The best Los Feliz restaurants

This gorgeous Mexican hideaway on Vermont serves impeccable cocktails and delicious small plates. Up a flight of stairs, the  three-story restaurant features a tree towering over the open-air dining room and an approachable Baja-inspired menu of tacos and other drinking snacks, plus a handful of standout mains. The award-winning agave spirit list and phenomenal cocktails come courtesy of bar director Maxwell Reis (formerly of Gracias Madre). Food-wise, expect now signature items from founding chef Joshua Gil’s now-closed Beverly Hills restaurant, Mírame, including fried chicken taco and aguachile tatemado, plus current culinary director Ronnie Muñoz’s newer, bolder additions like dirty yucca fries and short rib birria—making Mírate compelling enough off the food alone, though the space itself is a veritable feast for the eyes.

Since opening in 2008, this popular neighborhood joint—a younger sibling to the now-defunct Dominick's in West Hollywood—has stayed bustling with hipsters, young families and celebs alike. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, Little Dom's offers everything from scrambled eggs bruschetta to meatball sandwiches to whitefish picatta. The ricotta and blueberry pancakes are absurdly good, while the three-course Monday-night supper for $25 is a steal.

Sara Kramer and Sarah Hymanson’s casual rotisserie is just down the block from the pair’s original Kismet, and it's just as charming and delicious as its full-service counterpart. Order succulent, slow-roasted chicken with salads, hummus and sides like schmaltz potatoes or yogurt-and-fennel cabbage, all while sipping house carrot gingerade and other breezy, so-L.A. concoctions.

The first thing to know about this dive bar in Los Feliz: The chicken wings are the stuff of legend. Ye Rustic Inn has a full menu of pub grub, as well as a regular rotation of both old-timers and a younger (and rowdier) crowd on the weekends. There's an old school jukebox (no touch screens here), kitschy mood lighting (chandeliers!) and TVs playing the sport of the season. Get here early to score a comfy booth inside, or hang out on the back patio where patrons can smoke—but, inexplicably, can't drink.

The backyard-style burgers at Yuca’s are small and unassuming, just like the nearly 50-year-old taco hut itself. Affordable at $9, Yuca’s double cheeseburger comes with two thin, juicy beef patties cooked on a well-seasoned grill that’s handled thousands of orders of carnitas, carne asada, cochinita pibil and chili verde over the years. Depending on your preference, you can add or subtract cheese or chili, or make it a single if you’re not super hungry. Creamy American cheese, crispy lettuce, tomato, onion, ketchup, mustard and mayo combine for one of the city’s best no-frills daytime-only burgers; the Los Feliz location closes at 6pm, while Pasadena calls it quits at 6:30pm. Even in Pasadena, where the cheeseburger was supposedly first invented in 1924, Yuca’s time-tested version stands out as one of the best in the area—a statement we’d hang our hat on any day of the week.

Housed in two historic bungalows, this cottage-like café serves large plates of gourmet American classics—with breakfast items served until 5pm, salads, skillet-roasted chicken, hot paninis and more—loved by locals. Brunch is one of the most popular times to see and be seen here, especially out on that killer patio, so be sure to grab Alcove’s very own chocolate bars and some baked goods from the pastry window while you wait for a seat. The adjacent Big Bar offers hand-crafted cocktails, craft beers and fine wines alongside reinvented bar food, not to mention some of the most fun themed beverage menus in town.

Unless you’d like to make the trek to Little Tokyo or Downtown, this hand roll bar from the team behind Sushi Note and Sushi Note Omakase is your best option for sushi in Los Feliz. Order hand rolls à la carte or in sets of three to six, plus sashimi, crispy rice starters and a handful of donburi options. A list of sake and wines by the glass complements a meal here, which can be as quick or as long as you like.

Looking to start your day off on a high note? This all-day Los Feliz cafe serves light, sunshiny breakfast and lunch fare such as avocado toast; eggs on toast; a whipped-feta breakfast sandwich; squash farro and market salads—ideal fare for that spacious wooden patio. At night, check the chalkboard menu for elevated plates like dry-aged ribeye for two, housemade pasta or whole branzino.

Texans living in L.A. can find sweet Tex-Mex relief at the Los Feliz location of HomeState, where the queso flows freely and the breakfast taco selection is tops. Choose either a corn or flour tortilla then opt for eggs, bacon, cheese, refried charro beans, chorizo, shredded brisket and more. There are migas, too: crispy corn strips with scrambled eggs, onions and cheese. Oh, and then there’s the Frito Pie in a Bag—a heartwarming (and heart-attack-inducing) bag of Fritos slathered in chile con carne, black beans, lettuce, tomato and pickled veggies.

Better known to locals as Café Figaro, this charming all-day bistro transports you to a Parisian café—similar to those lining Boulevard Saint-Germain in Paris, and much like its originators, this spot is ideal for people-watching. The okay-tasting menu boasts classic French fare (think: niçoise salad and escargots) and the relaxed atmosphere is ideal for lazy afternoons and a café au lait, paired with colorful macarons from the boulangerie, of course. It’s cheery and sunny, especially at brunch, and it switches to just right amount of moody and low-lit for evening dates. While the food here is nothing special, the ambience and scene is downright Los Feliz—and that makes Figaro a must-visit for anyone hoping to get a sense of what the neighborhood is like.

While no longer open 24/7, this Vermont Avenue mainstay has been feeding hungry locals an all-day (and late-night) menu of pies and other classic diner fare. We’re talking pancakes, French toast, burgers and sandwiches, plus signatures like fried chicken liver and onions, chicken pot pie and homestyle meatloaf.