Majordōmo

When it comes to the east side of LA (DTLA aside), hotel options are pretty thin. Cara Hotel is everything a low-key East Hollywood hotel should be—elegantly earthy, minimalist yet warm, functional (the restaurant is fantastic), and comfortable. Located just below Griffith Park, Cara Hotel feels like a friend’s airy home, which is on point given “cara” is Gaelic for friend and the owners are Irish. Rooms come with elevated amenities like Harry Josh hairdryers, silky Frette sheets and robes, plus minibars filled with locally made snacks. The hotel bar is by the small courtyard (reflective) pool, shaded by pretty olive trees with a wine list heavy on French bottles from Chateau La Coste. Meanwhile, the on-site restaurant is a hit. Tuck into charcoal smoked roast chicken, heirloom carrots, and buttery colcannon (a mix of mashed potato, kale, and cabbage every Irish kid grew up eating).

Hotel Covell, which is named for author George Covell, is more like nine cool apartments—SMEG refrigerators, Chemex coffee makers, vintage record players, and hardwood floors. And the whole places oozes coolness. The coffee is fantastic and the crowd appreciates ironic eyewear. All the rooms are comfortable and inviting, but we have it on good authority that the Parisian atelier, with its views of the Griffith Observatory, will not disappoint.

Instead of rushing madly through every zip code of a sprawling city, why not cozy up into one especially pretty corner, live like one of those locals, and actually relax? The Silver Lake Pool & Inn hits all the right style notes when it comes to an intimate hotel oasis far from Hollywood’s tourist trail. Palisociety has renovated all fifty-four former motel rooms and communal spaces to reflect the mid-century modern (with bright accents) vibe of the neighborhood. The al fresco bar and restaurant sit adjacent to the rooftop pool (afternoon Aperol spritzes are encouraged), and the menu is all burrata, peppery pasta, and perfectly grilled steaks. Silver Lake’s little secret is its walkability: Go for a cocktail at Bar Stella, the best Thai outside Thailand at Night + Market Song, stellar shopping at Mohawk, and of course, a lap around the reservoir.

LA local Zach Pollack split his culinary education between Italy—he fell in love with Italian food while studying (architecture) abroad—and the west coast, eventually teaming up with Chef Steve Samson to open the Italian restaurant Sotto in LA. And then in 2014, Pollack opened his own: Alimento in Silver Lake, which serves outstanding pastas (including a most notable tortellini), good wine, and a chopped salad that GP loves. It is small—and busy—so make a reservation or go early/late to avoid a long wait.

The wood-fired pizza at this Atwater Village spot is on par with Pizzeria Mozza, Milo & Olive, and Bestia—which says a lot. It also has a late-night menu, which is kind of key if you're looking for a good option after a Dodgers game.

If there’s anything you must get when you come to Los Feliz, it’s the focaccia at All Time. Let’s put it this way: It’s loaded with burrata, roasted cherry tomatoes, and olive oil. It’s too good to miss, as is nearly everything you could order off the handwritten dinner menu (it changes frequently). But they know a great thing when they have it at All Time: You’ll always find the focaccia on the menu.

For a (garlicky, lemony) taste of Lisbon summer, go to Barra Santos and order tuna crudo, sardine toasties, and the house vinho. They don’t take reservations—you can order a glass of wine to the sidewalk while you wait.

=You’ve probably driven past this nondescript, redbrick building on a residential corner of Silver Lake a hundred times. The only thing that gives it away is a flashing arrow sign. Blair’s is the kind of neighborhood spot where the chef’s wife takes your order and the tables are taken up by locals. The menu is Italian-inspired, but you’d do well to scan it quickly and then just order the gnocchi. Also every meal here should end with the tiramisu. No need to reserve on weeknights—stroll in and take a seat at the dimly lit bar.

