The best restaurants in the Arts District

Brandon Go’s two Michelin-starred kaiseki counter inside the Arts District’s expansive outdoor mall, ROW DTLA, offers an intimate, multi-course seafood-centric meal plated using handcrafted ceramics imported from Japan. While bookings for this artful, once-in-a-lifetime experience fill up almost instantly when Tock reservations are released on the first of each month, those who experience this transportive meal will largely agree it’s worth all the hassle.

With each passing year, Jon Yao's tasting menu reaches new heights. The lauded self-taught chef—and native Angeleno—blends his Taiwanese and San Gabriel Valley roots to create a tasting menu that’s something new entirely: Asian-inflected fine dining that’s almost too pretty to eat. (We said almost.) Now firmly ensconed in a larger, sleeker space at ROW DTLA, Yao's former strip mall restaurant has evolved to a new—and much more expensive—level. Expect the city's best milk bread and artful, refined takes on Asian classics like Taiwanese beef noodle soup in a tasting experience that just might strike a chord of nostalgia.

From the same couple behind Bestia, this broadly Middle Eastern eatery about a 15 minute walk from Ori Menashe and Genevieve Gergis’s Italian counterpart offers a flavorful jaunt through Israel, Egypt, Morocco and Turkey. Here, you’ll find fire-roasted meats, handmade couscous, perhaps the best pita and hummus in all of L.A., and, like its Italian counterpart, fantastic dessert, all in a rustic, beautifully appointed dining room. Though the reservation process is just as difficult at Bavel as it is at Bestia, the wait is worth it. Both restaurants have helped usher in the era of the Arts District as a veritable dining destination—and you’d honestly come away pleased with a meal at either one.

Despite an ill-timed 2020 debut, this Mexican fine dining restaurant by Enrique Olvera (of Mexico City’s Pujol and NYC’s Cosme) has quietly become one of the best restaurants in the city. The understated yet stylish ambience and unforgettable seafood-centric small plates, grilled meats and playful vegetable mains easily put it in the same league as its always-popular parking lot neighbor, Bestia, but the restaurant defies any simple comparison. When every bite reflects Damian’s commitment to traditional Mexican cooking techniques and ingredient sourcing, there’s no one singularly great dish to order, but you’d be remiss not to order the unforgettable duck al pastor and art-like hibiscus meringue.

Unless you spend a boatload of money, you’re not likely to gorge yourself at Camphor, an upscale French restaurant with an airy white and blue dining room, old-school service touches and a featherweight approach to the typically decadent branch of European cuisine. Run by Alain Ducasse veterans Max Boonthanakit and Lijo George, the restaurant offers elegant yet nontraditional fine dining with a handful of South Asian-inspired dishes and tweaks to mix things up. This level of refinement with a twist extends to dessert, where a phenomenal savarin with passionfruit glaze holds its own next to a hot cocoa-inspired take on chocolate soufflé—the kind of fancy but modern fare that’s perfect for date night or a prelude to a big night out.

For artful, unexpected riffs on heritage cuisine, look no further than Yangban. Cheekily named after the Joseon Dynasty’s ruling class, this upscale-casual restaurant is a moving ode to head chefs Katianna and John Hong’s combined Korean American identities (hers as an adoptee, his as a children of immigrants). Here, hard-line traditions melt away and combine for a knockout evening meal that cares little for what you think proper Korean food should be. First timers would do well to order the chef’s choice menu—a more casual tasting experience that might encompass anything from the seafood toast to new, limited-edition dishes built around what’s in season.

After a splashy 2012 opening, this Arts District restaurant quickly ascended to the top of the city’s best restaurant lists—including ours—thanks to husband-and-wife pair Ori Menashe and Genevieve Gergis's innovative Italian dishes and desserts. Over a decade in, many of its signature items are now icons of the city's dining scene, including the must-order spaghetti rustichella—a small pyramid of noodles hidden under Dungeness crab, Calabrian chili, Thai basil and onion seed. While getting a normal hour reservation at Bestia is still difficult, the late-night tables are worth it—and so is stopping by after 9pm for a possible seat at the bar. Even if you’re unsuccessful, you're still within walking distance of several other great eateries open fairly late, including Damian, Kodo and Yangban (all of which are on this list.)

