Clockwise from top left: Taco from Komal, breakfast dish from Lokl Haus, hamachi crudo from Barr Seco, chicken parm sandwich from Companion and yellowtail tostada from Hummingbird Cafe.
(Collage by Brandon Ly and photos by Stephanie Breijo and Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
The best places to eat and drink in L.A. this month, according to our food writers
- Notable October openings include a buzzy Silver Lake wine and aperitivo bar and an all-day Italian cafe in Venice.
- A new masa destination at Mercado La Paloma is highlighting ancestral corn varieties.
As the end of the year barrels toward us, L.A.’s restaurant scene is showing no signs of slowing down. In a recent report, Food General Manager Laurie Ochoa noted that, despite the current industry challenges, local restaurateurs and chefs are still bringing their most ambitious ideas to the table. Chef Jordan Kahn, whose Vespertine restaurant recently reopened after four years and was promptly awarded with two Michelin stars, said he believes that there’s room for a range of concepts — from street level to fine dining — in L.A.’s culinary landscape.
“We need all of these different styles of cuisine,†Kahn told Ochoa. “Every single one is equally relevant.â€
Autumn emerges with warm Santa Ana winds, a smattering of barren trees and the proliferation of fall flavors such as cinnamon, apple cider and pumpkin spice across local markets and restaurants.
Reporter Stephanie Breijo rounded up 10 of the best pumpkin spice lattes to sip at L.A. coffee shops this fall, including a pumpkin pie concoction topped with crushed graham cracker and an Einspänner-inspired latte with apple cider syrup and a pumpkin cream top. And if you want to infuse your home with those warm and comforting fall scents, you can try easy recipes for pumpkin horchata or pumpkin risotto.
From a new soul food spot in Arlington Heights to Korean-style cheesy fried chicken in the Original Farmers Market and a wine bar in Silver Lake that boasts an in-house butchery, here are the best new openings to put on your dining calendar this month.
Showing Places
Barbara Genes Soul Food Cafe
Arlington Heights Soul Food $$
Private chef and caterer Eric Campbell is bringing his creative soul food specialties to the community of Arlington Heights at Barbara Genes Soul Food Cafe, named after his grandmother and featuring a menu that blends Texas traditions with California influence. Barbecue meats such as St. Louis-style ribs, hot links and beef brisket are available alongside fried chicken wings, Southern sides, brisket burgers, loaded fries and Soul Rolls, or egg rolls that are stuffed with mac and cheese, collard greens and brisket or smoked chicken. For dessert, there is banana pudding and Barbara’s Apple Delight, with apples, cinnamon, Tahitian vanilla, walnuts, pecans and house-made caramel sauce layered together and topped with a crumbly cookie casing. Food is available for takeout, or you can dine in at the home-turned-restaurant with a spacious covered patio.
Read about the new soul food spot in Arlington Heights.
Read about the new soul food spot in Arlington Heights.
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(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
Barr Seco
Silver Lake Wine Bars $$
A stylish new wine bar in Silver Lake has become one of the toughest reservations in the city, drawing diners with a natural wine list curated by sommelier Kae Whalen and apperitivo that blends Mediterranean, Latin American and Japanese influences. The opening comes from the Mexico City-based Santo group, which operates the sushi bar by the same name that sits next door to Barr Seco, alongside creative director Olivia Lopez and former Stir Crazy chef David Potes. Small plates such as hamachi crudo in a yuzu ponzu and brown butter sauce and Wagyu skirt steak topped with yuzu chimichurri are designed to pair with the global wine selection, with most bottles priced under $80. A cafe menu is offered during the day, including coffee from Dayglow, house beverages such as a matcha horchata, plus spritzes, teas, grain bowls and bocadillos.
Read about Silver Lake’s buzzy wine bar.
Read about Silver Lake’s buzzy wine bar.
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(Jenn Harris / Los Angeles Times)
BHC Chicken
Mid-City Korean Fried Chicken $
BHC Chicken became one of the best local spots to try the cheese-powder fried chicken trend upon opening its first U.S. location at the Original Farmers Market last year. The Seoul-based chain sells a popular flavor called Bburinkle that coats the crispy chicken in cheddar, blue cheese, onion and garlic, which columnist Jenn Harris recommends requesting an extra side of for sprinkling over everything you order, which might include tteokibokki, kimchi fried rice, fries and cheese balls.
Find the best Korean-style cheese-powder fried chicken spots.
Find the best Korean-style cheese-powder fried chicken spots.