Botanica sits on a stretch of Silver Lake that feels like a real neighborhood (a rarity in LA). It’s both a restaurant and a market—pop in to re-up on local eggs, fruit, vegetables, and house-made specials like the Aleppo-Urfa butter and thick labneh. There are few prettier spots for a healthy breakfast of Mediterranean-inspired dishes, the freshest orange juice, and really good espresso. We go for the soft scramble (creamy soft-scrambled eggs with a side of lemony greens); the crunchy, garlicky bread; and the entire pastry case. (Bear in mind that portions are on the light side, so order with abandon.) Whether you're alone, with a friend, or coming with kids, the space is comfortable and inviting, with high ceilings and airy décor. Sit on the terrace out back and work your way through the biodynamic wine list (we’ve moved on to lunch now), and snack on one of the epic seasonal vegetable boards. The selection of wine and cookbooks is a godsend for last-minute gifts.

Everyone’s here for the duck carnitas. Order a few tacos to go or settle in with a cocktail.

How does a lawyer decide to open a raw fish bar? Well, you can ask Octavio Olivas himself if you get a seat inside his super tiny (no reservations) restaurant. The Ceviche Project was Olivas’s long-running pop-up—one of the best in the city—that he often took on the road to his native Mexico City, NYC, and other places. In 2019, he decided to make it permanent, but not much bigger. The sleek, intimate space on Hyperion Avenue is ideal to catch Olivas artfully arranging uni and shrimp ceviche every night of the week (except Monday and Tuesday).

Every neighborhood needs a good local pizza joint, and the latest offering from chef Zach Pollock of nearby Alimento is exactly that, Italian-American comfort food done really well. Cosa Buona occupies the space that was Pizza Buona since 1959, but with a significant upgrade. Chef Pollock and his team have modernized the space with a marble bar and plenty of dark tile. The booze list—heavy with French and Italian natural wines—is concise, and the mozzarella sticks are without question, the best in the city.

Scott Zwiezen, who was the chef at vegetarian LA restaurant Elf, opened Dune in early 2015, and it quickly became known for its excellent falafel. Dune is a casual joint—you order at the counter and then, if you can, grab a counter seat or a patio table outside. It serves hummus plates, salads, and sourdough toasts, as well as a pickled beets sandwich and a lamb one for carnivores. But again, the falafel sandwich is the real star of the show here.

Chef Brian Dunsmoor’s successor to Hatchet Hall stakes itself as a new classic for smoky, cast-iron Americana. Opt for a hearty lamb shoulder or heritage Kentucky ham. They also have an astounding wine list.

Local, sustainable, and fresh ingredients are the focus at this rustic-meets-modern spot. The roasted salmon is particularly excellent, though there are very few misses on Forage's constantly changing chalkboard menu.

From two Gjusta/Gjelina alums comes a neighborhood pizza joint that does exceptional pizzas, like—sausage and smoked mozzarella with rosemary—that you can watch being tossed in the open kitchen before they slide into the oven. Order at the counter, grab your plates and utensils, and don’t miss trying out the funkier pies that chef David Wilcox often throws on chalkboard menu (it changes often), like the feta, potato, and artichoke one.

Hippo, with its flowery murals decorated with cartoonish animals, is playfully unserious; it’s just as much about a good time as it is about good food. The house-made noodles are the real deal. Go with a group and catch up over crudo and something grill-fired, or take the kids after practice for spaghetti on the patio.

On the border of Los Feliz and Hollywood, this all-day, full-service restaurant comes from chefs Sarah Hymanson and Sara Kramer, who ran the kitchen at Glasserie in NYC before stealing Angelenos’ hearts with their vegetable-centric falafel joint, Madcapra, in Grand Central Market. Teaming up with Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo (of Animal, Jon & Vinny’s, and Son of a Gun fame), they’ve successfully brought their Middle Eastern/Californian cuisine to the East Side. Be sure to order the flaky bread with labneh, preserved lemon, and honey; za’atar squash tart; Persian cucumber salad with labneh and rose water; and squid with saffron, pine nuts, and cilantro, to name a few goop favorites.

You enter Lingua Franca through the bike path next to the LA river, which contributes to its relaxing neighborhood vibe. They serve a solid burger and fries, and they have a good selection of natural wine. But the real standout is dessert—try the walnut tart and cherry-misu. It’s a great spot to meet up with a few friends for a lively dinner and a round of drinks.

