These days, the cost of dining out is higher than ever. While L.A.’s cheap eats certainly get the job done, sometimes all you want to do is indulge your inner gourmand with a tasting menu. Over the last 12 months, I’ve seen prices for everything from Michelin-starred omakases to the humble street taco creep up across the board. A reality check’s in order: Most people in L.A. can’t afford to regularly, consistently spend over $100 per person on a single meal. For many folks, dining out, at least at the higher end of the scale, is purely an event reserved for special occasions or something that happens closer to once a month rather than once a week or more.
That’s where these fairly under-the-radar tasting menus below $100 come into the equation. While you’ll still end up spending around $100 or a little more after tax and tip, these cheaper upscale dining experiences are a welcome relief from the sky-high prices of most L.A. tasting menus and omakases. With some conditions—some require you to come in on specific weekday evenings—these newer, slightly more budget-friendly chef’s tastings will more than fit the bill (pun intended).
n/soto
What is it: A $95 six-course tasting menu
When: Wednesday and Thursday evenings
Why you should book: Niki Nakayama and Carole Iida-Nakayama’s Mid-City izakaya might offer a vastly different experience from, n/naka, the pair’s two Michelin starred kaisaki experience, but this newer seasonal tasting menu bridges the gap for just shy of $100. Devised by n/soto culinary lead Yoji Tajima and chef de cuisine Gregory Otero, n/soto’s new tasting menu offers an example of each cooking style represented at n/soto, from agemono (fried) to yakimono (grilled). Current highlights include a shrimp katsu sandwich made with housemade Japanese milk bread and a braised short rib reminiscent of the A5 Wagyu course served at n/naka. If you’re hoping to actually get full, however, you’ll probably need to add the $25 six-piece nigiri supplement.
Pasjoli
What is it: An $85 three-course meal built around Pasjoli’s famous pressed duck
When: Every Monday through the end of August
Why you should book: This ultra-pricey bistro is renowned across the city for its pressed whole duck, which normally requires you to order family-style—each dish normally feeds two, or four people if you have a few other entrées. This summer, Pasjoli is offering its signature dish for solo diners, but there’s a catch: You have to come on Mondays, and there’s only 20 orders available every week. Each meal comes with a slice of Pasjoli’s equally beloved foie de poulet (a separate menu item), market lettuce duck salad with duck fat cherry vinaigrette and crispy duck skin; petite duck breast with the sauce made from the pressed duck; and duck leg bread pudding.
Crossroads
What is it: A $65 four-course tasting menu
When: Nightly
Why you should book: This high-end vegan restaurant has long delighted omnivores with its flavorful, imaginative dishes, but even those who balk at the meat-like taste and texture of Impossible will find something to love on the menu of Tal Ronnen’s Crossroads. All year long, the restaurant offers a seasonal set menu that includes some of the chef’s greatest hits. Currently, that means tasty artichoke oysters, kale Caesar salad and rigatoni bolognese, plus a gluten-free brownie sundae made with brandy flambéed cherries and coconut whipped cream. For $10 more, you can also indulge in a newer, limited-time $75 per head three-course steakhouse dinner, which includes plant-based versions of steakhouse classics like crab cake (hearts of palm) and, of course, “steak” made of lion’s mane mushrooms.
Rustic Canyon
What is it: $65–$75 three-course menu
When: Tuesday evenings
Why you should book: The cost of a meal for two has climbed at Jeremy Fox’s farm-to-table Santa Monica stalwart Rustic Canyon, where gourmet ingredients like Transparent Sea Farm prawns and Regier Family Farms stone fruit make frequent appearances depending on seasonal availability. This makes their newer Tuesday Suppers all the more special; for $75 or less, you can experience some of the city’s best California cuisine. Since February, the founding chef—who’s currently overseeing the kitchen once more—launched an ever-changing three-course supper every Tuesday night along with chef de cuisine Elijah Deleon. Items change on a weekly basis, but expect the freshest, most high-quality, locally sourced meat, seafood and produce you can imagine.
Cobi’s
What is it: A $58 six-course meal of Cobi’s greatest hits and a $68 chef’s selection menu
When: Nightly
Why you should book: Now a Michelin Bib Gourmand, Cobi Marsh’s namesake restaurant in Santa Monica serves well-executed riffs on pan-Southeast Asian cuisine in a cozy, grandma-chic setting. While we’ve yet to see any new or notable dishes since the restaurant first opened in 2021, the faithfully executed opening menu is flavorful and offers plenty of nuanced heat and space. Each set menu encapsulates the restaurant’s most popular and interesting dishes—including the must-order raw kanpachi in coconut dressing and black sugar boba-topped Thai tea pudding.
Lulu at the Hammer
What is it: A $75 three-course dinner
When: Tue–Sun
Why you should book: Inside the tranquil indoor-outdoor courtyard of UCLA’s Hammer Museum, David Tanis utilizes the same farm-to-table approach pioneered by Alice Waters, Lulu's co-creator and the trailblazer behind Berkeley's legendary Chez Panisse. The elegant, ever-changing prix-fixe menu—there’s also a $55 menu during lunch—incorporates the best of whatever’s in season at the farmers’ market, and the museum courtyard is especially striking after dark. Above, Jorge Pardo's indoor-outdoor orange lanterns (now part of the Hammer’s permanent collection) light up after dark, which gives the entire restaurant a dreamy feel in the evenings.
Crudo e Nudo
What is it: The $85 Neptune’s Flight
When: Daily
Why you should book: Beautifully plated, locally sourced and utterly delicious seafood are on the menu every night at Crudo e Nudo, a tiny, slightly scrappy restaurant along Santa Monica’s Main Street that keeps sustainability and ethics in mind. You can’t go wrong with putting your meal in the hands of head chef Brian Bornemann with the Neptune’s Flight. Depending on your likes and dislikes, exact makeup of the items in your meal will vary, but expect bright, modern tweaks on the typically stalwart Italian raw dish and, if you’re squid ink-inclined, a killer jet-black crispy fried rice topped with herbs and aioli.
Osteria Mamma
What is it: A $90 per person four-course tasting menu (with cookbook included!)
When: Nightly through the end of the year
Why you should book: This neighborhood Italian restaurant in Hollywood is celebrating its 14th anniversary with a super-affordable commemorative tasting menu—and each purchase includes a cookbook filled with “Mamma” Loredana Cecchinato’s family recipes, which the restaurant uses as a basis for its own menu. Add $30 for a wine pairing with each course, which includes traditional dishes like spaghetti ali babà (tomato sauce with tuna and anchovies) and vitello alla pizzaiola, or veal cutlets with peeled tomatoes, oregano and garlic.