Clockwise from top left: Pickle plate from Birdie G’s, baked goods from Cafe 2001, burrito from Tacos Villa Corona, pizza from Bub & Grandma’s Pizza, tuna crispy rice from Sushi Zanmai
(Photos: Mariah Tauger, Emil Ravelo / For The Times, Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times Collage: Brandon Ly / Los Angeles Times)
The best places to eat and drink this month, according to our Food writers
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Spooky season has arrived, which means the holidays — and the end of the year — are right on its tail. But before you start brainstorming New Year‘s resolutions, there’s still time to embrace autumn.
We’re in the midst of Hispanic Heritage Month, an ideal opportunity to explore the various Latino cultures that inform and influence our region. Start with the Mexican and Salvadoran restaurants that restaurant critic Bill Addison highlighted in his guide to the 101 Best Restaurants in California, including a modern Mexican restaurant in Oakland and a marisqueria in Historic South-Central that was recently named on the inaugural list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants in North America.
Have a family recipe for your favorite holiday cookie? The L.A. Times is accepting recipe submissions for its 2025 Holiday Cookie Bake-Off until Monday, Oct. 13.
The L.A. Times Food Bowl is also returning this month on Oct. 10 and 11, featuring two nights of endless bites and sips from more than 25 local restaurants, including a night market curated by Farmhouse Kitchen Thai Cuisine.
And if you’re looking for even more culinary inspiration this fall, consider visiting a vegan dim sum spot in Echo Park, a new pizzeria from one of the city’s favorite bakeries or an eccentric cafe in downtown L.A. Long-standing restaurants also need your support, including a Southern standby on Crenshaw Boulevard and a Santa Monica restaurant that announced it’s permanent closing at the end of the year.
Showing Place Places
Birdie G’s
Santa Monica American $$$
(Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)
The celebrated Santa Monica restaurant from chef-partner Jeremy Fox will close permanently at the end of the year. Ranked on The Times’ guide to the 101 Best Restaurants in L.A. for multiple years in a row, Birdie G’s combined Fox’s Midwestern roots and Eastern European-Jewish background with L.A.’s seasonality for a comforting and creative menu that drew diners of all stripes. Fox blamed the closure on factors such as inflation and a dramatic drop in business following the Palisades fires. Before it’s final day of service on Dec. 31, the restaurant is launching new daily specials and hosting a final run of its annual Hanukkah dinner series 8 Nights, which invites a visiting chef and a local chef to prepare a new menu each night.
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61 Hundred Bread
Santa Ana Bakery $
(Karlo Evaristo )
How far would you travel for a loaf of sourdough bread? For columnist Jenn Harris, the answer is Santa Ana for Karlo Evaristo’s bakery 61 Hundred Bread. There, he uses blue corn masa and butterfly pea flower tea to create sourdough in a deep shade of violet that smells like blue corn tortillas cooking on a comal. Evaristo’s bakery frequently sells out, so head there early to pick up a loaf of sourdough, along with croissants, cruffins and other baked goods. The bread is on the menu at Le Hut Dinette in the Quonset hut next door to the bakery, as well as three-Michelin-starred restaurant Somni in West Hollywood.
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Dulan’s on Crenshaw
Hyde Park Southern $$
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
Greg Dulan, owner of Dulan’s on Crenshaw, recently posted a call on social media asking his community for help to avoid the permanent closure of his restaurant that’s been a staple on Crenshaw Boulevard since 1992. The second-generation restaurateur took out a hard-money loan to fund the business and a big balloon payment was due on Sept 6. But thanks to a viral response that led to a consistently packed dining room, the lender has continued to work with Dulan in good faith. Make it a point to visit the soul-food staple soon to ensure that it can continue to stick around.
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Cafe 2001
Downtown L.A. French Californian Japanese $$
(Emil Ravelo / For The Times)
Tucked in the back of a century-old building that previously housed a bank is Cafe 2001. Restaurant critic Bill Addison calls the two-story bistro from chef Giles Clark “the kind of eccentric haven that L.A. needs right now,” with a creative menu that spans sweet and savory pastries, salads, sandwiches and a rotating entree, pulling influence from Clark’s native England and beyond.
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Sushi Zanmai
Koreatown Sushi $$
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
An iconic sushi chef and restaurateur known as the “Tuna King” has opened an outpost in Koreatown’s Chapman Plaza, serving lunch and late-night hand rolls, nigiri, donburi, tempura and more. Kiyoshi Kimura first rose to prominence at Tokyo’s Tsukiji Fish Market, where in 2019 he paid roughly $3.1 million for a 612-pound tuna. Tuna is the focus at newly opened Sushi Zanmai, and all of it is sourced via Kimura’s “Sustainable and Reserve” system that captures grown tuna from places where the fish’s numbers are not in decline.