Housed in a Craftsman bungalow, Little Beast is a charming neighborhood restaurant opened in 2012 by wife and husband team Deborah Schwartz-Lowenthal and Chef Sean Lowenthal (Sean was previously the sous chef at Chateau Marmont). Little Beast's menu is a mix of small and large plates designed for sharing—seasonal, California-style fare like burrata and beet salad, steelhead trout crudo, roasted organic chicken breast, and charred flat iron steak. In addition to their homey dining room inside, they also have an outdoor patio decorated in strings of white lights. And it's known to be kid friendly—the restaurant is named after their son (affectionately, of course).

From the same people who started LA Cha Cha Chá in the Arts District, Loreto is a high-end seafood spot inspired by the bold, zingy flavors of the Baja peninsula. The space feels expansive, with a wide bar, several dining rooms, and a sandy patio. By day, they serve a separate lunch menu under the name Za Za Zá—still seafood-heavy, with agua frescas and micheladas to boot.

Chef Kris Yenbamroong may not have any formal culinary training, but no matter. He learned how to cook in Bangkok and in the kitchen of his parents' long-standing Thai mainstay in West Hollywood, Talésai, which is now the home of Night + Market's first iteration. The Silver Lake location mimics the feel of devouring an out-of-this-world Pad Thai down an alley in Bangkok. The tables are low-slung and always crowded (this place is loud), the food is exquisite and (very) spicy, like grilled fatty pig collar and fried chicken wings bathed in rooster sauce. While the fried chicken sandwich is among LA's best, it's the thoughtful, all-natural wine list that draws us in over and over.

Like its sister restaurant Tsubaki, Ototo serves an iteration of Japanese pub grub. These are the snacks and bites you devour with beer and sake (if you’re looking for sushi and sashimi, look elsewhere). Once you start ordering and eating and ordering more, you just get it. Kara-age (Japanese sweet and sour fried chicken), potato salad with pickled carrots and ponzu, and miso-grilled eggplant is food made to be paired with cold, fizzy beer. Panko-crusted fried oysters and smoky daikon need the silkiness of unfiltered sake. Come on a Saturday night with a pack of friends as an excuse to order the whole menu.

In Silver Lake, locals line up well before first pitch to catch a table at Avish Naran’s James Beard Award-winning Indian sports bar. Naran and chef Miles Shorey have done away with the less desirable qualities of a sports bar situation—sticky floors and ranch dressing, begone—in favor of blonde wood and Indian twists on classic bar fare, like dosa onion rings and paneer pizzas. To skip the line, it’s well worth the small hassle of booking reservations, which release at midnight a week in advance.

What’s really special about this Taiwanese-Chinese food spot is that for the most part, the ingredients come from Chef Vivian Ku family’s Asian produce farm. The pared-down menu is pretty heavy on the noodles (the wanton noodle soup is hearty and delicious) as well as traditional small plates like potstickers and dumplings. They also make a mean three-cup chicken and serve it in an individual pot with lots of garlic and ginger. The space is small and cheerful, with cement walls, two-tops, and communal tables—these tend to fill up fast, but it’s a quick turnaround, so stick it out. The tea menu is really impressive, too, with several kinds of oolong and milk teas (boba optional).

Tsubaki co-owner Courtney Kaplan knows her sake. She'll come to your table and tell the story behind a variety's founder or the acidity of the soil in the region where it's from. Kaplan has spent a great deal of time in Japan (she's fluent in Japanese) and built her career as a sommelier of wine and sake in some of the top restaurants in NYC and LA (i.e., Bestia). Her love for craft sakes and shochu (a traditional distilled spirit of Japan) makes coming here an education in the first ten minutes. And then you start to order, and the food adds a layer of fun. Chef and co-owner Charles Namba pulls from his Japanese roots creating authentic dishes and adding a Californian flair. A few (of many) goop favorites: tofu salad with garlic soy vinaigrette, tomatoes with whipped tofu, sake-steamed Alaskan king crab with French seaweed butter.

Woon serves homestyle Chinese—the recipes are the founders’ mom’s—and has a solid sidewalk dining situation. Go on a Friday or Saturday, when they serve their pan-fried pork and veggie dumplings. Also notable: the wok-charred beef noodles and five spice chicken wings (which are crispy on the outside and perfectly tender and juicy on the inside).

