The best lunch and dinner deals for Dine L.A. Restaurant Week

While a $65 dinner might not exactly be cheap, the four-course offering at Suzanne Goin and Caroline Styne’s iconic eatery typically goes for about 10 bucks more when ordered à la carte—and A.O.C.’s California-style bill of fare never misses the mark for an elegant, seasonally inspired evening meal. Choose from three different starters, and mains that include the restaurant’s signature Spanish fried chicken, plus a side of vegetables and dessert. Available at the original in Beverly Grove and the roomier expansion in Brentwood, the dinner menu offers more variety than either outpost’s lunch and brunch menus—which we’d skip in favor of better deals elsewhere.

At around $23 per person, if you divide up this $69 family-style dinner meant for three, this SGV mala specialist is one of Dine L.A.’s most affordable dinner deals. Available all day, the spread includes two bowls of rice and four savory courses, letting you pick from several items like boiled fish with rattan pepper, stir-fried chili pork trotters and mini lamb skewers. The restaurant also throws in a drink (Sapporo beer) or dessert. (Note that the West L.A. location is not participating.)

For an artful, unexpected riff on heritage cuisine, look no further than Yangban. Here, hard-line traditions melt away and combine for a knockout evening meal that cares little for hardline definitions of Korean cuisine. Bring a friend or three for a generously portioned dinner at Yangban, where $55 per head gets you hot smoked trout schmear with hearty pucks of griddled potato bread, a green tea leaf salad and delicate matzo ball mandu—and that's just for starters. The main event, unless you'd like to upgrade to grilled short rib with galbi jus and king trumpet and shiitake mushrooms, are the restaurant's signature twice-fried chicken wings.

A quick price-specific search of this spring’s Dine L.A. restaurants might accidentally filter out Mayura, a quiet Culver City strip mall gem and one of the best Indian restaurants in the city. The Kerala-inspired eatery’s $75 family-style feast actually is meant for two, bringing the true cost of the substantial three course meal with drinks and dessert included to $37.50 per head. Available at both lunch and dinner, Mayura’s Dine L.A. menu allows you to pick two vegetarian and two non-vegetarian dishes, including their delicious Kerala-style fish curry. Combined with choice of appetizer and bread, it’s a veritable feast for two.

In a city already full of osterias, trattorias and seemingly every possible permutation of Italian restaurant under the sun, this Los Feliz stunner straight from Milan stands out from the pack with a well-rounded menu of northern Italian fare that exudes refinement in its simplicity. For Dine L.A., Dal Milanese is offering a $55 prix fixe menu that's full of signatures like the polpo (a simply dressed octopus salad) and tagliatelle bolognese. Each menu also includes tiramisu for dessert and a glass of Prosecco.

At the far end of Koreatown’s crowded Chapman Plaza you’ll find Tokki, a dim-lit, ultra-modern Korean restaurant selling rice spirit-based cocktails and a small menu of luxurious takes on traditional Korean drinking fare. For Dine L.A., Tokki is offering a $45 greatest hits menu that includes the flavorful rosé tteokbokki, a decadent truffle kimchi fried rice and black sesame panna cotta for dessert.

If you've never been to this well-preserved L.A. institution, Dine L.A. might be a great reason to finally pay a visit. For $65 per head, enjoy a three-course meal that includes your choice of appetizer, entrée and dessert. Highlights include Dal Rae's signature pepper steak made with filet mignon, fried calamari with spicy marinara and a Meyer lemon tart with chiffon. (Given that the same pepper steak cut, as well as the included Chilean sea bass "a la Ben," are both $58 on the regular menu, this means you're getting both appetizer and dessert for just $7 more.)

With moody, dark interior design and excellent Japanese American cuisine, this Hermosa Beach stunner was one of the best new restaurants of last year, and it’s got an excellent $35 weekend brunch menu during this spring’s Dine LA. (We’re less keen on the $55 dinner menu, however: You could find better value for the same price at other participating restaurants around town.) Each guest receives their choice of beverage—including a mimosa option!—plus a starter housemade seasonal Pop Tart or coconut chia seed parfait. Ryla’s gourmet take on shoyu ramen, which usually goes for $19.50, is available as a main, though you can also opt for a breakfast sandwich with soft scrambled eggs, maple onion jam and spicy mayo or their solid shoyu ramen.

This New York City ramenya first opened its doors in Larchmont at the start of this year, and while we consider the ramen just okay here, the desserts—and relative value—make the $45 Dine L.A. dinner menu one of the restaurant week's best deals. Each prix fixe set includes shishito peppers (usually $8), salad ($17) or chicken wings ($14), your choice of four ramen bowls ($19–20) and three desserts ($13–16). That's at least $13 in savings on each meal. The ramen might merely be decent, but Tonchin's desserts are excellent: Included is the Tokyo Banana, a bruléed banana that riffs on the Twinkie-like Japanese snack, and two different kinds of fruit kakigori (shaved ice).

Lien Ta and Jonathan Whitener's modern Silver Lake diner is stepping up its dinner game with an excellent $55 prix fixe deal for Dine L.A. Each menu includes your choice of snack, salad, main and dessert. ADB's famous wedge salad is include among the items, plus half fried chicken, country fried steaks and a vegetarian-friendly charred carrots main. For dessert, choose between a banana split, carrot cake or a mini version of ADB's famous pies.

