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 crusty Italian sandwiches in Los Feliz: Pino’s Sandwiches
Prosciutto sandwich from Pino’s Sandwiches. Rebecca Roland
Florentine export Pino’s Sandwiches has settled into the main stretch of Vermont in Los Feliz like it was always meant to be there. The all-day sandwich shop opened its first U.S. location in Los Feliz in August, bringing its crusty, schiacciata sandwiches stateside for the first time. The menu has something for everyone, from the prosciutto and stracciatella-topped Ganzo, to a simple Caprese with ripe tomatoes and pesto or garlic sauce. Wash down the sandwiches with an Italian Molecola, which tastes like an herbal, carbonated amaro. 1761 N. Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90027. — Rebecca Roland, deputy editor, Eater Southern California/Southwest
For an always festive dining experience from a celebrated chef: Anajak Thai in Sherman Oaks
Plate of fried chicken on a colorful tablecloth at Anajak Thai. Matthew Kang
Over the course of two months in 2025, Anajak Thai chef Justin Pichetrungsi shut down his popular Sherman Oaks restaurant to embark on an ambitious renovation. The restaurant first opened on Ventura Boulevard in 1981, though Pichetrungsi took over in 2019 after his father suffered from a stroke. Less than four years later, Pichetrungsi won a James Beard Award for transforming the traditional menu into one that keeps the team busy, especially during Thai Taco Tuesdays, when Pichetrungsi’s team prepares inventive Los Angeles–centric tacos. But there’s also that fried chicken, some of Los Angeles’s juiciest and crispiest, always best shared with a group. Tack on the stellar wine list, and Anajak is a destination that can house far more with its expansive and bright dining rooms. It’s also festive for holiday dinner party season. Just be prepared to revisit and refresh the reservations page, as Anajak’s tables fill up quickly. 14704 Ventura Boulevard, Sherman Oaks, CA, 91403. — Mona Holmes, editor, Eater Southern California/Southwest
For a modern and transportive Korean dinner: Hojokban in the Arts District
Hojokban’s salmon ssambap. Matthew Kang
After nearly a year of anticipation, New York–based modern Korean restaurant Hojokban has arrived in the Arts District just in time for the brisk winter evening air in Los Angeles. The operation comes in tandem with the splashy South Korean brand Cafe Knotted, which opened a few days later next door and should draw Instagram influencer types by day. Hojokban’s space conjures a dim, intimate Seoul hangout but with high ceilings and a generous layout that one wouldn’t find in the bustling Korean capital. That dash of industrial cool amid the orante traditional decor illustrates Hojokban’s approach to Korean cuisine: familiar but undeniably new. Parents and grandparents probably wouldn’t recognize a lot of the dishes, like fresh salmon ssambap topped with uni and caviar, but the setup still feels incredibly old-school and delectable. A trio of kimchi comes in small golden bowls, regal and elegant, each banchan properly fermented and piquant. Most tables will order the immense pre-sliced galbi, laid out along the beef bone and served with a dressed green lettuce salad. The golden brown truffle potato jeon looks like a dreamy latke, but whose ultra-crispy disc of carbs comes covered with bacon, Parmesan, and truffle aioli. The kitchen is still buttoning up a few seasonings and sauces, like an inert rosé curry sauce accompanying the pork katsu and the fried chicken that’s frankly coated in too much breading. Still, there’s a lot of promise here, especially if cool young Korean Americans can make it their new hangout, a hole left open when Yangban closed earlier this year. 734 E. Third Street, Los Angeles, CA 90013. — Matthew Kang, correspondent, Eater
For an impressive date-night spot: Loreto in Frogtown
Branzino from Loreto. Kat Thompson
I visited Loreto for the first time this week and during dinner began plotting my sophomore return. Loreto is, confoundingly, both understated and glamorous; the environment feels casual enough to sidle to the bar for a quick margarita and tostada but still romantic enough for date night when you feel like dressing up. The menu highlights, for me, include a bright scallop tostada dotted with bursts of passion fruit and kumquat; a seafood soup brimming with octopus and shrimp and topped with a square of flaky puff pastry from sister-bakery and Eater Award–winner Santa Canela; and butterflied whole branzino alongside quesadillas, black beans, avocado, habanero-kissed onions, rice, and vibrant salsas. Desserts by pastry chef Ellen Ramos should also not be skipped, especially the carajillo-inspired chocolate cake topped with a spherical scoop of earthy pecan ice cream. 1991 Blake Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90039. — Kat Thompson, audience editor, Eater Southern California/Southwest
For some of the Westside’s best new Thai food: Holy Basil in Santa Monica
Tom yum risotto with spiny lobster. Nicole Fellah
Holy Basil, the intrepid Thai restaurant from chef Deau Arpapornnopparat and his wife and business partner Joy Yuon, has made its way to Santa Monica, where perpetual Westsiders like me can finally get our fix within a four-mile radius. The opening Winter menu reads tightly but thoughtfully with a blend of some of the team’s greatest hits (like nam tok, a deftly rendered beef tataki starter, and makrut-spiked prawn aguachile) alongside new dishes. Among the best of the bunch: a towering, tangy ginger crab whose juices beg to be sopped up with steaming jasmine rice, snacks like delicate lhon with crab meat and buttery uni, and tom yum–influenced risotto that swims under morsels of spiny lobster (the latter dish is slightly on the saline side, so balance it by ordering the sweet, but not too sweet coconut-infused panna cotta for dessert after). 2828 Santa Monica Boulevard, Santa Monica, CA 90404. — Nicole Fellah, Eater editorial manager