Yang’s Kitchen is known for its brunch; prepare to wait at least fifteen minutes for a table on weekend mornings. But it’s well worth it for just about anything on their menu. Their breakfast plate may sound simple, but the hash browns are the best we’ve ever had. We also love their gluten-free cornmeal mochi pancake, which is worth sharing if you want to bump your meal into more decadent territory.

Judging by the droves of locals who come out to newly opened Bar Bandini on a nightly basis, the dimly lit, refreshingly underdesigned spot met a very obvious need for a chill—but just romantic enough—neighborhood watering hole. The owners earned their stripes working in the food industry in both NYC and LA and wanted to focus on all-natural and organic wines, which they source almost exclusively in-state and serve on tap (the craft beer selection is also worth exploring). It's all supported by a menu of bar snacks (the Sicilian olives are bomb) and small plates of cured meats and local cheeses.

There are many reasons to live on the Eastside, and easy access to Bar Stella is at the top of that list. This is (arguably) the best bar in the city. Sitting outside on a slow summer afternoon, sheltered by a canopy of bougainvillea, an Aperol spritz (easy on the Aperol, heavy on the spritz) on the table, is quickly becoming a quintessential LA activity. Inside, the scent of just-peeled citrus hits you hard, the white-jacketed mixologists are pros, almost-nonexistent lighting sets a seductive tone, and the walls are painted a pretty, mottled blush. Lounge on the low leather sofas drinking cocktails all afternoon. When evening hits, the volume turns up and the lights go even further down. The terrace outside—all wicker furniture and terra-cotta cushions—is straight off the French Riviera.

With walls lined in vintage cameras, keys, and other antiques, the old-fashioned vibe here is complemented by the service, which aims to guide you to your wine soul-mate.

Capri Club’s drinks are great, but it’s the frozen negroni machine we’re particularly fond of. Order one while you hover for a table, grab a snack of olives and almonds, and spend your night people watching—it’s a scene.

This place attracts a local crowd of stylish Echo Parkers with its woodsy/design-y interior, great music, and well-curated selection of beer and wine. It's a bit small, but we actually like that it's snug, while the location makes it ideal for a pre- or post-Echoplex drink.

Nestled on a hill on the Eastern fringes of Los Angeles, Good Housekeeping is the kind of local bar (hidden behind the excellent Café Birdie) down the main Figueroa drag you always wish you lived closer to. It’s impossibly cool. The tiny Pueblo-style outdoor sun-trap—all smooth terra-cotta walls, red tile, and cushioned seats to curl up in with that umpteenth glass of cold Chenin Blanc—is dreamy in the evening. The booze list is short and confident. The Nature Baby—a muddle of tequila, sage, orange bitters, ginger, and tonic—erases all memory of the traffic it may have taken to get here.

Our favorite new but not-so-new Eastside bar. Lowboy is actually one half of the former LA institution the Lost Knight. If you're familiar with the location, you'll likely have some nostalgia for its former occupant. But once you enter, you'll be happy to see the space's new life. Lowboy is everything you crave in a bar: It's moody and softly lit, it has cozy booths and a generous beer list, and the bartenders can whip up a perfectly tart Paloma or a breezy and sweet mai tai in less time than it will take you to decide on your bar snack. (The popcorn sprinkled with Old Bay is a real crowd-pleaser.)

LA's first new lesbian bar in a decade is a natural wine bar that spills into the parking lot when they hit capacity, which is most nights. By day, they serve a full lunch. It’s mostly diner food: loaded cheese fries, grilled chicken sandwiches, tuna melts. At night, you’ll see a lot of hot dogs and spritzes.

This camped-out tiki bar is a total LA classic that's been around for about 50 years. With only 12 stools and over 90 varieties of tropical drinks, it gets cozy in here pretty quickly. The location's a little random, but if you ever find yourself passing by it's totally worth a visit for some throwback fun.

The wine list here is great, and they make great finger food without reinventing the wheel—think cheese, charcuterie, olives, and chips with really good dip.

