Delicious Deals: More budget-friendly restaurants
- 1
Himalayan Cafe in Old Pasadena climbs to new heights with Nepalese cuisine.
- 2
Jun Y. Cha, an alum of Katana and other sushi havens, lets his imagination run wild at this only-in-L.A. fusion restaurant. The result is fantastic sashimi, modern Japanese cuisine and Asian American-inspired fast food.
- 3
The earthy, fragrant specialties of their native Afghanistan take center stage at the Shinwaris’ Gardena restaurant. The sign says ‘express,’ but stay awhile — this is food to linger over.
- 4
At the Taste of Chong Qing in San Gabriel, Sichuan fish, meat and vegetable dishes can be spicy and delicate, sometimes at the same time.
- 5
David Padilla and Maria Ramos bring decades of expertise to their barbacoa and moles.
- 6
Fresh produce, fish and expert seasoning by owner Jung Ye Jun make this eatery worth seeking out.
- 7
A new wave of Los Angeles-area cafes is brewing up more sophisticated flavors with a mix of methods. The result? A jolt to a coffee culture steeped in ho-hum tastes.
- 8
Breakfast gets a tasty Taiwanese spin in a diner-like setting.
- 9
Guillermo and Susana Giacobbe’s cross-cultural cuisine is satisfying for breakfast, lunch or dinner, and no visit is complete without a visit to their dessert case.
- 10
Mario Alberto and Jason Michaud’s walk-up in the Grand Central Market’s courtyard smartly feeds L.A.’s Peruvian appetite.
- 11
A 2-month-old cafe excels at safeeha, thin Syrian-style flatbreads loaded with savory toppings
- 12
Owner Kibum Sung specializes in stuffed pretzels, while Tommy Kim handles the coffee.
- 13
It’s southern Indian, so mainly vegetarian, but there’s some meat with the heat too.
- 14
The flavors of New Delhi come alive in a small restaurant tucked away in an ethnic grocery store in Buena Park, where the owner-chef prides himself on from-scratch recipes and freshly prepared dishes.
- 15
You will never look at a falafel the same way again after dining at this nondescript Israeli spot in West Los Angeles.
- 16
At the chef’s eponymous restaurant in Westminster, Chinese influence colors the lightness and clarity of Vietnamese food.
- 17
Bez Compani has studied the art of pizza-making in Naples, and it shows at his new restaurant on Hollywood Boulevard, where the Neapolitan-style pizzas will amaze and satisfy.
- 18
The L.A. satellite of a Seoul restaurant specializes in jokbal, or braised pork foot.
- 19
With dishes such as arroz con pollo and mofongo, this tiny takeout place offers the soulful specialties of the Caribbean. Order and enjoy at home — it’s takeout only.
- 20
This West L.A. restaurant is drawing attention for its spit-roasted meats, deftly prepared the Israeli way. The secret? A saucy marinade.
- 21
A wave of restaurants, including some in central L.A. and in the San Fernando Valley, is offering delicious regional dishes.
- 22
Jasmine Mediterranean continues a century-old family business of delicious Syrian dishes made lovingly from family recipes. The Anaheim location is a bit isolated, but the atmosphere inside is warm and bright.
- 23
Authentic Belizean tamales highlight the menu at the cafe, which has opened after a long revamping. A small, polished restaurant rises.
- 24
It takes a tenacious investigation to find the hidden Thai delights at this surprising place.
- 25
The Tustin eatery specializes in Okinawan cuisine, in which pork is king.
- 26
Chef Greg Daniels and his partners bring tastes of the world to tacos at Taco Asylum in Orange County.
- 27
The Find: Homey stews and braises are made into tacos or tamales at this new location from Ricardo Diaz of Cook’s Tortas.
- 28
Ever crave liquid pork? Try the exceptional tonkotsu (a broth in which pig bones have simmered). There’s tsukemen too.
- 29
The San Gabriel restaurant’s Hainan chicken and its curry are noteworthy, and a rice noodle dish may reel in the most repeat customers of all.
- 30
The new Afghan restaurant is in a modest-sized space but has big aspirations with its broad range of dishes. And its chutney is addictive.
- 31
At the heart of every meal is warm sangak, a sesame-encrusted flatbread fresh out of the restaurant’s huge oven.
- 32
Order savory meat-and-rice dishes off the secret Kalimantan menu and be transported to Indonesia.
- 33
The Orange County restaurants make manakeesh — herb- and meat-topped flatbreads — and other eastern Mediterranean dishes accessible to the masses.
- 34
A food item often hawked by theme park vendors is elevated to a new level at this small Westside cafe. Its organic-leaning menu is worth sampling too.
