Every Friday, our editors compile a trusty list of recommendations to answer the most pressing of questions: “Where should I eat?“ Here are four places to check out this weekend in Los Angeles. And if you need some ideas on where to drink, here’s our list of the hottest places to get cocktails in town.
For Filipino lattes and ensaymadas: Malaya Coffee in Silver Lake
The new year always makes me feel a bit ruminative, and what better way to start 2026 than by doing some reflection in a coffee shop? (Yes, I am a Los Angeles cliche and okay with it.) Malaya in Silver Lake is the ideal place to linger and ponder, with a welcoming space that provides plenty of natural light and comfortable seating and a robust menu of interesting lattes. For the purists, you’ll find your standard pour overs as well as espresso options, but I particularly love any drink that leans into the coffee shop’s Filipino identity: fragrant pandan matcha, sweet ube cream lattes, and mango lemonade matcha are some of the options. Pair your drink with a fluffy ensaymada by Ensaymada Project; the flavors rotate but you can’t go wrong with ube or buttery queso de bola. 2839 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90026. — Kat Thompson, audience editor, Eater Southern California/Southwest
For a candlelit kebab dinner: Berenjak in the Arts District
London export Berenjak has landed in Los Angeles’s Soho Warehouse with coal-grilled kebabs and a moody candlelit dining room. Set in Soho Warehouse’s verdant back gardens, the restaurant serves a menu inspired by founder Kian Samyani’s childhood spent in Tehran that spans lamb kebabs stacked on flatbreads, cucumber-dotted yogurt, and saffron-tinged rice. The interior falls somewhere between a midcentury modern artists loft and a Persian grandmother’s living room with tall exposed wood beams and tapered candles. The attachment to Soho Warehouse definitely lends some cachet, but Berenjak stands on its own as an instant classic. 1010 S. Santa Fe Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90021. — Rebecca Roland, deputy editor, Eater Southern California/Southwest
For a glam rock Sunset Strip hang for the Horses crowd: Galerie in West Hollywood
A gaggle of onlookers gathers outside Chateau Marmont along Sunset Boulevard, hoping to catch a glimpse of some starlet. Fast cars whiz by; Cybertrucks fuel up on the Los Angeles grid’s finest electricity. This setting may be why Galerie seems poised to take Horses’ mantle from the in-the-know crowd, the kind of place Rachel Sennott and company might come for strong drinks and loud rock music their parents listened to (we’re talking ’90s KROQ, not oldies). Previously known as the Den, Galerie comes from chef Ben Ford and Gabriel Lindsey (previously of Dudley Market), alongside Gen Z operators Trae Meyer-Whalley and Simon Pompan.
Early on, it’s chill, but after 8 p.m., it starts getting loud. Is that Marcello Hernandez, of SNL fame, showing up for his Netflix comedy special after-party? Plates of potato chips and caviar-topped dip preface prodigious little gem salads studded with satsuma mandarin slices and pistachios. A French onion-style burger recalling Dudley Market (and gourmet burger ancestor Father’s Office) will please the protein-loving crowd. Pan-fried Mary’s chicken doused in a piccata-like caper and roast garlic sauce has a strong, briny flavor that twenty-somethings love. Baked lumache, aggressively cheesy and well-browned, is a truffle cacio e pepe copycat of the spicy vodka pasta from Horses. It all seems borrowed from the temporarily closed Hollywood restaurant, which itself seemed inspired by the Spotted Pig. The sticky date cake, smaller than a now-defunct Sprinkles cupcake, makes for a satisfying, sweet finish. 8226 Sunset Boulevard, West Hollywood, CA 90046. — Matthew Kang, correspondent
For a group feast at a historic site: Grand Central Market in Downtown LA
There’s a short film floating around the internet that shows Grand Central Market in the 1960s. The black-and-white footage captures a moment in Downtown that now seems unreal, with vendors stocking up produce, packing fish on ice, and displaying meat for the public. Watch closely to catch familiar sights that still stand today, like the China Cafe, ceilings, and other fixtures. After numerous trips to Grand Central Market, often with a group, I now have my process down. First, we complete a lap to see what is good for the day, whether that be carnitas from Villa Moreliana, a heaping pile of fruit pouring out from a doughnut at Donut Man, Saritas Pupuseria, Fat + Flour’s densely enjoyable chocolate chess pie, La Huerta Candy, or the lemony fried chicken from Lucky Bird. Ask everyone to choose a favorite, find an empty seat and table to spread out the bounty, and enjoy it together while people watching at one of Los Angeles’s most beloved landmarks. 317 S. Broadway, Downtown, CA, 90013 — Mona Holmes, editor, Eater Southern California/Southwest