If (plant-based) health is your lifestyle, this all-day vegan eatery from former Whole Foods CEO John Mackey is serving a $35 three-course dinner deal that includes some of Love.Life's most delicious yet healthy items, like the baked nachos, Thai green curry bowl and tahini Caesar salad. For dessert, there's a New York-style cheesecake and the peanut butter créme cake—the latter of which is one of the most delicious vegan desserts we've ever had the pleasure of having.

With an elevated approach to Indian cooking, this New York City import is the latest restaurant to upset the status quo of L.A.'s South Asian dining scene. For Dine L.A., Baar Baar is offering a $55 per person three-course deal (small plate, large plate and dessert) that also includes a dahi puri canapé and an additional side. Compared to regular menu prices, the set meal easily shaves off $20 or more if you order higher-ticket items like the madras curry beef short ribs and the Hyderabadi-style lamb keema. Just note that everyone at the table must participate in the deal.

Despite the bottle service atmosphere, this Asian American nightlife destination in Koreatown serves surprisingly delicious food—much of which you'll find on the $65 four-course dinner menu offered during Dine L.A. Choose between albacore crudo or confit mussels over toast to start, before moving onto beet and tarragon salad or roasted honeynut squash. For the main event, there's duck confit, grilled branzino or, for an $8 upcharge, an 8-ounce striploin steak. Finish off with a matcha bread pudding with dulce de leche.

This Downtown hotel rooftop restaurant serves Top Chef contestant Stephanie Izard's sharp, playful takes on Peruvian cuisine. At $55 a head, Cabra’s Dine L.A. dinner offering might not exactly be cheap, but the seven-course menu certainly a steal compared to a usual night out at this upscale small plates eatery. Highlights include the chicken thigh skewers, tomato, strawberry and chorizo salad, wood-fired skirt steak and Cabra's signature dulce de leche picarones for dessert.

After a decade in business Tin Vuong’s flavorful dishes still make for a delightful upscale-casual meal rooted in the fundamentals of Vietnamese cooking. While the Downtown location isn't participating, diners can find a reasonably priced three-course Dine L.A. menu at the Redondo Beach and the Point in El Segundo for just $55. You'll start off with goi du du—a green papaya salad that mixes peanuts, beef jerky, chilled prawns with a chili lime vinaigrette. Four excellent entrées, including a caramelized claypot salmon, make this a great Dine L.A. option in the South Bay.

A beautifully revamped steakhouse from the Rat Pack era, Dear John’s is here for a good time, not a long time, after the property’s owner indicated plans to raze the building. For now, the new version of this longtime Frank Sinatra haunt is offering a $65 dinner menu with a choice of sirloin steak with peppercorn sauce, chicken parmesan or sand dabs in lemon caper butter. Cheesecake or chocolate cake for dessert, a starter and sides of both broccolini and potatoes au grauin upgrade this deal from good to great. If you're more into seafood, check out Dear John's newer sister restaurant, Dear Jane's, which is running a similar deal in Marina del Rey.

The 90210 branch of this San Gabriel Valley dim sum staple has a smaller menu than its other counterparts, but Capital Seafood Beverly Hills is also offering killer $15 lunch and $25 dinner deals that will keep both your wallet and belly happy. The lunch deal includes Chinese American staples like Mongolian beef, walnut shrimp and Shanghai-style pork ribs, as well as your choice of white or fried rice, an egg roll and wonton soup. For dinner, choose between three pieces of pork siu mai or an assorted dim sum trio and more premium dinner entrées like Vietnamese-style fish filet and black pepper beef tenderloin. The restaurant even throws in a wonton soup and mango pudding for dessert.

Down in Long Beach, this newer restaurant by Michelin-recognized chef Manjunath Mural is bringing a global twist to Indian cuisine—and the $45 three-course Dine L.A. menu is a great way to experience Cali Chilli for the first time. Start with a roasted beet carpaccio amuse bouche before digging into a first course that might include pan-roasted masala fried fish, pickle-marinated paneer or cauliflower fritters with sambal aioli. Other highlights include the Korean-inspired Cali sticky ribs and chicken vindaloo, plus orange upside down cake for dessert.

This chef-driven neighborhood pizzeria in Boyle Heights delivers major value and flavor with a $35 dinner deal, which includes your choice of alcoholic beverage, 12-inch pizza, three-piece wings, papas (a.k.a. fries) and chocolate budino for dessert. Before 4pm, there’s also a $25 lunch deal sans drink and dessert—but the evening offering is far more compelling, in terms of value

It’s rare that a restaurant-slash-bar succeeds in nailing atmosphere, food and drinks, but this extremely solid Santa Monica date spot gets top marks across the board even when it isn’t Dine L.A. This spring, they’re offering prix-fixe lunch and dinner deals, both of which are a steal, particularly compared to other Third Street Promenade food options. The Misfit’s $25 weekday-only lunch special starts with your choice of appetizer and a selection from five different entrées, including their signature crispy chicken sandwich. At dinner, score The Misfit’s well-executed take on chorizo and clams, crispy brussel sprouts and yellowtail crudo, plus gelato from Phoenix's Grateful Spoon, for just $45.