal small plates. There are tamago hand rolls, the egg perfectly bouncy within; a katsu sando with bright fermented cabbage slaw; and perhaps the star of the show, the chewy-salty mochi beignets with honey and a generous dusting of pistachio and orange zest. The pour-over coffee features just as much thought, topped with cream that's hand-whipped to order. Route Details Hermosa Beach Cocktails Japanese Californian By Betty Hallock Ryla stands out among Hermosa Beach restaurants for its Japanese-Taiwanese flair. Chef Ray Hayashi and chef de cuisine Cynthia Hetlinger, who are married, created a punchy brunch menu of can't-miss classics and fun hybrids, just steps from the ocean. The eggs benedict are a highlight: two gently poached eggs with molten yolks served on house-made English muffins and a hollandaise that's punctuated by bright-tart yuzu, along with your choice of pork belly, asparagus or crab. Also on the menu: a tonkatsu sandwich; crispy Taiwanese egg crepe; ramen; sushi; Korean galbi; ramen in various broths; and tteokbokki a la vodka sauce. If you're interested in starting your day on the (not too) sweet side, opt for the an pan — a fluffy-soft Japanese bun filled with jiggly custard and red bean paste. The mimosas are bottomless (for up to 90 minutes). Afterward, the beach beckons, for volleyball-watching and pier-strolling. Route Details West Hollywood Seafood $$$ By Stephanie Breijo Seafood lovers, climb aboard. Ever since docking in West Hollywood, the Boston-founded, seafood-slinging Saltie Girl has served some of L.A.'s best and most indulgent shellfish towers, lobster rolls and sea-tinged pastas, sandwiches and toasts — in addition to a tinned-fish list that's roughly 150 options long. But brunch is an especially good time to set sail, with dishes such as Eggs & Eggs, where caviar and crème fraîche top silken scrambled eggs; meaty hunks of fried lobster complement a fluffy-interiored waffle with spicy maple syrup and sweet corn butter; and the benedicts can involve caviar, smoked salmon or lobster. But one item worth launching a thousand ships isn't seafood-focused at all: Don't miss the cinnamon roll sweet buns — made by Ben Sidell's SweetBoy bakery — which receive a tableside pour of a thick sweet-salty toffee syrup that will have your whole brunch party licking the mini cake stand clean. Route Details Inglewood West African Southern $$ By Danielle Dorsey The vibrant Inglewood restaurant from chefs, co-owners and lifelong friends Marcus Yaw Johnson and Abdoulaye Balde is a joyful celebration of pan-African flavors, with a steady soundtrack of R&B hits and Miriam Makeba and Fela Kuti concert posters adorning the walls. Sunday brunch brings a diverse crowd of churchgoers, sports fans (thanks to the mounted TV and convenient location near SoFi Stadium) and neighborhood locals. Dishes bridge cultural influences, such as shrimp and grits smothered in creamy jollof sauce, brown-sugar waffles topped with crispy honey-berbere chicken bites and a breakfast sandwich with a house-made lamb sausage patty topped with a shito pepper sauce. The pillowy biscuits are pure Southern comfort, especially when smeared with honey butter and strawberry jam. Two Hommés' newly procured liquor license means a fresh lineup of batched cocktails is at the ready: The Mezcalifornia is a refreshing, cucumber-forward drink that's balanced with grapefruit juice; the Sentinela Sour, with whiskey, lime juice, soursop and ginger, is another favorite. Try the rotating house lemonade or mocktail if you're abstaining from booze. Route Details Alhambra Breakfast/Brunch $$ This Alhambra restaurant is one of the few on this list that serves brunch throughout the week. It's a favorite destination for a midweek, midday meal, when I'm drawn to the simplicity of the market grill plate after a steady diet of brown foods. The plate includes your choice of protein, grilled farmers market vegetables and pickles. The dry-aged barramundi and dry-aged steelhead are consistently cooked to perfection, each fish with crispy skin and centers that seem to melt. It's the sort of meal I'd be lucky to eat multiple times a week. On weekends the breakfast plate, a bountiful array of eggs, hash browns, greens, your choice of protein and a side of the restaurant's scallion ranch dressing, feels more appropriate. Same for the cornmeal mochi pancakes, a revelation when it comes to the genre of breakfast cakes. The hotcakes are made with Grist & Toll cornmeal and Koda Farms mochiko rice flour for a texture that's more crepe-like than fluffy. The wavy, irregular edges hang over the plate, often with prized lacy corners. And the dollop of fruit compote on top is always seasonal and one of the best parts of the meal. Route Details Culver City Mediterranean $$ By Danielle Dorsey The spacious Culver City location of celebrity chef and humanitarian José Andrés' Zaytinya restaurant chain sits on the ground floor of the Shay hotel and pulls influence from Lebanese, Greek and Turkish cuisines, including spreads, flatbreads, durums and veggie, seafood and meat mezze. Weekend brunch brings additional options such as pide with spicy soujouk sausage, crispy fries with a garlic yogurt and soft egg dip, seven-spice beef confit with scrambled eggs and Lebanese-inspired French toast with orange blossom water and attiki honey. It's a great option for groups and those who prefer to graze across a selection of dips and shareable plates. Brunch cocktails include a Bloody Mary with a house harissa mix, mimosas and other concoctions with Mediterranean spirits, such as Medi 75 with mastiha liqueur, yuzu, lavender-infused honey and Cava. Route Details Get our weekly Tasting Notes newsletter for reviews, news and more. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
12-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Experience the Nobu omakase at Coachella
The most extravagant dining experience at Coachella this year comes from Nobu. It's housed inside the new Red Bull Mirage pyramid facing the Quasar stage. The Times' Danielle Dorsey walks through the $350 omakase.
