Cadet
Take a trip to the French countryside to enjoy rustic cuisine and a cozy ambiance centered around the restaurant’s wood fired grill and hearth. Kris Tominaga (The Heart and the Hunter) mans a kitchen that weaves together comfort cuisine with French influences like ember-roasted black cod with smoked butter (pairing it with a side of bone marrow is a must); rabbit boulettes with herb dumplings in maple cream (which are essentially heavenly rabbit meat balls with fluffy biscuits); wood-grilled ribeye steak with Epoisses, red wine and beef jus; and spatchcock Jidori chicken with perfectly crispy skin served over chanterelle butter. 2518 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica, 310.828.3300. cadetsm.com
Ocean Prime
Beverly Hills has netted another luxe dining option in Ocean Prime, the 11th location for restaurateur Cameron Mitchell’s award-winning line of modern American supper clubs and its first foray into Southern California (due open by press time). Unwind with a glass of wine or handcrafted cocktail in one of the bar areas, then feast on such delectable dishes as crab cocktail (pictured here), filet mignon Oscar-style and hand-rolled sushi on the sprawling terrace or in one of the intimate private dining rooms. 9595 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, 310.859.4818. ocean-prime.com
Bowery Bungalow
From the man behind L.A. staples like The Bowery, Delancey and The Mission Cantina (among many others) comes Bowery Bungalow. It’s in this quaint Silver Lake Bungalow (complete with a cozy back porch) that George Abou-Daoud channels his Lebanese and Egyptian roots into a menu that bursts with true Mediterranean flavors. Menu must-haves include short ribs marinated in turkish coffee and grape molasses; fall-off-the-bone tender Chicken Musakhan served over Yorkshire pudding; and Abou-Daoud’s take on shishkabob fused with yakatori that he calls Shishkatori- skewered meat with middle Eastern flavors (like house smoked pork belly with Fenugreek) cooked Japanese style over Binchotan coals. The restaurant served dinner for now, but look forward to Abou-Daoud’s epic take on a Sunday brunch soon. 4156 Santa Monica Blvd., L.A., 323.663.1500. bowerybungalow.wix.com
Butchers & Barbers
American bistro fare is fused with craft cocktails at Hollywood’s hottest new restaurant. This is the latest project of Mark and Jonnie Houston, the brothers behind some of the best cocktail bars in Los Angeles. Dine on fare like grilled hanger steak, bone-in pork chop, charcuterie boards, halibut crudo while you sip cocktails utilizing darker spirits like whiskies, sherries, rums and bitter liqueurs to compliment the food. Expect housemade infusions and syrups, and fresh, seasonal ingredients along with mini-barrels of cocktails available for sharing. A few highlights of the cocktail menu include Sailors Beware with fig-infused park cognac, earl grey-infused gosling’s rum, lemon, demerara; Lillian Gish with laird’s bonded applejack, simple syrup, fresh lime juice, manzanilla sherry, herbsaint, green apple; and Greta Garbo with hazelnut-infused belle mead bourbon, benedictine, honey, angostura bitters, citrus oils. 6531 Hollywood Blvd., L.A., 323.461.1464. butchersandbarbers.com
Plan Check Kitchen + Bar Downtown
You can now get your burger and ketchup leather fix in downtown L.A in the third location of the modern American eatery. At the new 3,600-square-foot outpost, Executive Chef Ernesto Uchimura pay homage to nearby culinary pockets such as Koreatown and East L.A. with special menu signatures like the K-BBQ Burger with kimcheese (gruyere cheese processed with wine and dried kimchi for seasoning), Gouchujang barbeque sauce, grilled pork belly, sesame salt, fried onions, and sprouting onion; Meat & Potatoes with beef short rib pot roast, caramelized tomato, cauliflower purée, cheesy tots, and flaked wasabi; and Spicy Tuna Salad with Sriracha vinaigrette, avocado, puffed rice, sesame, black radish, yellow frisée, nori, and garlic flowers. You can also enjoy an extensive happy hour menu from 4-6 p.m. and 10 p.m.-close. (photo by DYLAN + JENI) 1111 Wilshire Blvd., downtown, 213.403.1616. plancheck.com
Pistola
In a time when fine-dining restaurants take a back seat to trendy gastropubs, chef Vic Casanova’s Pistola reintroduces the modern Italian steakhouse to L.A.’s West 3rd Street, just a few blocks from its acclaimed little sister, Gusto. Neither quinoa nor kale graces the menu, but rather lovingly crafted Italian comfort food and a robust offering of surf and turf. Pique your taste buds with meatballs smothered in Sunday gravy or charred Mediterranean octopus before moving on to an array of entrees from all corners of The Boot. There’s pasta for every palate; try the simple yet spectacular spaghetti with tomato and basil, or squid ink agnolotti with scallops and sea urchin. A gluten-free tagliatelle with crispy bacon and sage is available to grain-sensitive pasta lovers. If protein sounds more like it, tuck into lobster al forno or a 30-ounce, dry-aged tomahawk steak topped with black truffle, anchovy, Barolo or Calabrian chili butter. Pair your meal with a glass of red or white off the lengthy wine list. At Pistola, you’ve got options. 8022 W. 3rd St., L.A., 323.951.9800. pistola-la.com
Stir Market
Food Network personality Chef-Partner Jet Tila and Executive Chef Chris Barnett fuse their culinary passions to create Stir Market. The inspiration came from classic European food hall experiences in Paris, Milan, Madrid and Berlin. Within the 4,000-square-foot urban market hall and restaurant you can indulge in a variety of seasonal fare served from multiple food counters like the European Rotisserie & Expo Kitchen, Seasonal Market Salad & Sandwiches, Wine & Snack Bar with charcuterie and cheese, Artisan Bakery, and Espresso Bar. Also find takeaway fare and gourmet retail products. Open 9 a.m.-9 p.m. daily serving breakfast, lunch, dinner and weekend brunch. 7475 Beverly Blvd., L.A., 310.600.2732. stirmarket.com
Yellowtail Sunset
For its second location, Las Vegas’ award-winning Japanese dining destination Yellowtail is putting its chips on storied Sunset Boulevard. Renowned chef Akira Back and the Light Group joined forces with Lore Group (Rock and Reilly’s, Pearl’s) to open Yellowtail Sunset, a 4,500-square-foot, indoor-outdoor eatery featuring warm woods, golden yellow upholstery, mixed-metal touches and gold tiles at the entrance. The airy first-floor dining room features a central bar and lounge area, where liquor meets seasonal ingredients in mixologist Michael Monrreal’s “heightened sensory” cocktail menu. A staircase curves past a sushi stage en route to a second dining room and patio upstairs, where patrons can enjoy city views while dining on lobster carpaccio, duck prosciutto and Back’s signature Jeju Domi (line-caught red snapper from the island of Jeju, South Korea, topped with gochujang sauce). 8768 W. Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, 310.360.0366. yellowtailsunset.com