The best Los Angeles restaurants, according to restaurateur Lien Ta

Part of legendary chef Nancy Silverton’s Mozzaplex group of Italian restaurants in Hollywood, Chi Spacca is the place locals know to go for some of the best cuts of meat in town; this is after all the cream of the crop when it comes to Italian steakhouses.

Why Lien loves it: “I really prefer to sit at the counter there for the off-menu burger [that they do Mondays and Tuesdays]. It’s not always a burger, sometimes she [Nancy Silverton] makes a tuna melt or grilled cheese. I also really love the anchovy butter toast that’s cut up into four pieces.”

Open hearth and wood-fired cooking take center stage at chef Brian Dunsmoor’s Eagle Rock hotspot that’s already nabbed a place on the LA Times 101 Best Restaurants list just a little over a year after opening.

Why Lien loves it: “This is probably my favorite restaurant right now of the whole group. It’s really special because no other restaurant is cooking quite like it. There’s a great, rustic Southern vibe to the cooking, and I bet a lot of people imagine a meal here is heavy, but it is possible to have a light fish-focused meal—they have an iconic baby albacore tuna dish.”

Find chef Chad Colby doing next-level rustic Italian cooking at this cozy spot where meat dishes and pastas are the star.

Why Lien loves it: “It’s really close to my restaurant [Here’s Looking at You], and it has some really great, unique pastas and heavier proteins. He [Colby] also makes really amazing focaccia. Plus, there’s a big chicken dish on top of grilled bread; the juices from the chicken get soaked up in the bread—it has a French toast feel to it. And the wine list is exceptional.”

The pinnacle of Mozzaplex, this MICHELIN-starred restaurant redefined going out for Italian food in LA when Nancy Silverton opened it in 2007. A wide selection of cheeses, handmade pastas, and more make this one of the best Italian destinations in town.

Why Lien loves it: “I love going here when I’m craving a grander restaurant experience. I think a Nancy meal always makes a great complete experience—antipasti, salads, pastas, to the finish. And the mozzarella list keeps evolving.”

More than two decades after it opened, Gino and Elizabeth Angelini’s always-full Italian mainstay is the place for classics.

Why Lien loves it: “Angelini is my favorite classic Italian restaurant when I really want to feel transported to Italy. My all-time favorite dish is the lasagna verde. When I’m craving that dish, I always go there. Sometimes I get pizza, sometimes I don’t, but I always get the lasagna.”

This critically acclaimed restaurant is extremely personal to chefs and owners Katianna and John Hong, who showcase their Korean American heritage in dishes like gochujang-braised black cod.

Why Lien loves it: “Yangban is my favorite restaurant right now to recommend to out-of-towners. It showcases our city’s diversity. I love the husband-and-wife team that runs it, I love their chicken wings, and they also have these sort of little dumplings [sujebi dumplings] with roe on top of them.”

Top Chef star Jackson Kalb’s empire of top-notch Italian restaurants in LA includes this Southern Italian charmer for pizzas and handmade pastas.

Why Lien loves it: “I’m not over on that side of town often enough, but if I am, it is the first place that I go to. This is the most energetic of the Italian restaurants on the list. He [Kalb] makes the most amazing vodka sauce, either on a pizza or as a dipping sauce with incredible fried-cheese discs. He does such a nice job with vegetables, like their eggplant and cauliflower. I love how much spice chef Jackson incorporates into his food.”

Travel back to the Mad Men era at this steakhouse stunner that serves some of the best cuts of beef in LA and shows why chef and restaurateur David LeFevre runs some of the most popular spots in the city.

Why Lien loves it: “The Arthur J is one of the best steakhouses in LA. Sadly for me, it is really far, but we always make a special-occasion meal out of it. A dear friend of mine is the manager, and it is a wonderful place to get a cocktail, Caesar salad, and share a humongous rib eye and wonderful wine to pair it all with. It feels very mid-century American. It also has a great off-menu burger.”

It doesn’t get more old-world glamor than Musso & Frank, a Los Angeles institution that’s played host to Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, and countless other legends.

Why Lien loves it: “I love sitting at the counter in front of the grill—it is always bustling. I love that the staff has been there for many, many years, and I always start with martinis, get a Caesar salad, and then steak. It is a wonderful, nostalgic restaurant—this is the restaurant I go to for the vibes, the iconic Hollywood energy.”

This might just be LA’s hottest restaurant right now having nabbed a spot on nearly every best-new-restaurant list following its 2023 debut. Expect Spanish and Asian twists on bistro-style food, like rainbow trout with the garlicky sauce pil-pil.

Why Lien loves it: “I’ve only been once, and I was moved by my experience. The cooking is unique and memorable. There is this cooked spinach in a sesame broth that I can’t stop thinking about. The clam toast is a great starter. I can’t wait to keep going back again and again.”