6 cutting-edge restaurants in Los Angeles

Los Angeles is no stranger to creativity and innovation—it’s home to Hollywood, the birthplace of the modern supermarket, and where popular fast food chains including In ‘N’ Out got their start. Iconic establishments like Lawry’s, BCD Tofu House, and Grand Central Market have long cemented LA’s position as a global dining destination, and now a new group of restaurants are taking it a step further.

These cutting-edge restaurants are pushing the envelope in terms of sustainability, the combination of new cuisines, and highlighting underrepresented food regions. Echo Park’s Lonely Oyster has dedicated staffers educating diners on oysters and other seafood; Jordan Kahn’s Meteora is showcasing what it dubs ancestral eating; and Yangban Society is combining Jewish and Korean food.

Read on for 6 restaurants that are changing the game in LA.

OpenTable team

6 Restaurants

Updated December 21, 2022

Restaurants:	The Lonely Oyster, Matu, Meteora…
Price Range:	$$$ - $$$$
Cuisines:	Oyster Bar, Steak, Californian…
Neighborhoods:	Silver Lake, Beverly Hills, Hollywood…

The Lonely Oyster

$$$$

Oyster Bar

Silver Lake

4.6

133 reviews

This newly opened oyster bar in Echo Park is dedicated to educating diners on all things related to saltwater seafood, including sourcing, flavor profile, and sustainability. A team of seafood educators, led by fish biologist Dillon Turner, takes diners on a culinary journey, including touching on the process of procuring oysters while respecting the environment. The aim is for diners to walk away with a better understanding of the environmental factors that influence the flavors of The Lonely Oyster’s food, while also recognizing why this type of sustainability work is critical to the restaurant industry. Dishes include wild uni topped with caviar and a fiery ginger wasabi aioli; oysters sourced from Washington state; and a fish and chips preparation featuring red snapper fried in a tempura batter and served with malt vinegar and a dill tartar sauce.

At the moment, there's no online availability within 2.5 hours of your request. Do you have another time in mind?

Matu

$$$$

Steak

Beverly Hills

4.8

67 reviews

At Matu, steak lovers can enjoy a 100% grass-fed Wagyu beef tasting menu that’s sourced entirely from New Zealand. Matu’s concept was inspired by chef Jeffrey Greenberg’s travels around the world and discovery of grass-fed beef, which he preferred to the taste of the dry-aging process he was used to. All of Matu’s beef is flown in from First Light Farms in New Zealand, which practices cattle farming on grazing pastures—a much more sustainable but rarer process, particularly in the United States, which relies mainly on corn-fed cattle. The result is flavorful, tender Wagyu that’s served in a one-of-a-kind omakase-style dining experience in the heart of Beverly Hills. A five-course menu changes every night and can feature dishes such as a bone broth appetizer, tartare, and braised beef.

At the moment, there's no online availability within 2.5 hours of your request. Do you have another time in mind?

Meteora

$$$$

Californian

Hollywood

4.5

411 reviews

Step past a doorway draped in willow branches to acclaimed chef Jordan Kahn’s multi-sensory experience, Meteora. Here, organic and foraged ingredients are minimally processed, part of what Kahn calls ancestral eating, an effort to eat the way people did 5,000 years ago. While there are plenty of restaurants spotlighting seasonal and local produce, what sets Meteora apart is its minimal use of added ingredients. For instance, cocktails at Meteora have no refined sugar or sweeteners added. What’s more, it’s rare to see a fine-dining restaurant actively encouraging diners to eat with their hands, another nod to eating traditions from the past. To that end, there’s a heavy emphasis on dishes cooked with smoke and fire, and all are meant to be shared among friends. These include chanterelle mushrooms cooked over a smokeless coal flame that chars them without imparting a smoky flavor, and beef ribs rubbed with pine resin and smoked overnight. Kahn’s first restaurant, Vespertine, was ahead of its time in its own way, imagining what the restaurant of the future might look like, and at Meteora Kahn is traveling back to the past.

At the moment, there's no online availability within 2.5 hours of your request. Do you have another time in mind?

Experiences available

View Experiences

Yangban Society

$$$$

Korean

Little Tokyo

4.5

216 reviews

Yangban Society manages to achieve several winning combinations: It’s a rare Korean-Jewish deli and a restaurant that also operates as a super, an inbuilt shop at the restaurant that’s modeled after Korean minimarkets by the same name. Chefs Katianna and John Hong have created dishes that would be hard to find elsewhere such as a sujebi-matzo ball soup, combining the hand-pulled noodle soup with the classic Jewish deli fare; and Korean dumplings served with housemade bacon and a dipping sauce of warm bacon fat, sherry, and soy. The second-floor minimat features Korean products including cold brew teas, canned cocktails, and pickles all made by Los Angeles residents. In an industry ravaged by the pandemic, the Hongs have set up a business model that allows their more upscale restaurant to thrive alongside the steadier market.

At the moment, there's no online availability within 2.5 hours of your request. Do you have another time in mind?

Experiences available

View Experiences

Savida

$$$$

Seafood

Santa Monica

4.6

59 reviews

At this newly opened Santa Monica raw bar, chef Dan Smulovitz uses just three to four ingredients per dish—and no oven—to create the raw seafood dishes he became known for at his restaurant in Israel. Simplicity guides Smulovitz, who intentionally cooks without kitchen appliances or an extensive ingredient list so that he can focus on what he loves most: the fresh flavors of seafood. It’s practically unheard of for a restaurant to operate without a stove or oven (or any heating element), but it’s central to Smulovitz’s philosophy of keeping his food fresh. Cured bonito with a tangy creme fraiche topping and a fragrant lobster roll flavored with lemongrass, coconut milk, vanilla, and celery are a couple options Smulovitiz serves in the tiny, 80-square foot space. It’s already joined the ranks of the most popular raw seafood destinations in the city.

At the moment, there's no online availability within 2.5 hours of your request. Do you have another time in mind?

Socalo

$$$$

Mexican

Santa Monica

4.6

650 reviews

Chefs Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken are well-known for their devotion to Mexican food. The former owners of Santa Monica’s famed Border Grill opened the canteen-style Socalo in 2019 with a focus on comfort foods such as chicken poblano enchiladas and pork carnitas served with a roasted garlic citrus sauce. But where Socalo stands out is with its wine list, which is entirely sourced from Mexico. Varietals featured include a zippy viognier and sauvignon blanc from Valle de Guadalupe, and a Parras Valley cabernet sauvignon that’s full of ripe black fruit and hints of rosemary. Mexican wines are rarely in the spotlight in the U.S., and Feniger and Milliken have dedicated an entire restaurant to it.

At the moment, there's no online availability within 2.5 hours of your request. Do you have another time in mind?

Experiences available

View Experiences

Explore OpenTable

Los Angeles

Explore the Best OpenTable Restaurants in Every City