This perpetually packed trailblazer from Phoenix is probably one of the least casual pizza experiences you'll find in Los Angeles, but it's also one of the very best. Housed at the ROW DTLA, Pizzeria Bianco is the namesake spot from James Beard Award-winning pizzaiolo Chris Bianco, who can also be seen on Chef's Table: Pizza on Netflix. The lunch-only slices fall short in our book, but the signature New York-Neopolitan hybrids available at dinner are—at least for diehard pizza fans—worth booking 90 days in advance on OpenTable or arriving just before 5pm on a weekday to wait for a table. (You can also try your luck on weekends, but we don't recommend that.) Once sat, a full wine and beer menu accompany an elegant menu of pizzas, salads and antipasti that stands up to the Arizona original.

This long-awaited French-Japanese bistro in the Arts District comes from Charles Namba and Courtney Kaplan, the pair behind Echo Park’s Tsubaki and OTOTO. Wood panels and handsome leather booths have given the former Church & State (and short-lived Caboco) space a distinctly polished, brasserie feel, and the eight-seat bar is already drawing in local residents pairing their wine or sake with Camélia’s outstanding dry-aged burger. In the dining room, hearty, comforting dishes like Japanese-style spaghetti bolognese and croque madame made with ham katsu and milk bread deftly skirt the lines between culinary genres. Who knew shiso and ponzu jelly could pair so well with burrata? Save room for dessert; there’s an excellent caramel pudding topped with fruit, whipped cream and crunchy buckwheat, but you’d be equally pleased with the chocolate black sesame gâteau or Harry’s Berries pistachio tart.

After closing in 2018, Kwang Uh’s critical darling has made a triumphant return in the form of an Arts District tasting menu—including one of the best examples of vegan fine dining in Los Angeles. Alongside his wife, Mina Park, Uh now offers a $110 seven-course offering that’s admittedly small in terms of portion size, but big on the fermentation-forward Korean flavors that first captivated L.A. in 2015. Highlights include Hokkaido scallop topped with minari (water celery) and—for vegans and vegetarians—the sumptous banchan platter. This is not the in-your-face nature of Yangban or the boldly spicy, sweet flavors of your garden-variety mom-and-pop restaurant in Koreatown. Baroo is something else entirely, and while it might not hit its mark with everyone, the uniqueness of the cuisine is still worthy of your time and money if you know what you’re getting yourself into.

One of the city’s best options for outdoor dining, this plant-filled rooftop eatery offers a taste of Mexico City and some of the most vibrant, breezy cocktails we’ve had anywhere in L.A. The gorgeous sunset view and consistently excellent cuisine have also made Cha Cha Chá one of our favorite rooftop restaurants, and its proximity to Death & Co and a slew of other excellent bars, breweries and galleries make it perfect for the next time you’re looking to spend a weekend day or evening in the neighborhood (the restaurant also offers brunch).

This pandemic pop-up’s brick-and-mortar has one of most charming patios in Los Angeles, plus delicious, realtively affordable focaccia pizzas, salads and a raw bar. It’s also home to the Nonna Pack—a $75 bang-for-your-buck deal (two pizzas, a salad and a full bottle of wine) available Tuesday through Thursday that’s ideal for casual weekday date nights. Founded at a time when everyone needed a seat at the (preferably outdoor) table, the dinner-only restaurant holds most of its space for community walk-ins, and offers a reasonably priced alternative in the Arts District when a more upscale meal is out of the question.

This high-profile Midwestern import from Top Chef winner Stephanie Izard brings some of the Chicago restaurant’s signature dishes, like goat empanadas and sautéed green beans with fish sauce vinaigrette and cashews. Rotating seasonal items and plenty of new additions make quick work of California produce and keep diners on their toes for the type of experience that breathes new life into a culinary genre best described as “creative, globally inspired small plates.” Strong date night vibes and breezy weekend brunch service keep the airy, plant-filled Mateo Street restaurant packed to the brim with stylish diners seeking all-around excellent cuisine.

First a food truck, now a full-service taqueria and bar, Guerrilla Tacos has grown its gamechanging tacos, tostadas and daily specials into one of the city's most prized restaurant posessions. Weisser Farm potatoes might come paired with chorizo, while braised lamb neck could be carefully nestled with root vegetables and topped with a fried egg. On a plate, any of these would be stellar, but in a taco, it’s perfect.

