What to eat in Los Angeles

One of my favourite things to do when travelling is eating at new restaurants and exploring the food scene. Here were some of my favourite restaurants, bubble tea and dessert shops I visited in Los Angeles.

Restaurants

Din Tai Fung

I had dinner here twice during my visit to LA – It was that good. My favourite dish was the shrimp & kurobuta pork spicy wontons. The spicy sauce is perfection and I’m still dreaming of this meal! They are well known for their xiao long bao (soup dumplings). I felt that the flavours were there, but the dumplings weren’t as soupy as I expected. Get the string beans with garlic, as it complemented the meal very well. And lastly, I highly recommend their black milk tea with boba. I’m a huge milk tea fan and this has surprisingly made it to the top of my list.

The staff was amazing and it was a really great experience to dine here. I’d suggest coming here with friends, so that you can order and share lots of different dishes. Reservations are a must if you are planning a visit, as they are very busy! We didn’t make reservations the first time when visiting the Glendale location and the wait time was about 1.5 hours. This was no problem though, as it is right by the Americana Mall, so you can do some shopping while on the wait list.

Location: Many locations in California. I visited the Glendale and Los Angeles locations.

Nearby points of interest: The Glendale location is located near Americana at Brand, a large outdoor mall and the Los Angeles location is inside the Westfield Century City Mall.

KazuNori

KazuNori is a great restaurant to go to for lunch or dinner. You can choose from a set menu or select individual sashimi/hand rolls. If it’s your first time, I’d recommend choosing from the set menu, as you get to try many different kinds and they all pair so nicely with one another. You get to sit around the sushi chefs, where each hand roll is served for you one at a time. The nori was crisp, served with warm rice and the tastiest ingredients. If you are a sushi lover, I’d recommend you trying this place out!

Location: 1110 Gayley Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90024, United States

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Marugame Monzo

It cools down nicely in the evenings in October. Not so cold where you would need to layer up, but just enough where you get a break from the California sun and develop a craving for a hot bowl of udon in the evening. This udon shop in Little Tokyo was so delicious and reminded me of Japan. You can tell the udon noodles were handmade, as they were perfectly soft and chewy. I went for the simple Kake Udon with tempura tofu and shrimp as sides. The prices were reasonable and I can’t wait to be back!

Location: 329 1st St, Los Angeles, CA 90012, United States

Points of Interest: Little Tokyo

Daikokuya at Sawtelle

The ramen at Daikokyua is to die for! It’s a cozy little restaurant at the Sawtelle location, which again reminded me a lot of Japan. We were able to get a seat for 2 quite quickly since we stopped by for a late lunch. They had a happy hour menu (starting after 2pm I believe), which offered half sized ramen bowls. I loved this option, and is great if you’re not feeling too hungry. The noodles were made to perfection and the broth was so rich in flavour. A must try when in LA! They also have another location in Little Tokyo as well. And every time we passed by, there were always people waiting at all hours to dine here!

Location: 2208 Sawtelle Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064, United States

Kura Revolving Sushi

I love all food, but sushi might be my favourite. I am always excited when I get to experience sushi that comes to you on a conveyor belt. It reminds me so much of the sushi trains in Japan. If you don’t see what you’re looking for on the conveyor belt, you can also order from the tablet at each table. They also had a robot server that delivered water and tea to our table. It was so cute, because music would play as it delivered food to its guests. When you’re finished with your plates, there is a slot that you can place your plates in, which counts how many plates you had. Depending on how many plates you slot in, a mini game appears on the tablet that makes the whole experience really fun!

Location: 333 E 2nd St, Los Angeles, CA 90012, United States

Nearby points of interest: Little Tokyo

Beachwood Cafe

The Beachwood Cafe is referenced in one of Harry Styles’ songs, “Falling”. This was one of the sweetest cafes located in a lovely neighbourhood in Beachwood Canyon, which got me Watermelon Sugar high. I had a vanilla latte which was delicious and the smoked salmon benedict did not disappoint. Definitely a place to go with friends do to some Late Night Talking.

Location: 2695 N Beachwood Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90068, United States

Jon & Vinny’s

Jon & Vinny’s was a cool vibe. If you enjoy pasta and pizza, this is the place to go. We were lucky to be seated so quickly for a table of 2, as I’ve heard this is a popular place where reservations a highly recommended. I was so excited to try their pasta and it did not disappoint! I had the spicy fusilli and garlic bread. The favours were incredible. The pasta is not too spicy and was made a perfect al dente.

Location: 412 N Fairfax Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90036, United States

Nearby points of Interest: The Grove Shopping Mall, LACMA lamps

Lemonade

A grab and go spot with great healthy options to choose from. I had the Ahi Tuna Avocado Poke bowl and their handcrafted lemonade was everything needed after a full day spent outside.

Location: 1661 Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice, CA 90291, United States

Points of Interest: shopping on Abbot Kinney Blvd

Bubble Tea

Alfred Tea Room

An iconic tea shop with pink aesthetics, cute-tea quotes like “I love you so matcha” and a variety of teas to choose from . What better way to beat the heat of California than heading to Alfreds for some milk tea? I got the earl grey milk tea with boba and it was so yummy! Alfreds also does coffee (a separate shop just for coffee) and there I’d recommend the iced vanilla latte.

Location:

Nearby Points of Interest: The pink wall, shopping along Melrose

Sunright Tea Studio

Another top contender for best milk tea in my opinion. I’ll admit I’m quite basic, so I usually just go for a classic milk tea, 25-50% sugar with light ice. My sister had the oreo brulee boba milk and that was quite delicious!

Wushiland Boba WWC

The boba was perfectly chewy and they were really generous with how many pearls they give! The amount of toppings you get here is amazing. I got the Boba Milk Tea and it was delicious. This shop was located inside the Westfield Century Mall, which is another place you should check out if you want to do some shopping. It was a really beautiful outdoor mall that offered many shops. I saw lots of people just hanging out or working in the various seating areas of the mall.

Location: 10250 Santa Monica Blvd Ste 2770, Los Angeles, CA 90067, United States

Nearby points of interest: Westfield Century Mall

Dessert

Milk Bar

Milk Bar is nearby some of the Melrose Street shops and I decided to stop by after doing some shopping at a nearby thrift store called CrossRoads. If you like sweets, then Milk Bar is for you! I really enjoyed their cereal milk ice cream. You have to get the cornflakes as a topping, because I think that’s what completed the ‘cereal milk’ taste. It was also slightly salty, which pulled it all together for me. So good.

Location: 7150 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90046, United States

Nearby Points of Interest: The pink wall, shopping along Melrose Street

Rose Cafe

If you’re planning on spending a day in Venice and are looking for an aesthetic cafe for brunch, you should check out The Rose Cafe. We were here on a weekday just before noon and it wasn’t too busy. The Rose Cafe offers bakery items, a coffee bar and you can also order food as well. There was such a nice airy vibe to the cafe. Its indoor and outdoor areas flowed seamlessly into one another. I’d say my love for milk tea is equal to my love for coffee and the honey lavender latte was delicious. I’d also recommend the cinnamon bun as well! It was so soft and flakey, which was a nice surprise, as it was different from other cinnamon buns I’ve had before!

Location: 220 Rose Ave, Venice, CA 90291

Nearby points of interest: Venice beach & canals, shopping on Abbot Kinney Blvd