- 35
Beijing Pie House serves a dozen meat- and vegetable-filled pies, called xian bing, as well as savory pancakes, noodle soups and other northern Chinese specialties.
- 36
Cafecito Organico founder Angel Orozco and his eager baristas use organic, single-origin beans and exacting brewing methods.
- 37
Antojitos Latinos’ owner has added a full-scale restaurant down the street in Van Nuys, where fans can savor sancochos and other Colombian comfort foods.
- 38
Bruxie sets up shop in Old Towne Orange with Brussels-style Belgian waffle sandwiches for those with a savory or sweet tooth.
- 39
Koreatown eatery specializes in the rustic, spice-laden soupy stew based on slowly cooked pork spine bones.
- 40
The Pico-Robertson eatery serves a wide variety of kosher hot dogs and cured meats. Highlights include a spicy boerewors sausage and an old-fashioned pastrami sandwich special.
- 41
The Peruvian restaurant livens up an old KFC space in Long Beach. And yes, you can get lomo saltado, parihuela and seco deo cordero from the drive-through.
- 42
The Westminster restaurant’s chefs bring together two distinct Southeast Asian cuisines: Thai and Laotian.
- 43
The restaurant’s Uighur cuisine is a mesh of Chinese elements and Central Asian nomad cooking. Mutton kebabs and a Xinjiang meatloaf sandwich are among the highlights.
- 44
Workers at the West Hollywood ice cream store blend, freeze, chop and pound out each order while you watch.
- 45
The 4-month-old restaurant’s spring rolls compare favorably to Brodard’s. The difference is in the details, including the dipping sauce that takes six hours to prepare.
- 46
The main restaurant sets itself apart with the seasonings in its traditional Pakistani dishes. The nearby fast-food offshoot is a halal gastropub for the younger crowd.
- 47
The Woodland Hills outpost reflects the owner’s love of regional delicacies and her uncommon skill with vegetables.
- 48
San Gabriel’s organic eatery has steadily gained fans with its meticulously prepared Vietnamese-Chinese favorites as well as other specialties.
- 49
The newest soondae restaurants in L.A.’s Koreatown add Korean blood sausage to stews, soups, appetizer platters.
- 50
Chef Rocio Camacho, who made her mark at Moles La Tia, is focusing on pre-Columbian cuisine.
- 51
The Gardena eatery uses the most modest of ingredients to make its savory noodle soups.
- 52
Classic Javanese cooking is the specialty at this Indonesian restaurant in West Covina.
- 53
The tiny Inglewood restaurant may serve the L.A. area’s best goat dishes. The jerk chicken, oxtails and red snapper are also perfectly seasoned and cooked.
- 54
Northern and southern Thai dishes provide a burst of flavor in this Northridge restaurant.
- 55
Breakfast is especially good at the French-Vietnamese restaurant named for the host of a Vietnamese cooking show on the Saigon Broadcasting Television Network.
- 56
At El Bolivar in Chatsworth, family recipes and meticulous preparation result in refined, subtle Colombian dishes.
- 57
The Taiwanese chain finds a following with its sweet and savory Asian pastries and breads, and high-end coffee.
- 58
Chef-owner Tony Hyde adds his own inventive twists to Caribbean-style cooking.
- 59
Abu Ahmad’s 5-year-old restaurant explores the underserved regional recipes of Palestine, Jordan, Syria and elsewhere.
- 60
Dumplings, ge da noodles: Here, it’s all about the dough.
- 61
A cuisine with a long history bursts with bold, well-calibrated flavors.
- 62
Antonio Pellini’s restaurant in Gardena is not just about pizza and pasta but about performance.
- 63
Shera Allen takes from-scratch Malaysian home cooking to a refined new level in West Hollywood.
- 64
The specialty of NoHo eatery is mofongo, a mash of fried plantains, garlic and pork or chicken cracklings.
- 65
A queue of naked noodles waits to be dressed with delicate daikon sprouts, quivering poached eggs and oil-slicked strips of blackened bell pepper.
- 66
From the kitchen of this Bellflower restaurant comes home cooking, Dominican style: mangu, sancocho and chivo guisado.
- 67
This homey diner set amid San Pedro’s bustling downtown district brings an Australian flair to simple fare.
- 68
Soups, handmade noodles and Mom’s daikon recipe make Mapo restaurant a standout.
- 69
The North Hills restaurant turns out flawless dishes in an old hacienda setting.
- 70
Brazilian cuisine that’s focused on seafood rather than beef comes to Channel Islands Harbor.
- 71
The Lake Forest eatery, now with a second location in Irvine, expertly prepares Persian classics.
