Take Me Out (LA ed.)

Here are some date ideas (mostly restaurants I want to try or love) categorized by neighborhood:

* = reservation suggested

** = reservation required or formal dress code

Redondo Beach

  • Little French Bakery — Opens 7:00am
  • Tommy and Atticus (Bakery) — Opens 7:00am

DTLA / Arts District / Little Tokyo

Love

  • Bestia $$$ * (hard to find parking)
  • Grand Central Market

Want to Try

Lunch

  • AFURI ramen + dumplings
  • Smorgasburg (Sundays 10am–4pm) (hard to find parking)

Dinner

  • Camphor $$$ *
  • Lucky Mizu at Level 8 $$$ *

Drinks

  • Mrs. Fish (Closed Sundays & Mondays)
  • Golden Hour at Level 8 $$$ * (Closed Mondays & Tuesdays)

High Tea / Afternoon Tea

  • Chado Tea Room
  • The Biltmore Los Angeles $$$ * (Saturday 2–5pm, $124pp)
  • Dahlia at Proper’s * (Friday & Saturday 11–3pm, $60pp)

Activities:

  • Eighty Two Arcade (Closed Mondays, 5pm–2am)
  • Original L.A. Flower Market (Closed Sundays, 8am–12pm)

K-Town

Love

  • Park’s KBBQ
  • Bumsan Organic Milk Bar

Want to Try

  • Calic Bagel (breakfast) — Opens 7:00am
  • Kobawoo (lunch)
  • Magal BBQ *
  • Chosun Galbee *
  • Ahgassi Gopchang *

Culver City / Sawtelle

Love

  • Honey’s Kettle

Want to Try

Breakfast

  • Primo’s Donuts — Opens 6:00am
  • Artelice Patisserie — Opens 9:30am (Closed Mondays)
  • Sweet Lily Cafe (for coffee eclair) — Opens 8:00am

Lunch

  • Pasta Sisters

Dinner

  • Fat + Flour *

Dessert

  • Ginger’s Divine Ice Creams

Westwood / Century City / Brentwood / Beverly Hills / Bel Air

Love

  • La La Land Kind Cafe — Opens 7:00am
  • Monsieur Marcel
  • Eataly
  • Javier’s

Want to Try

Breakfast

  • République $$$ * — Opens 8:00am

Lunch

  • The Cheese Store of Beverly Hills (hard to find parking)
  • Larchmont Wine & Cheese (hard to find parking)

Dinner

  • A.O.C. (Brentwood) $$$ *
  • The Hideaway
  • Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura $$$$ **
  • Spago $$$$ *
  • LULU at Hammer Museum (Westwood) $$$ *
  • Funke $$$$ **
  • Dante Beverly Hills $$$ *
  • Violet Bistro $$$ *

SaMo / Venice / Marina Del Rey

Love

  • Layla Bagels — Opens 7:00am
  • Gjusta — Opens 7:00am
  • Tartine (even though their chai sucks) — Opens 7:30am
  • Heavy Handed
  • Ggiata
  • All’Antico Vinaio
  • Sugarfish
  • Elephante

Want to Try

Breakfast

  • Bread Head * — Opens 11:00am
  • Petit Grain Boulangerie — Opens 8:00am
  • Paderia Bakehouse — Opens 8:00am

Lunch

  • Hokey Pokey
  • Bun and Mi
  • Burgette

Dinner

  • Apple Pan
  • Coucou $$$ *
  • Sirena Restaurant $$$ *
  • Dan Modern Chinese $$$ *
  • Bar Monette $$$ *
  • Georgian Room $$$ *
  • Fia $$$ *
  • Pasjoli $$$ *
  • Baltaire $$$$ **
  • Capo $$$$ **

Dessert

  • Winston Pies

Activities:

  • Open Meditation Studio (Venice) *
  • Trapeze School *

Pacific Palisades / Malibu

Love

  • Nobu $$$$ **
  • Tra Di Noi Ristorante $$$ *

Want to Try

  • Lily’s Malibu (for breakfast burrito) — Opens 8:00am (hard to find parking)
  • Inn of The Seventh Ray $$$ *
  • Moonshadows $$$ *
  • Neptune’s Net (hard to find parking)
  • The Old Place $$$ *

Activity: Sandstone Peak Hiking Trail (hard to find parking)

Hollywood / WeHo

Love

  • Magnolia Bakery
  • Barton G.
  • Beauty & Essex
  • Tao
  • Yamashiro
  • Highlight Room
  • Good Times at Davey Wayne’s

Want to Try

Breakfast

  • Courage Bagels — Opens 7:00am (hard to find parking)

Lunch

  • Polo Lounge $$$$ **
  • Tail O’ The Pup

Dinner

  • Musso and Frank $$$ *
  • Dan Tana $$$ **
  • Petit Trois $$$ *
  • Mother Wolf $$$ **
  • The Benjamin Hollywood $$$ *
  • The Tower Bar $$$$ **
  • Delilah $$$$ ** — Opens 6:30pm
  • The Nice Guy $$$ **
  • Catch $$$ *

Brunch

  • Crustacean $$$ * — Brunch Sat–Sun, starts 11:00am

Drinks

  • Rideau Speakeasy $$$ ** — Opens 8:00pm

Silverlake / Griffith Park / Los Feliz / Atwater Village / Echo Park

Want to Try

  • Maury’s Bagels (for breakfast) in Silverlake — Opens 7:00am (hard to find parking)
  • Quarter Sheets Pizza in Echo Park (hard to find parking)
  • Spina in Atwater Village

Activities:

  • Griffith Observatory (I love the observatory even though parking is a pain)
  • Pedal boat in Echo Park Lake (hard to find parking)
  • Echo Park Time Travel Mart
  • Wine Tasting class at La Pharmacie du Vin in Silverlake $$$ *

Pasadena

Love

  • Entre Nous * (the steak tartare is excellent)

Want to Try

  • La Grande Orange Café *
  • Granville *
  • Afternoon Tea at The Rose Garden Tea Room $$$ *

Activities:

  • Rose Bowl Flea Market (hard to find parking)
  • Eaton Canyon Falls Hike (hard to find parking)