Zebulon was really having a moment a few years ago, and we still like it: They have a big patio, an upbeat vibe, and a separate space for their ticketed concerts.

This South Pasadena spot makes incredible French pastries—shiny globes of mousse, tiny tarts, and picture-perfect croissants.

This coffee place sits right where Franklin Village and Los Feliz collide, serving pour-over from single origin beans in a part of town that's slim on decent coffee bars. The staff are super knowledgeable, thanks to weekly in-house tastings and direct trade relationships with the coffee farmers. The space—all bare walls and exposed pipes—isn’t exactly cozy, but the excellent coffee and freshly baked sweet treats more than make up for it.

Clark Street started with a stall in Grand Central Market, and we’re glad they expanded to standalone bakeries. We like to stop in for a latte and a pastry, but don’t limit yourself: The heartier, eggy breakfasts and sandwiches are great, too.

Dinosaur distinguishes itself from a bounty of good coffee in the neighborhood with its design-minded space. Designed by MASS Architects, everything about it is well-considered, from the Scandinavian stools to the fin-shaped sculpture above the counter, which also displays the menu. The attention to detail also spills over into the coffee, which is fully up to Silver Lake hipster standards.

We love our almond milk lattes as much as the next person, but when we’re looking for a break—and not for coffee—Hey Hey is where we go for milk teas and boba. And the experience is more like one you’d have at a cocktail bar: The drinks are handcrafted by a barista who layers chewy tapioca balls with loose-leaf tea and other ingredients that are all made in-house, like almond pudding and sea salt cream. The space, which is meant to be like a modern tea room, is more like a lounge for locals, often serving drinks late into the evening.

Intelligentsia is really the quintessential hipster LA coffee shop—and we get why. Tables and bar seats are usually available at all the well-designed locations, and there's a smattering of great baked goods as well as some home goods for sale. At both the Venice and Silver Lake locations, the outlets are as abundant as the man buns. There's also an outpost in Pasadena.

LA has plenty of places that can keep caffeine cravings in check, but that doesn’t mean we weren’t psyched when Philly staple La Colombe finally made it west. It occupies what used to be Café Casbah at Sunset Junction, but the space has been completely reimagined. The café is bookended by two open-air areas: The back is sheltered and quiet for those looking to settle in for the long haul; the front overlooks the main drag and is filled with tree-trunk-like stools and tables perfect for people-watching. Breaking the LA trend of serving everything in some kind of ceramic, the coffee is served in porcelain cups and saucers. If you’re in a rush, the East Coast transplant has you covered: The fridge inside is packed with cold-press.

Berry shortcake, chocolate mocha, and of course, red velvet cake all beckon from the case here. The specialty is birthday cakes, though the cupcakes are pretty irresistible (and portable, too). They also offer vegan options. There's also a location in Pasadena.

Laveta is minimalist and meditatively austere. And it’s a great spot to grab a coffee and gab with a friend. (If you’re posting up with a laptop, you’ll be most comfortable outside on the patio.) And for such a small coffee shop, their food menu is impressive: The kimchi fried rice, mushroom porridge, and an assortment of toasts are some of our favorites, though the menu varies by season.

Magpies soft serve is made in house, and their flavors play on childhood favorites from around the world. There’s Fudgesicle and brownie batter, for example, but also corn almond, thai tea, and baklava. Wander in after dinner at Barbrix, or swing by en-route to a party; they make softserve pies great for gatherings.

Any given morning, you can expect the line for Maru to dribble down the block. The crowd skews creative, and the craft of coffee is taken seriously. They also make delicious tea drinks, including one of our favorite matcha lattes in the city. There's another location in the Arts District.

Situated in a storefront and marketplace on Silver Lake's bustling Sunset Blvd., Moon Juice kind of feels like a new-age pharmacy. There, you'll find tonics for every malady or desire (we swear the turmeric cup, with cayenne pepper, black pepper oil, and oil of oregano will kick any cold). All this cold-pressed goodness doesn't come cheap (the green shake will set you back $14), but it's all delicious and effective. The original shop is in Venice.

