City guide
Where to eat in Los Angeles
LA's food scene reflects the city — sprawling, ethnically layered, and quietly some of the best in the country. From strip-mall Korean BBQ to Michelin-starred kaiseki, from taco trucks to $200 tasting menus, LA has a range that most cities don't. The catch is that "range" is exactly what makes it hard to decide.
Forktune cuts through the sprawl. Spin the wheel, drive there, eat.
LA's food strengths
The city's real edge is depth in categories other American cities barely touch. A few the wheel will surface:
- Mexican and Central American — Guelaguetza, Mariscos Jalisco, Tacos 1986, Sonoratown. Probably the best Mexican food in the country outside Mexico itself.
- Korean — LA's Koreatown is the largest outside Korea, and it shows. Sun Nong Dan for the short-rib stew, Park's for classic KBBQ, Yang Ban for the newer wave.
- Italian, quietly world-class — Bestia, Felix, Mother Wolf, Funke's places. LA's Italian scene stopped being an afterthought years ago and now competes with New York's.
- Japanese, top to bottom — n/naka for kaiseki, Sushi Gen for the sushi bar, Tsujita for ramen, Kikuya for a $30 lunch set that's better than dinners twice the price elsewhere.
- The New American thing — Bavel, Kismet, Sqirl, Gjelina. Dishes that feel invented for California — pomegranates, sumac, fresh cheese, sunlight.
Neighborhoods and driving
LA is car-dependent. Silver Lake to Santa Monica is a 45-minute commitment on a good day. If you're not planning a cross-town drive, Forktune's Use my location mode is worth turning on — it narrows results to a radius you set (5 miles, 10 miles, whatever), so the wheel doesn't send you 40 minutes away when there's something excellent five blocks over.
Tips for the wheel in LA
The Craving search box is especially good here because LA has such deep sub-cuisines. Type "korean bbq", "birria", "poke", "omakase", "carnitas" and the wheel narrows to that. Filter by price if you want a $ taco-truck lunch instead of a $$$$ tasting-menu birthday.