- 72
When you inhale the aroma of a rich, spicy crawfish étouffée at Bayou Grille on South La Brea, you’re following the scent of Louisiana’s Creole culinary past.
- 73
Subtle textures are the rule here. It’s no wonder Vietnamese locals keep going back, even with an hour-long lunch wait.
- 74
Yu Garden brings a lighter, but still authentic, style to a complex cuisine. And vegetarians can rejoice.
- 75
The Slaw Dogs is re-imagining the humble hot dog with offerings such as a chicken Caesar salad dog, a Thai slaw dog and a Oaxacan dog.
- 76
Don’t let the name fool you: This is Filipino food the way mom makes it. You like pork dishes? Welcome to hog heaven.
- 77
Liuzhou meets Harbin in a happy marriage of regional Chinese flavors.
- 78
You’re almost one of the family at this Lebanese restaurant serving scratch meals.
- 79
This restaurant’s tart-sweet mam nem sauce distinguishes its Saigon-style dinner.
- 80
Delicate handling of pani puri leads to some tasty rewards at Samosa House East in Culver City.
- 81
The emphasis is on Hong Kong-style comfort food and classic favorites, but this darkly handsome eatery also has dishes to some challenge San Gabriel Valley outposts.
- 82
The bake shop inside Kusina restaurant in Los Angeles represents a cream-filled tradition and a multi-generational history.
- 83
Las Delicias, a spot for local Ticos, brings the country’s traditional cuisine to the Southland.
- 84
Executive chef Hiro Miura brings Japan’s kushiage method (think delicate flavors rolled in panko crumbs) to Torrance.
- 85
The all-vegetarian restaurant focuses on the flavors of Mumbai, India’s largest city.
- 86
The owner of the now-closed Michelia is back with a simple yet excellent pho menu and entrees and salads with a fresh and contemporary snap that speak to the chef’s days in Vietnam.
- 87
The restaurant (there’s another location in Inglewood) puts a welcoming, homemade spin on Nigeria’s regional cuisine.
- 88
The restaurant serves up an intoxicating dose of Korean funk, soul and stew.
- 89
The multi-course seafood dinners are grilled at the guests’ tables.
- 90
The Little Saigon restaurant serves family classics in a small but modern space.
- 91
In Inglewood, Mutiara’s Islamic Burmese menu offers a deeply flavored mélange.
- 92
Chef Jonathan Darakjian, whose mother’s family owns renowned Al Mayass in Beirut, offers lightened-up versions of traditional dishes.
- 93
The Thai noodle shop offers a mix of traditional and trendy dishes, plus a surprisingly delicious lineup of desserts.
- 94
Amalia Zuleta’s elegant refinements turn the rustic dishes of Guatemala into an urbane cuisine that’s a magnet for her longtime devotees.
- 95
The Los Angeles eatery’s cheese steak is in gooey fine form, and its other no-frills sandwiches will melt in your mouth.
- 96
The menu at Rio Brazil Café seems a relic of restaurant protocol, a vestigial document that exists only to fulfill standard expectations.
- 97
Pastries, cakes and rolls? Not at this Burbank bakery. Instead, it’s all about the khachapuri, burek and other Lebanese-style seasoned and stuffed breads.
- 98
The Islamic Indian restaurant offers up intensely flavored goat curries, vindaloo seekh kebab and more.
- 99
The restaurant opens a new, more spacious eatery on Beach Boulevard with all of the flavor of good Vietnamese cooking but none of meat.
- 100
Afghanistan is mired in poverty. But its cuisine is rich and complex.
- 101
The menu includes rich noodle soups, crispy, juice-filled beef pancakes and more Beijing specialties.
- 102
Hold the butter and syrup, please. Here, it’s all about baozi, scallion cakes and other griddle-baked specialties of northern China.
- 103
Innovative Japanese chef Shigetoshi Nakamura takes a fresh approach to noodle soup in Torrance.
- 104
The rustic Valley Village cafe serves up an array of multinational ethnic specialties in a relaxed, convivial setting.
- 105
At Long Beach ‘shack,’ the Southern-fried seafood is finger-licking good.
- 106
Familiar Mexican dishes happily coexist with the hearty cuisine of Bolivia at the Tustin restaurant.
- 107
No ticket needed. Just take a seat as three chefs from around the Caribbean prepare distinct dishes.
- 108
Local restaurants, each with its own style and flavors, are tucked away across L.A. Two newcomers stand out.
- 109
The menu changes daily at homey, tucked-away Priyani, but the food is uniformly exciting.
- 110
Java Spice’s owners were born on different islands with distinct appetites for spice, so the burn level at the Rowland Heights cafe is a compromise. The signature dish features chicken, beef and more.
