As spring approaches, it’s time for a fresh crop of new Los Angeles restaurants to emerge. Openings are a welcome sight for Southern California, which has borne the brunt of the 2025 wildfires, the impact of ICE raids, plus the general economic slowdown due to tariffs, cost increases, and the 2023 writers’ and actors’ strikes. Yet, restaurant chefs and operators from the region and beyond continue to introduce their ideas in one of the 88 incorporated cities within Los Angeles County.
In the coming warmer months, Angelenos can look forward to a Venice location from a celebrated Indian gastropub, the return of a beloved Malibu eatery, and Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl taquero takes on a new space in Atwater Village. Here are the most anticipated restaurants opening in Los Angeles this spring.
Duke’s Malibu — Malibu
Projected opening: March 12
Major players: TS Restaurants
Though technically not a springtime opening, the return of Duke’s Malibu, one of the Pacific Coast’s longest-running restaurants, is a significant one. The beachside restaurant, which celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2026, was originally scheduled to reopen one month after the 2025 Palisades Fire, until a February rainstorm brought a massive flood with mudslides that later damaged furniture, ovens, refrigerators, and plumbing. The restaurant, named after legendary Hawaiian surfer Duke Kahanamoku, reopens on March 12.
Saag paneer at Badmaash in Downtown and Fairfax District. Badmaash
Badmaash Venice — Venice
Projected opening: Mid-March
Major players: Arjun and Nakul Mahendro
Celebrated modern Indian restaurant Badmaash will take over the former Yours Truly — and, later, Piccolo — space on Abbot Kinney in mid-March. Brothers Arjun and Nakul Mahendro and their father, Pawan, opened Badmaash in Downtown LA in 2013 after moving to Los Angeles from Toronto. They received near-universal acclaim for their polished, genre-bending dishes like chicken tikka poutine. In 2018, they expanded Badmaash to the Fairfax District. The new Badmaash will reflect a slight shift in sensibilities from the all-out carb-and-cheese fest on the original Downtown menu, with more of a focus on soups, vegetables, and steak.
Chicken tacos on blue corn tortillas with salsa, radishes and lime at Villa’s Tacos Grand Central Market in Los Angeles. Wonho Frank Lee
Villas Tacos — South Pasadena and Atwater Village
Projected openings: April and May
Major players: Victor Villa
After a stunning appearance in Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show, Victor Villa returned to his hometown to put finishing touches on locations four and five for Villas Tacos, with one in Hollywood slated for April, while South Pasadena’s will debut in May. Born as a pop-up in 2018, Villa opened the first Highland Park brick-and-mortar in 2023. Villas Tacos opened an outpost at Downtown’s Grand Central Market in 2024, followed by another Highland Park location with a seafood-focused menu in 2025.
A chic modern peach-colored casual restaurant in LA suburban Westlake Village’s Neighborly with boutique ingredients and some seating. Ashley Randall
Neighborly Brentwood — Brentwood
Projected opening: April 2
Major players: Gaby Dalkin, Mini Kabob’s Martirosyan Family, and Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson
In late 2024, Neighborly debuted at the Promenade at Westlake Village, where it sought to reimagine the food hall as a multi-menu offering under one unified operator and kitchen team. On April 2, the same team will open a second location in Brentwood inside the former Planta on San Vicente Boulevard. When it opens next month, visitors can expect Frank Pinello of Brooklyn’s Best Pizza Williamsburg to prepare pasta and Sicilian-style pies at Palermo Pizza Club, alongside Mediterranean specialist Gaby’s; Questlove’s gluten and seed-oil-free restaurant Mixtape; and Armenian kebab mainstay Mini Kabob.
Jacaranda chef Daniel Patterson. Jacaranda
Jacaranda — Hancock Park
Projected opening: Late April
Major players: Chef Daniel Patterson
Longtime chef Daniel Patterson will open his modern California restaurant, Jacaranda, with his wife, Sarah Lewitinn, in late April. Throughout 2025, the couple has been running a pop-up version of the restaurant, Jaca Social Club, from their Hancock Park home. The restaurant, which serves a seasonal tasting menu, will open across the street from Mozza in the former Koast space. Keith Corbin, who was initially part of the restaurant, is no longer involved.
Projected opening: April 14
Major players: Chef Luis Sierra and Acme Hospitality
Acme Hospitality, the restaurant group that primarily operates in and around Santa Barbara with the Lark, Loquita, and Helena Avenue Bakery, will open Picala in mid-April. Chef Luis Sierra will feature Spanish classics as well as fresh takes, such as Bilbao sausages with caramelized onions and sherry, and a suckling pig with an orange blossom chimichurri. Studio Unltd designed the sprawling space, which seats 135 in the main dining room, plus an additional 45 on the patio in the Cumulus District, where La Cienega and Fairfax Avenue converge.
A bagel on a plate layered with nova lox, crispy salmon skin, radish, pickled fennel, dill & beet cream cheese at Belle’s Delicatessen & Bar in Highland Park. Cathy Chaplin
Belle’s Bagels — Sierra Madre
Projected opening: Mid to late spring
Major players: Nick Schreiber and J.D. Rocchio
Highland Park’s day-to-night delicatessen will expand into Downtown Sierra Madre in mid to late spring 2026. Rocchio tells Eater that Belle’s Bagels Sierra Madre will be more daytime-focused with breakfast and lunch. They’re currently reworking the Something Healthy Cafe, which closed in January.