The stylish backdoor taqueria to Damian, Ditroit serves gourmet tacos by way of chef Enrique Olvera, best known for Mexico City’s Pujol and New York’s Cosme. Though the tacos come at a premium compared to actual street food, each one is made with the same delicate, housemade tortillas and fresh salsas served at its more upscale full-service sibling, Damian, for the kind of quality and freshness you can taste in every bite. Suadero tacos and a killer molenegro tamal highight seasonal California produce, all in lush, greenery-filled alleyway with free self-parking off Violet.

The West Coast outpost of a British motorcyle club, this enormous warehouse offers a restaurant, bar, café, private members club, event space, tattoo parlor, barber shop and even an apparel shop. Geared towards discerning SoCal riders (and longtime fans of the original Bike Shed blog), this veritable motorcyclists' lifestyle destination is also a hands-down great place in the Arts District for anyone to hang out, get some work done and grab some coffee and a delicious bite to eat—including some solid honey soy-glazed baby back ribs and plenty of vegan options.

With a roomy digs on the ground floor of an Arts District apartment complex, the newest location of Sang Yoon's award-winning gastropub has an expansive seating area that's perfect for larger groups craving burgers and beer. While you can still find the joint's iconic Office burger with its famously polarizing no-substitutions rule, the ever-rotating selection of craft brews and extended gastropub menu make Father's Office a solid neighborhood eatery—even if you're not in Culver City or Santa Monica.

It might be a bit of a cheat to add one of the city's best bars to a neighborhood restaurant list, but the elevated bar grub at Everson Royce Bar also make it of the best Arts District locales for a casual, unfussy bite to eat. Home to one of the best burgers in Los Angeles, E.R.B. also offers delicious pillowy steamed buns piled high with roasted pork belly, scallion, pickled cucumbers and hoisin sauce and smoky potato taquitos that are even more steeply discounted at the bar's Taco (and Taquito) Tuesdays.

Ambience is half the equation at Manuela, the Hauser & Wirth complex's on-site eatery with an excellent Southern-inspired brunch on weekends and an adjacent garden full of chickens. Perfect before or after a visit to the galleries, the seasonally driven menu fits the bill for a sun-lit, slightly speny daytime meal, though the somewhat dim-lit space feels a bit dark for dinner hour. 

Tyler Wilson and Joseph Pitruzzelli's fast-casual gourmet sausage shop might no longer but the buzziest restaurant on the block, but this Third and Traction eatery still turns out tasty grilled links like Polish-style kielbasa, plus signature exotic meat options like rattlesnake and rabbit, buffalo and even pheasant. The community tables and outdoor patio area also make Wurstküche a great option when dining in a large group or with pets. Paired with a "groot" worth of skin-on frites and a pint or two from the selection of Belgian and German beers, and you've got the makings of your next casual lunch or dinner in the Arts District. 

The Tokyo-founded ramen chain known for its yuzu shio broth is now part and parcel of the Arts District’s threadbare lunch scene. The sleek, modern ramen-ya on Mateo Street features a full bar, indoor and outdoor seating, and even touchscreen ordering systems. In addition to shio, AFURI offers takes on classic broths, blending shio and tonkotsu together in one bowl, and crafting a tantanmen with hazelnut in another. It also offers  tsukemen-style noodles, which get dipped into the chain's savory soups, plus a range of house-made dumplings. Excellent cocktails, including Japanese highballs, round out the restaurant’s affordable offerings.

This Arts District stalwart offers little in the way of decor, but the impeccable Northern Italian cuisine has made it a neighborhood favorite despite the explosion in newer, buzzier openings. Cement floors and peeling pillars blend into the background as servers in checkered-shirt uniforms bring out one excellent dish after another. There are many stand-out options to start with, but the heavenly focaccina calda di recco should be at the top of your list. When it comes to pasta, a fan favorite is the mandilli di seta, a delicate handkerchief option with pesto, though an oxtail ragu spooned over beautiful ribbons of pappardelle is just as excellent. And to finish? The dessert list is short, but we could narrow it down for you further: just ask for the cannoli.