I've always wanted to make a list and I've finally found an excuse to write one. The following fifteen restaurants are some of the best restaurants in LA.
MEXICAN
1) Chichen Itza. 3655 S Grand (37th and Grand) South LA/USC Area
This food doesn't **** around. Instead of fish tacos, they have shark tacos. Instead of jalapenos, they use exclusively habaneros. The food is quite affordable, very good and offers unusual dishes. The restaurant is hidden inside a small mall which houses a Oaxacalifornia restaurant among other things. The mall is called Mercado Paloma I think and is next to the DMV.
2) La Cabanita, 3447 N Verdugo Rd, Glendale
This restaurant also offers authentic and unusual dishes, although they are slightly more pricey than average. This restaurant has pozole and nopal (cactus) tacos.
3) Cactus Taco, 950 Vine St Hollywood
Cactus taco does not serve cactus tacos, but is still better than average and is open until 4 AM. What makes this place really special is that it attracts the weirdest people in LA, if not the world, on a daily basis. This includes the man who acts like a cartoon character and rubs his hands together saying 'mmmmm' while staring at the condiments bar. Then there is the guy who cuts in front of you in line and asks for a landline angrily. The weirdness usually borders on sketchy so you should probably go in a large group, even though the restaurant isn't even in a bad area. Free radishes.
4) Taqueria Chihuahua 1909 Lincoln Blvd, Santa Monica/Venice Area
This place serves really good and affordable average tacos. They have good jamaica juice as well.
5) Tacos Baja Ensenada 5385 Whittier Blvd East LA
This place serves some of the best seafood tacos in LA. They have cahuamante, a dish which is supposed to be made out of sea turtles, but since that is illegal, it is made with stingray. Good prices and good, unusual dishes.
FRENCH
6) Cafe Beaujolais 1712 Colorado Blvd Eagle Rock
This place serves escargot. I only know of three French restaurants in LA so there is not much competition. The other in Silver Lake is called Taix but isn't really French. The third pretentious place is located in Las Feliz has overpriced and not very good food. The waiter routinely attempted to one-up my pronunciations of things until I stopped going there.
KOREAN
7) Ka San Korean BBQ Inc 3115 Foothill Blvd La Crescenta
There are very many very good Korean BBQ places in LA, but this one is good too. It is also in the middle of nowhere, which is particularly good when you also happen to be in the same middle of nowhere. It is definitely the best in La Crescenta.
CHINESE
8) Ocean Seafood Restaurant 747 N Broadway, Chinatown. Dim Sum
This is some of the best seafood dim sum authentic Chinese food in LA. The waiters bring food on trays which you can choose if you like. Lots of very good dumplings.
THAI
9) Kinaree Thai 1253 La Brea Hollywood area
This place is very good. There is a restaurant a little bit south of it which has four times as many reviews and a perfect rating but I haven't been there.
VIETNAMESE
10) Pho Saigon 3831 W 6th Street Korea Town
This place is affordable, open past midnight and has good food. Like the Thai restaurant there is another much more popular restaurant a few blocks east with even better reviews, but I haven't been there.
JAPANESE
11) Mishima 8474 W 3rd St
This restaurant offers curry's, stews and rolls. The service is very good, the food is good and it is very well priced. One of the best restaurants overall in Los Angeles.
12) Asahi Ramen 2027 Sawtelle Blvd West LA
This restaurant serves real ramen (a noodle meal adopted by the Japanese during WW2 from China). Supposedly it is good to eat when you drink because of some nutrients or chemicals in it.
13) Izaka-ya (8420 W 3rd St) , Katsu-ya (11680 Ventura Blvd)
These restaurants are really popular. The second one is so popular that I've never been inside. I've never waited the hour and a half it takes to get in without eating somewhere else. The first one is popular too and I've actually been able to find a table there. I know that it is popular because the 35 year old woman who is always in the same place as I am is there. Let me explain: I probably go out to a bar or restaurant once a week or once every two weeks. However 75% this woman is there too. Given the size of LA this woman is either stalking me or goes out every single night to multiple places. I have reasons to believe the latter is true, however these reasons are not very polite to discuss.
INDIAN
14) Electric Karma 8222 W. 3rd St
This restaurant has a cool atmosphere and good food. Best of all is the extremely angry waiter. My girlfriend once asked for mango chutney and the man turned bright red and shouted "WE DO NOT HAVE MANGO CHUTNEY!!!!' This is truly exceptional service.
15) India's Tandoori 5468 Wilshire Blvd (Miracle Mile)
This restaurant has a good buffet, good prices, and very genuinely nice service.
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