Venice, Marina Del Rey & Playa del Rey
This sprawling Venice institution (established 1979) was recently given a major, very welcome makeover. If the new version is less funky (though you'll…
Must-see restaurants in Southern California
Venice, Marina Del Rey & Playa del Rey
The folks behind the standard-setting Gjelina have opened this very casual, very gourmet, very Venice bakery, cafe and deli behind a nondescript…
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Los Angeles
If you're near Expo Park or USC, it's totally worth the five-minute walk under the freeway to this fabulous food hall. About a dozen restaurant stalls…
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Santa Barbara
Headline: kaiseki (traditional Japanese multicourse dining) comes to Santa Barbara and wows locals. It might have limited hours, take a chunk out of your…
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Venice, Marina Del Rey & Playa del Rey
If one restaurant defines the new Venice, it's this. Carve out a spot on the communal table between the hipsters and yuppies, or get your own slab of wood…
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San Diego
The culinary heart of a 1920’s-era naval training center turned artistic urban playground, this hip food hall presents around 30 local artisan vendors who…
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Santa Barbara
A top spot to savor SoCal's bountiful farm and fishing goodness, chef-run Lark was named after an antique Pullman railway car and is based at a former…
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Santa Barbara
Phenomenally popular Arigato Sushi always has people milling around waiting for a table (no reservations taken) but it's worth the wait. Traditional and…
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Los Angeles
Market-fresh ingredients drive elevated comfort dishes at this slinky Highland Park hot spot, complete with prerequisite marble-topped bar, designer…
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San Diego
Spearheading the new crop of Little Italy's fine-dining restaurants, J&I is the creation of star chef Richard Blais, who performs culinary sorcery with…
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Malibu & Pacific Palisades
If you lived through the 1960s, you might experience flashbacks at this new-agey hideaway in an impossibly idyllic creekside setting in Topanga Canyon. It…
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Malibu & Pacific Palisades
Rustic as a Colorado mountain lodge, and tucked into the Santa Monica Mountains with a creek running beneath, Saddle Peak Lodge serves up elk, venison,…
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Los Angeles
A super-cute cafe with tied-back curtains, freshly picked flowers and sidewalk tables, Kitchen Mouse is Highland Park's favorite herbivore. Everyone from…
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San Diego
This buzzing bungalow with its old-school dining room, busy bar and breezy patio dishes up rib-sticking 'twisted farm food' straight from the American…
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Los Angeles
This upscale, teak-clad restaurant is one of LA's underrated highs. Chef and owner Sang Yoon steers a sharp, well-rounded menu of sharing dishes inspired…
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Orange County
Established 1899, this former drugstore was recently refurbished to a period design (check out the old safe, apothecary cabinets and telephone switchboard…
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Joshua Tree National Park
It's a long road from Philadelphia to the high desert, but that's where Nikki and Claire decided to take their farm-to-table cuisine from pop-up to bricks…
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San Diego
You can't miss this fishy-themed joint with its enormous swordfish hanging outside. Inside, it's a casual, communal bench affair. Choose from more than 10…
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Santa Barbara
Shiny exterior walls covered in copper pennies herald a brilliant pizza experience inside this Funk Zone favorite, right beside the Lark. Always jam…
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San Diego
In business since the 1970s, this vibrant Mexican joint delivers authentic south-of-the-border fare despite the clichéd folkloric look. Marvel at staff…
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Orange County
One of the most exciting restaurants – not just Vietnamese – in Orange County. Chef Kristin Nguyen nails the standards and then riffs on share plates like…
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Santa Barbara
The perfect, unhurried, follow up to a day in the Wine Country is to feast on the bright, flavorful California cooking at pretty Bouchon (meaning ‘wine…
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San Diego
Some diners only look old-fashioned. This one is the real deal from the 1940s, with red leatherette swivel stools and booths with minijukeboxes. It does…
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Santa Barbara Shellfish Company
Santa Barbara
‘From sea to skillet to plate’ sums up this end-of-the-wharf seafood shack that’s more of a buzzing counter joint than a sit-down restaurant. Chase away…
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San Diego
Since the flower-power days of 1969, OB’s legendary burger joint has served great shakes, massive baskets of onion rings and succulent hamburgers wrapped…
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San Diego
In this casual grown-up fish shack, order at the counter, sidle up to a butcher-block table, sip craft beer or Mexican coke from a mason jar and tuck into…
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San Diego
Eat honestly priced, pork-inspired slow food in a cute outdoor patio with natural wooden features. Wash dishes like the triple-threat pork sandwich (with…
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Greater Palm Springs
Hidden away in the back of the ornate 1920s El Paseo building, a large patio with olive trees leads to this starkly beautiful space. At its center is a…
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Malibu & Pacific Palisades
Chef Nobu Matsuhisa's empire of luxe Japanese restaurants began in LA, and the Malibu outpost is consistently one of LA's hot spots. East of the pier, it…
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Santa Barbara
Just try walking past this place on State St if you have a sweet tooth. A Santa Barbara institution since 1949, McConnell's uses local milk and other…
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Venice, Marina Del Rey & Playa del Rey
Find yourself a seat around the central counter or facing busy Abbot Kinney to tuck in to stone-oven pizzas, handmade pastas and veggie faves such as…
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Santa Barbara
The usual Mexican crowd-pleasers are all here (tacos al pastor, quesadillas, agua fresca) but made to such perfection that previous versions pale in…
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Greater Palm Springs
At the heart of downtown Palm Springs yet secluded from hubbub this delightful bistro sits in a country-style courtyard. All the better to enjoy classic…
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Santa Barbara
A top pick for plant-based dining, Mesa Verde has so many delicious, innovative all-vegan sharing plates on the menu that meat-avoiding procrastinators…
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San Diego
In the old San Diego Police Headquarters, this vibrant eatery serves modern Mexican street food that knocked our zapatos off. Start with some creamy…
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Greater Palm Springs
Sushi in the desert may not make intuitive sense, but this modern, Scandinavian-designed sushi and whisky bar defies expectations. Starter cocktails might…
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Orange County
First things first: they're not hot dogs, they're 'haute' dogs, homemade and topped with your choice of combinations (the BBQ, Bacon and Blues comes with…
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Greater Palm Springs
Waits can be long and service only so-so at this breakfast and lunch spot, but the farm-to-table menu dazzles with witty inventiveness. The kitchen…
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San Diego
Country-style seating indoors and great people-watching on the sidewalk. Just one taste of the homemade ravioli or lasagna, salmon with arugula, capers…
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Death Valley National Park
This formal restaurant delivers continental cuisine with stellar views of the Panamint Mountains. For a more chilled ambience, enjoy breakfast, lunch or…
