Los Angeles's dining scene continues to grow with a fresh wave of new restaurant openings, even as operators navigate significant challenges. The region's food businesses have faced impacts from the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, the 2023 Hollywood labor strikes, the 2025 Palisades and Eaton fires, and systemic slowdowns affecting the global food supply. Still, new spots, ranging from pop-ups making a permanent leap to established chefs opening new concepts, are arriving across the Southland.
In Topanga, B.J. Novak’s Chain, a former pop-up built around reinterpreting nostalgic fast-food and chain restaurants, has opened its first long-term residency at Topanga Social at Westfield Topanga. The residency features cooking from four chefs: Calvin Eng serves a Filet-o-Fish-inspired Cantonese fish sandwich, while Mason Hereford takes cues from Wendy’s with a spicy chicken version. Roy Choi offers a mall food court-inspired teriyaki chicken bowl, and Mei Lin channels Taco Bell with a mapo wagyu wrap filled, fittingly, with chile crisp queso.
Santa Monica welcomes Bower Surf Club, a new all-day spot for pastries, breakfast burritos, burgers, and cocktails. Opening at 7:30 a.m. daily, its breakfast menu includes coconut mochi pancakes and cheddar scallion biscuits. By 11 a.m., the mid-day menu offers easy, beachy dishes like fish tacos and a crispy-tofu-topped rice noodle salad. Breakfast is served at the counter, with full-service lunch (reservations recommended) outside the bar area.
Wagyu smash burger spot Burger She Wrote has expanded to Brentwood, marking its third Los Angeles location, joining existing spots in Fairfax and Sherman Oaks. The Brentwood menu mirrors its other locations, offering the signature Oklahoma burger with grilled onions smashed into the patty, alongside Impossible smash burgers and a more basic smash burger.
Mar Vista’s Venice Boulevard is now home to the first brick-and-mortar location for The Arepa Stand, a former pop-up. On the menu, diners can find arepas stuffed with various fillings, including cheese; braised beef, black bean puree, fried plantains, cotija cheese, and cilantro; and shredded chicken with pickled red onions and avocado sauce. The Arepa Stand operates from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., serving breakfast through late lunch.
At Westfield Century City, Rumi’s Kitchen has made its West Coast debut, two decades after chef Ali Mesghali first opened the influential Persian restaurant in Atlanta. Mesghali, who moved to Los Angeles from Esfahan, Iran, at 11 years old, brings dishes such as kibbeh nayyeh made with lamb and bulgur, an herb-heavy gormeh sabzi, and duck fesenjoon with pomegranate and walnuts. Kebabs include Chilean sea bass marinated in charred onion and saffron, and shish kebab made with wagyu zabuton.
The Brothers Sushi, which started with one location in Woodland Hills and now has more than three across Los Angeles, has opened a new spot in Beverly Hills. Diners can order a la carte or opt for the $160 omakase experience crafted by chef Moriyuki “Mori” Kanamaru, which offers inventive variations on classic nigiri and seasonal ingredients sourced from local farmers markets.
Chef Marcus Jernmark, known for Michelin-starred Lielle, has launched Marée, a more casual California-inflected bistro and wine bar situated just above Lielle. Opened on September 9, Marée’s menu blends French cooking with California’s seasonality. The dining room features clam-shaped pendant lights, wood cream-colored walls, and a green onyx marble bar. Offerings include truffled onion soup, escargot beignets inspired by a trip Jernmark took to Kyoto, and pastas like spaghetti vongole. Larger dishes include bouillabaisse and a hamburger split in half and bathed in a four-peppercorn au poivre sauce, which will be limited to 30 orders a day.
The Hart and the Hunter has returned to its original West Hollywood location at the corner of Hayworth and Melrose Avenues, now serving a daily brunch menu. The resurrected restaurant’s straightforward daytime menu includes a combination breakfast platter, smoked corned beef hash, and cinnamon French toast topped with berries, whipped cream, and candied walnuts. Savory options range from chicken pot pie in puff pastry to a braised beef melt.
On Fairfax, the team behind Community Goods has opened Thickman’s Tavern, a new sports bar in the former No Name space. The dimly-lit dining room offers plenty of television screens to catch games, along with a menu of upscale bar food. Diners can start with the signature Thiccie, a cheeseburger crowned with garlic mayonnaise and pickles, or choose from dishes like a 10-ounce bar steak and shrimp aguachile.
Koreatown has a new Korean fried chicken spot with Gamaro Fried Chicken, offering fried chicken rice bowls, double or triple fried chicken flights, and stacked fried chicken sandwiches. Sides like japchae and macaroni and cheese keep the menu versatile, as do glazing sauces such as hot chile, Mexican truffle, and classic soy garlic.
Also in Koreatown, Chinese dessert shop Makkee Dessert has expanded its offerings to Sixth Street. Popular items include the signature Tapioca Deluxe with red beans, taro balls, and tapioca pearls swimming in milk, and milk shaved ice topped with black sticky rice and mango.
Los Angeles continues to see a dynamic restaurant scene emerge, providing a range of new options for locals across its diverse neighborhoods.