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(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
Butchr Bar
Westside Butcher Shop Wine Bars $$
From husband-and-wife team Tyson and Bridgette Blackney, Butchr Bar is a new wine bar in Echo Park with an in-house butchery program focused on grass-fed, pasture-raised and organic meats. With Danny Rodriguez (formerly of Cobi’s) serving as executive chef and Chianne Mallari (formerly of Carlsbad’s Jeune et Jolie and San Diego’s Animae) as sous chef, the menu includes seasonal charcuterie plates splayed with boar and lamb salami, sausage, cheese and Clark Streek bread, plus grilled Australian meats such as dry-aged lamb with red currant jelly and mint chutney. A few cold small plates round out the carnivore-friendly menu, including fermented tomato and a chopped side salad. A wine list curated by Clark Street’s Henry Smith places emphasis on natural and biodynamic wines. The communal wine bar with a rosy palette is open for lunch and dinner.
Read about the wine and butcher bar in Echo Park.
Read about the wine and butcher bar in Echo Park.
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(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
Carla Cafe
West Hollywood Sandwich Shop Coffee $$
Four years after husband and wife Avi Ahdoot and Jessica Horell first began selling garlic chicken sandwiches via their personal Instagram accounts, the pair have opened the doors to Carla Cafe, a new sandwich shop in Beverly Grove. At the former Monty’s Good Burger space, you’ll find the trademark sandwich with grilled chicken, garlic aioli, arugula, Parmesan and tomato that had celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow and Hillary Duff sliding in the pair’s DMs, as well as other cult favorite sandwiches, wraps, toasts and breakfast burritos, including one with Korean barbecue steak. There’s also a full coffee menu that extends to cream-topped matchas, and Ahdoot and Horell hope to launch dinner service with beer and wine in the future.
Read about Carla Cafe’s move from a viral online to bricks-and-mortar business.
Read about Carla Cafe’s move from a viral online to bricks-and-mortar business.
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(Kevin Preval)
Civico 2064
Los Feliz Italian Vegan $$
The San Diego restaurant from Cosenza-born siblings Dario and Pietro Gallo became a destination for vegan and gluten-free pastas, Milaneses and other Italian staples when it opened nine years ago. Now, you can find a sibling location in Los Feliz, with an extensive vegan menu featuring house-made mozzarella made out of rice and dishes such as fettucine alla Bolognese with Impossible ragu and vegan Parmigiano. Classic Italian plates with dairy, wheat and meat, such as fried squash blossoms, pappardelle brasato with slow-braised short rib and linguine vongole with Manila clams, are also available. Desserts include tiramisu, chocolate ganache and deconstructed cannoli that can be made vegan with almond ricotta. Beer, wine and low-ABV cocktails are available for pairing.
Read about the new Civico 2064 in Los Feliz.
Read about the new Civico 2064 in Los Feliz.
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(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
Companion
Venice Californian Italian $$
With espresso and fresh-baked pastries in the morning, towering focaccia sandwiches at lunch, and pastas, pizzas and steak for dinner, Venice’s new all-day restaurant Companion, from Nick and Dakota Monica (of Santa Monica’s Gnarwhal Coffee Co.), is prepared to live up to its name. Taking over the Double Zero space, Companion is meant to feel as comfortable as a friend’s living room, with vintage furniture and a newly installed high-fidelity sound system that spins vinyl records in the evenings. Morning pastries are supplied by Cafe Tropical’s Ed Cornell, and the Italian-inspired menu spotlights farmers market produce and small-batch vendors.
Read about Venice’s new Italian restaurant.
Read about Venice’s new Italian restaurant.
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(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
Hibiki BBQ
San Gabriel Valley Japanese Barbecue $$$
Diners will feel transported far, far away from San Gabriel Valley at Hibiki BBQ, a new yakiniku restaurant with train signage and colorful lights meant to mimic Japan’s cityscape. The opening combines elements of Japanese and Korean barbecue, including an assortment of meats (with a focus on Wagyu) that guests can cook at their tables, paired with banchan such as pickled cucumber and lettuce wraps. Prepared dishes include chicken karaage, tonkotsu ramen, bibimbap and a selection of soups, with yuzu cheesecake and matcha ice cream offered for dessert.
Read about the late-night yakiniku spot in San Gabriel Valley.
Read about the late-night yakiniku spot in San Gabriel Valley.
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(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
The Hummingbird
Echo Park Nikkei $$
Chef Richard Zarate, behind restaurants and pop-ups such as Picca, Rosaliné, Causita and more, has opened a casual ceviche spot in Echo Park that puts a spotlight on Peruvian-Japanese Nikkei cuisine. In addition to raw ceviches, hand rolls, tiraditos and tostadas, hot dishes include a seafood risotto with New Caledonian blue prawns and Hokkaido scallops and a rib-eye steak with aji hummus and flatbread. Beverages span a house take on chicha morada with pineapple, Granny Smith apple and chia; horchata with Japanese rice, condensed milk and coffee; and hemp-derived seltzers. A beer and wine list is planned for the future.
