Choosing a favourite restaurant in the City of Angels is a little like picking a favourite child! Guest blogger Sandie Ward narrows down her must-visit dining list for your next LA visit.
The proud winner of two Michelin stars, Melisse has become a California favourite for world travellers searching for an exemplary dining experience.
Chef Josiah Citrin is a master of French fusion who marries ingredients procured at Santa Monica’s Farmers’ Market with superb meat and seafood. His sublime creations include lobster bolognaise with black truffles, liberty duck breast and confit, and beef tartare made with true Japanese wagyu beef.
2. Spago
Tan, toned Beverly Hills residents call Spago home. Celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck’s newly-renovated restaurant has taken an already humming dining scene into overdrive.
Spago ensures every bite of California cuisine is a revelation by using the finest ingredients: Heirloom tomato salads taste richer and the white corn in his mascarpone agnolotti is the sweetest on the planet.
The restaurant’s composition of plates is often genius: white corn purée and mascarpone-mushroom emulsion make Alaskan halibut with caramelised corn, wild chanterelles, and bacon confit crazy good. Soup textures are perfection and the tasting menus are where they really shine, while pastry chef Sherry Yard will leave you breathless with her delectable desserts.
Look for A-List celebs and big time movers and shakers, although I personally would rather be chatting it up with Wolfgang himself!
3. Cecconi’s
If you love Mediterranean food, make sure to visit Cecconi’s: a classic Italian restaurant located on the corner of Melrose Avenue and Robertson Boulevard in West Hollywood.
Offering a menu of simply prepared, Venetian-influenced food and drink, the menu includes beef tartare with quail egg, and swordfish carpaccio, while their sea salt branzino with cherry tomato and Taggiasca dish still resonates with me.
Creative toppings on the pizzas are a winner as well – the topping combination of black truffles, burrata cheese and zucchini blossom made me long for the Amalfi coast.
Be sure to sit at the bar with its wood-burning oven or outside on the terrace to enjoy great, flavoursome Italian food paired with service that’s pampering without being obsequious.
4. Scarpetta
Nestled in Beverley Hills’ Montage Hotel, Scarpetta is relaxed and perfect for low-lit romance, yet bright enough to keep an eye out for celebrity diners. When I go to dinner I want to be able to have a good conversation without having to yell – this is just the place.
Scott Conant’s spaghetti with tomato and basil is smooth and velvety, just like grandma used to make. The noodles are homemade, coarse-cut and bitey. And the sauce! The sweet, acidic intensity of the tomato is mellowed by super creamy butter… It’s transcendent. The eatery’s black maccheroni with sea urchin and roasted capretto has also become a delicious trademark.
5. Bottega Louie
You don’t have to be Michelin-starred restaurant to impress me; sometimes the world’s best foods are the simplest. You’ll be lured from the outside of Bottega Louie into the bakery full of gleaming dessert cases packed with sweets.
Inside, the restaurant space is gorgeous, simple, classy and urban chic. The kitchen is visible and you can find yourself getting lost in the moment as you watch the chefs in action. Chef Jason Hotchkiss hails from Maine, with his talented hand in the kitchen reflected in every dish.
Indulge in the portobello fries, brussel sprouts, asparagus with fried egg, homemade pizza and, of course, dessert. I love this place for their casual food but most importantly, the macarons – I’d be willing to catch trains, planes and automobiles to experience it again.