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El Muelle 8
East Los Angeles Seafood Mexican $
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
The Sinaloan-style marisqueria that abruptly shuttered last year is back as a food truck in a new location. With a successful outpost in Culiacán, the U.S. franchise was revived by Jay Orozco, who brought back chef Luis Cortez, who oversaw the restaurant’s 2023 opening, as well as another former cook and cashier. The menu features recipes from founder Abel Martínez, who died in early 2024 and whose portrait is immortalized on the truck, including shrimp zarandeados, tostadas, tacos and ceviches.
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Men & Beasts
Echo Park Chinese Vegan $$
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
A new destination for plant-based fare has opened in Echo Park with Men & Beasts, from husband-and-wife duo Alex Falco and Minty Zhu, who previously ran the plant-based dim sum restaurant Minty Z in Miami. The new outpost has a similar bent, featuring sweet-and-sour mushrooms, house-made dumplings with meat alternatives and cauliflower curry. Weekend brunch adds dishes such as bao beignets, soufflé pancakes and breakfast sandwiches with the option to add real egg. Gongfu-style tea ceremonies are held weekly.
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Seogwan by Yellowcow KBBQ
Koreatown Korean Barbecue $$
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
A new restaurant in Koreatown is doing double duty as a destination for Korean barbecue and naengmyeon. Yellowcow BBQ owner Monica Kim partnered with Pyongyang’s long-running Seogwanmyeonok for a menu that spans tabletop-grilled meats and buckwheat noodles that are handmade on site daily and served in a cool, refreshing broth. Other items include sausage stew, crispy mung bean pancakes, soft tofu and bulgogi ramen.
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Kettl
Los Feliz Japanese Teahouse $$
(Bill Addison / Los Angeles Times)
Matcha drinks are more popular than ever, and the trend is showing no signs of slowing down. But if one desires to understand the Japanese tea traditions beyond matcha, a new teahouse in Los Feliz is on hand to provide plenty of education. In a recent newsletter, restaurant critic Bill Addison highlights Kettl as a prime locale for serious tea drinkers, with ticketed classes and a tasting bar where you can order bowls of matcha, pots of tea or take part in an in-depth tea omakase.
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Betsy
Altadena Wood fired $$
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
A wood-fired restaurant that opened in Altadena just one month before the devastating Eaton fire has reopened with a new name: Betsy, named after chef-owner Tyler Wells’ late mother. The menu is centered on seasonality and a custom wood-fired hearth, with dishes such as bone-in ribeye, cast-iron foccacia served with burrata and tomatoes, grilled romano beans and marrow-roasted potatoes, plus plenty of wine options for pairing. Wells, who lives near the restaurant and was displaced after the fires, hopes it will serve as a beacon of hope and gathering place for the Altadena community.
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Bub & Grandma's Pizza
Highland Park Pizza $$
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
One of the city’s best bakeries has expanded into East Coast-style pizzas that guests can watch get tossed in through a kitchen window before and after placing their orders at the walk-up counter. Jeff Whitaker, formerly of Bar Monette and Hippo, leads the kitchen that turns out slices and pies that rotate daily and include classic cheese and pepperoni options in addition to pork-and-beef Bolognese and eggplant parm. A handful of sidewalk tables offer minimal seating, with an interior dining room planned for spring 2026, as well as an expanded menu with more Italian American staples, beer and wine.
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Kali
Larchmont Californian $$$
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
The Michelin-starred restaurant on Melrose Avenue has rebranded with a more casual, steakhouse bent, including a new bar area where Dodgers games and other live sports are projected onto the walls. The bar menu features elevated snacks such as Wagyu pigs in a blanket, bacon-wrapped dates and a house burger, while the dining room offers wedge salads and beef tartare as starters, entrees such as chicken Milanese and mushroom Wellington, and a variety of steaks.
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Pino's Sandwiches
Los Feliz Sandwich Shop $
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
A Florentine sandwich shop has opened its first U.S. outpost in Los Feliz, serving fresh schiacciata and shaved-to-order meats. Founded as Salumeria Verdi in the ’60s and ran by Pino Palmiero and his family since 1991, the deli has expanded from its classic menu to offer vegetarian, gluten-free and other accommodations for those with special diets. The signature sandwich, aptly called the Best, includes roast beef, hot sauce, smoked cheese, spinach and roasted vegetables.
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Tacos Villa Corona
Eagle Rock Mexican $
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
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