Best places to eat in LA or OC? Los Angeles and Orange County has become a haven for foodies in the recent years. It’s adding to its diverse array of arts, culture and landmarks.
Southern California is a melting pot of different ethnicity. It’s a diverse city where people can get a bowl of pho then walk next door for some tacos. There are pockets neighborhoods or districts with an abundant choices of things to eat from West Los Angeles to East Los Angeles and North Hollywood to Orange County.
The choices are endless in these two counties — Orange County and Los Angeles. There are the established districts then the new fat kids on the block. I’ve grown up in Southern California all my life; I’ve lived in Riverside, San Diego, Orange County and West Los Angeles. I’m a “true” Southern Californian. Let’s get moving on the best places to eat in LA or OC.
With all that said, here our list of best places to eat in LA or OC: Best Restaurants In Los Angeles Los Angeles
- Little Saigon – Little Saigon is home to the largest Vietnamese population in the United States. The area is slowly catching up to Los Angeles’ K-Town in terms of land that it occupies. Little Saigon has the largest choice of Vietnamese restaurants in Southern California. The food is said to be better than Vietnamese food in Vietnam. It’s a bold statement but it’s hard not to compare with the large Vietnamese population.
Little Saigon - Koreatown – This list would not be complete without K-Town. The district is massive in terms of space and the Koreans make use of every inch. The district is filled with an abundant options of traditional Korean cuisines and it has a growing hipster scene. Anthony Bourdain has fallen in love with the area and it has become a regular destination on his show. Koreans have said that the food in K-Town is on par with the food in South Korea. Maybe even better. I’ve been to Seoul and it’s definitely on par.
- Silver Lake – The hipster area of Los Angeles. Silver Lake is known for its striving artist community and its growing culinary scene. The city is the destination for new restaurants trying to establish itself. It’s home to some of the best restaurants in Los Angeles and it’s all centrally located on Sunset Blvd.
- West Los Angeles – West LA consist of Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, Culver City, Santa Monica, and Westwood. It’s home to the majority of Los Angeles’ fine dining restaurants — Urasawa, Shunji, Melisse, Spago, Yazawa, CUT, Maude, Nozawa Bar, N/Naka and Craft. The area has a growing Japanese area called Little Osaka and it’s a strip slowly coming of age in terms of culinary options. Everyone goes to Tsujita for Tsukemen ramen. However, good luck finding parking in the area.
Yazawa Uni, Truffle and Beef Tartare - Downtown Los Angeles – Downtown Los Angeles is home to Grand Central Market. The market has a rich history with local vendors and it’s slowly getting gentrified due to the high demand. Little Tokyo is located in Downtown Los Angeles and it has a number of notable restaurants — Marugame Monzo, Daikokuya, and other yakitori restaurants. Within Central Downtown, there’s a lot of options like Sugarfish, Bestia, Factory Kitchen, Maccheroni Republic, and Faith & Flower. Let’s not forget Chinatown.
Meatballs - East LA – East Los Angeles is large in terms of space. It’s home to the original King Taco and probably the largest Hispanic population in Los Angeles. It also has a large Chinese community stretching from Monterey Park to Alhambra to Rosemead to Hacienda Heights. It has slowly taken over Chinatown in terms of the destination to get quality Chinese food in Los Angeles.
East LA - Santa Ana – Santa Ana has a large Hispanic population. It’s home to some of the best Mexican food outside of Los Angeles. In addition, Downtown Santa Ana has a growing hipster scene and it has become Orange County’s premier destination for food with the opening of 4th Street Market. Playground is leading the culinary scene in Downtown Los Angeles.
Playground’s Corn Bread - South Bay/Torrance – South Bay and Torrance has a large Japanese population. It’s all due to the Toyota offices in the area. It has overtaken Little Tokyo as the destination for quality Japanese restaurants. It’s very difficult to deny that it has some of the best yakitori restaurants in Los Angeles.
Let us know if we missed any best places to eat in LA or OC. We’ll add it to the list.