Read about the new restaurant from chef Richard Zarate.
Read about the new restaurant from chef Richard Zarate.
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(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
Komal
Historic South-Central Mexican $
After working in lauded kitchens such as Holbox and Damian, Fátima Júarez, alongside her husband Conrado Rivera, has launched a Mexico City-style molino dedicated to freshly ground masa using heritage-breed corn sourced from small farms in Mexico. The newest stall at Mercado La Paloma in Historic South-Central features an all-women kitchen who help Júarez prepare masa that is sold by the pound, as tortillas, fried tostadas raspadas and antojitos including quesadillas stuffed with squash blossoms and tlacoyos filled with ayocote beans and topped with queso fresco and shiny strips of nopales. Júarez has plans to open an eight-seat counter and expand hours of service in the future, including the launch of a tasting menu in a few months.
Read about L.A.’s newest molino in Mercado La Paloma.
Read about L.A.’s newest molino in Mercado La Paloma.
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(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
Lokl Haus
Santa Monica Turkish Coffee $
Restaurant critic Bill Addison uncovered L.A.’s best Turkish cooking at Lokl Haus, a Santa Monica cafe from Senem Sanli that’s open daily with Turkish breakfast plates, coffee, tea and desserts. On Wednesdays and Saturdays, the coffee shop hosts the Lokl Haus Kitchen pop-up from chef Hüsnü Kahramanoğlu, with marinated döner kebab that gets shaved and rolled into flaky lavash bread with pickles, veggies and herbs; heaped over buttered rice; or layered in a bowl with flatbread and a rich tomato sauce. Grilled shish and adana kebabs are offered on Sundays.
Read Addison’s review of Lokl Haus and Lokl Haus Kitchen.
Read Addison’s review of Lokl Haus and Lokl Haus Kitchen.
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(Jenn Harris / Los Angeles Times )
Mievè
Sawtelle Pizza $$
A hidden backyard patio in West L.A. is rising as a top destination for pan pizza, thanks to Mievè, a pop-up residency from Amirali Ghasemipour, a self-taught chef who left his corporate job last year to focus on the concept. Fluffy, crispy-edged squares of pizza can get topped with fresh-grated Grana Padano, charred shishito peppers and crispy pucks of pepperoni or grilled mortadella, pistachio cream, burrata and a salsa with pineapple and fermented Jimmy Nardello peppers, depending on what Ghasemipour finds at the Santa Monica farmers market. Pies are offered by the slice or whole, with a full wine menu from host venue Kiff Kafe available for pairing.
Read about the pan pizza concept that’s popping up in West L.A.
Read about the pan pizza concept that’s popping up in West L.A.
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(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
Moohan
Koreatown Korean Barbecue $$
On6thAvenue, the restaurant group behind Korean BBQ favorites Quarters and Origin, has debuted its first all-you-can-eat institution with Moohan, which offers tiered pricing that starts as $36.99 and tops out with a six-course Wagyu omakase tasting menu for $99.99. Every meal package comes with a banchan buffet that features sweet and sour pork, yakisoba, kimchi fried rice, pork cutlet, corn cheese and more. The opening represents the largest from On6thAvenue, with 250 seats across a main dining room and private rooms. The beverage menu spans soju, wine, beer and soju cocktails.
Read about the new all-you-can-eat spot in Koreatown.
Read about the new all-you-can-eat spot in Koreatown.
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(Jakob N. Layman / sbe)
MXO
Beverly Grove Mexican Steakhouse
The chef behind Guerrilla Tacos, Angry Egret and Ka’teen has partnered with restaurateur Giancarlo Pagani (Mother Wolf, Mars) and SBE Group to open MXO, an almost 5,000-square-foot Mexican steakhouse where the celebrated L.A. chef is branching out beyond tacos with asada-style skirt steak, chile colorado beef ribs and an order-ahead, whole-braised Wagyu beef shank prepared birria style and served with consomé, radish, cilantro and salsa. Antojitos include guacamole topped with chicharrones, whole-grilled prawns, roasted squash mole and sweet potato taquitos, as a nod to the staple item at Guerrilla Tacos that was named on the 2024 101 Best Tacos guide. A couple of raw bar items, including a lobster ceviche, and desserts such as chocoflan round out the menu, plus a few veggie sides. The bar places an emphasis on agave-derived spirits and cocktails, including tequila and mezcal flights.
Read about the new Mexican steakhouse from chef Wes Avila.
Read about the new Mexican steakhouse from chef Wes Avila.
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