- 111
Follow the aromas -- and the crowds -- to two shipudiot, or skewer houses, along Ventura. The lure? Kebabs, a dazzling assortment of Israeli salads and dips and oven-fresh flatbread.
- 112
The Orange County restaurant serves fare similar to India and Indonesia yet wholly its own.
- 113
The two San Gabriel Valley restaurants are leading a neighborhood renaissance of fresh, house-made noodles.
- 114
At Xiang Wei Lou and other San Gabriel Valley Hunan restaurants, the emphasis is on hot pots, smoked foods and other rural specialties of the Chinese province.
- 115
The Salvadoran restaurant in east Hollywood dishes up the sweet tastes of home -- chilates, sopa de res and heavenly plantain empanadas.
- 116
At the Monterey Park restaurant, chef Joseph Li layers on the comfort with his spin on the peasant cooking of Hong Kong’s New Territories. Among the specialties: a classic poon choi feast.
- 117
The tiny Van Nuys restaurant’s cemitas are a wonder to behold. In true Dagwood fashion, the sandwiches are piled high with a delectable assortment of fillings.
- 118
The Moroccan spot offers traditional, delicious dishes and a warm atmosphere.
- 119
The modern flavor combinations found in chef Rocio Camacho’s 15-plus moles are inspired by a taste of old Oaxaca.
- 120
The city sophisticate near Little Saigon ventures beyond the realm of the traditional with its intriguing spin on Vietnamese cooking.
- 121
Restaurant offers a rare glimpse at southern regional Japanese cooking.
- 122
The Santa Ana eatery serves up cochinita pibil, a Yucatecan dish, and other commendable fare.
- 123
With its well-executed northern Indian dishes, Copper Chimney is a standout in the San Fernando Valley.
- 124
The Beachcomber is small but big-hearted, with friendly service, amazing views and food like Mama would’ve made if she’d cooked for a movie star.
- 125
Chef Juana Paz cooks up pristine seafood dishes and other powerfully flavored Peruvian favorites.
- 126
The Orange County restaurant takes you on a Puerto Rico trip with thoroughly satisfying comfort food.
- 127
The ‘Thai-inspired’ restaurant’s comfortable space makes it a treat to settle in and enjoy twists on favorite dishes.
- 128
A new Cambodian restaurant combines traditional cooking with improvisation.
- 129
Chef-owner Kash Brouillet brings quality ingredients and personal finesse to his diner-style menu.
- 130
Plenty of L.A. cafe owners have realized that ethnic food can have enhanced crossover appeal if healthful characteristics of the cuisine are emphasized.
- 131
At the Palms restaurant, dishes are prepared with a light touch and the tantalizing flavors of a higher ground.
- 132
The new branch of a favorite Ecuadorean-Italian spot is a handsome home for stylish cooking.
- 133
Is this Reseda or Istanbul? With all the beautifully conceived Turkish delicacies, it’s hard to tell.
- 134
The Ventura restaurant has a sense of occasion to match its smart and appealing menu. Who needs meat anyway?
- 135
A go-to spot grows in Playa del Rey. It’s a little-by-little transformation in a ‘landmark’ location.
- 136
Varied menus and festive settings combine the contemporary and the traditional at two Southland spots.
- 137
The Culver City restaurant’s spice-rubbed meats stand out. And don’t miss the tri-tip chili.
- 138
The popular dumpling house in Arcadia branches out.
- 139
What’s hot in L.A.’s fashion district? Moroccan matboukha and harissa-spiked Tunisian sandwiches.
- 140
Pavich’s makes pies of many flavors but only one size: huge. Eating light? Maybe have a calzone.
- 141
A treat for fans of slow-smoked barbecue and well-made sides.
- 142
Authentic smoked sausages, stews and other meaty European comfort food find a home in North Hollywood.
- 143
Mariscos Chente brings the flavors of two coastal Mexican states to the table along with the shrimp.
- 144
Meat skewers dominate at this small Chinese-Korean eatery where you can grill it yourself (and still order dishes prepared in the kitchen).
- 145
The lively Northridge restaurant pays homage to Argentina with a freewheeling menu and grill-your-own feasts.
- 146
With 375 tequilas and dishes from a variety of regions, this cocina is a Valley contender.
- 147
It’s on the proletariat side of fancy, and its charms are many.
- 148
This comfy Highland Park newcomer finesses those dishes that taste so good with a cold draft beer.
- 149
As in Afghanistan, cultures intersect on this Northridge spot’s menu. It’s a spread fit for a family.
- 150
On Ventura Boulevard’s raucous sushi row, the elegant pub-style cafe is a welcome change in Studio City.
