Just down the street from the colossal blue Scientology center (one of LA’s top locations for taking an ironic selfie) is Found Oyster, a delightful and perennially (pleasantly) crowded seafood restaurant inspired by clam shacks on the East Coast. Sip a crisp chilled natural wine and order anything from the raw bar menu (or better yet, a platter), the scallop tostada with a sweet touch of apple, and the silky lobster bisque roll.
Holbox, a mariscos stall in Mercado La Paloma, tops every list of LA’s restaurants, has for years, and it does because it more than deserves to. There is a line—but do not fear, it moves fast. In a city mobbed by a culture of queuing (to the people outside that one coffee shop in West Hollywood, I humbly ask you: why?), this is the one that is the most worth the inconvenience, and it moves fast anyway. I dream of the uni tostada, the shrimp aguachile, the smoked kanpachi taco with peanut chili oil. It’s a real “run, don’t walk” situation.
Horses is a revitalized old Hollywood hangout with stiff martinis, gorgeous dining rooms (the back room features playful neoclassical paintings by Kacper Abolik), and tasty, satisfying food. It’s bustling, fun, and feels more like a restaurant in New York or London than LA. The menu features hit after hit—the salads are uniformly worth ordering, the burger is one of the best in the city, and I love the smoked salmon lavash and Cornish hen with panzanella, served in a jus dotted with currants. The bartenders are excellent, serving those delicious, icy martinis with a host of other great cocktails (I like the Horses’ Buck, with vodka, guava, and allspice). Horses works for a night out and for the resulting hangover; their brunch, served only on Sundays, features smart, comforting dishes like oatmeal brûlée and boudin blanc with applesauce and a fried egg.
There’s so much delicious Thai food in LA, both in and out of Thai Town (Miya, in Altadena, survived the fires, and is very much worth supporting). But Jitlada has been a beloved go-to since the 1970s. The colorful restaurant boasts a massive menu of bright, herbaceous Southern Thai cuisine—it’s hard to go wrong, but you can’t miss the crispy morning glory salad, and I am partial to the clams in lemongrass broth and crying tiger beef. After dinner, pop into Bhan Kanom Thai for dessert (the adventurous can follow that with a walk to the legendary go-go bar Jumbo’s Clown Room).
Photo: Courtesy of Musso & Frank