There are times when Proof feels like it belongs in a small town more than a big city, as the space it occupies has actually been a bakery for more than 60 years. Baker and owner Na Young Ma is in the kitchen every morning baking pastries, cakes, quiche, bread, and more in an oven that's been on site since the bakery's first iterations. While it's hard to go wrong with anything on her daily-changing menu, the croissants (served alongside Culver City-roasted Cognoscenti coffee) are an automatic favorite. At noon, pick up one of their sandwiches—served, of course, on bread baked fresh that very morning.

As much as we miss Saturday strolls around the incredibly serene, beautifully merchandised Psychic Wines, we’re over-the-moon that it delivers. Owner Quinn Kimsey-White applies a deeply personal approach to his store’s offering, sourcing each bottle from tiny vineyards helmed by creative, low-intervention winemakers. An order from Psychic Wines is the perfect opportunity to go rogue and try something completely new.

By day, this Echo Park hangout is a café where patrons curl up on leather sofas with books and laptops, sipping coffee and ordering salads packed with veggies and grains or comforting bowls of tomato soup with toasted sourdough. Once early evening hits, though, it transforms into a jam-packed bar and restaurant, where locals stop in for the popular happy hour and huge cocktail list.

Some of what's for sale here is so locally grown that it actually comes from people's backyards. Depending on the season, there are great gift stalls, including home-grown herbs and vintage jewelry. On Saturday mornings, go for the artisan coffee and a delicious crêpe

With its poured-concrete floors and rustic shelving, Glendale Boulevard’s Silver Lake Wine looks like a wine temple. And in many ways, it is. Bottles, stacked from floor to ceiling, cover every square foot with no real organizing principle (or at least not one that we could figure out), and that’s half the fun. That weird, random bottle you had at a friend’s wedding in Corsica last summer? They probably have it. Call ahead and ask for their top choices or have the knowledgeable staffers point you in the right direction. Order four or more bottles and delivery to several zip codes (check the site) is free.

Not everyone likes drip coffee, and a good espresso-based brew is not something to be taken for granted. Standing Egg, one of the new cafés in Silver Lake, gets it. The space is sparse—polished stone walls and floors with a few plants in the corners. The baristas are enthusiastic, always keen to make your coffee just as you like it (and like it we do). The gluten-free doughnuts are excellent, the complimentary water is always ice-cold, and the old-school record player in the corner plays the Rolling Stones at 7 a.m. daily.

Stories is Echo Park’s much-loved local bookstore, but what most people don’t realize is that behind all the books is a tiny café (and a good one, at that). We love escaping here for the quiet—the stacks and stacks of haphazardly arranged tomes soak up all the street noise. The tables are filled with other studious folks tapping away on computers or reading through screenplays, so there’s not much chatter. You can sit here for hours munching through the pastry selection without being disturbed.

So this is pretty great: Chef Peter Lemos and Lauren Lemos (they're married) named all their sandwiches after NPR correspondents. The Ira Glass, for example, is a veggie combo of avocado, sprouts, picked and raw onions, cucumber, and garlic aioli with cheddar cheese, served on wheat bread from LA bakery Bub and Grandma's. The Audie Cornish is ham and cheese with honey butter and cornichon vinaigrette served on a baguette, and the Kai Ryssdal is tuna on a sesame roll. They also serve a few salads and sides, as well as a special every Thursday.

Wine and Eggs is a favorite neighborhood shop for natural and organic wine, but within its lapis-tiled storefront you will find so much more. Pick out organic farmer’s market produce and fresh flowers and scope out their selection of pantry provisions, which tends to fall ahead of the curve. (This was one of the first places in LA to stock Fishwife’s famous tinned fish.)

Bar Keeper stocks only small batch liquors in a beautifully appointed storefront in Silver Lake. In addition to finding everything you might need to set up a top-notch bar (they're so good that they do drink set consulting for HBO's Mad Men and supply many of LA's finer cocktail bars like The Varnish), they have a staff mixologist that can come to your home and mix for you and your friends. The experience is meant to be hands-on, getting everyone involved in the process.

In addition to the delicious lattes, homemade sandwiches, and old-fashioned candies and trinkets, this general store stocks an equally excellent selection of homewares, including perfectly minimal white ceramic bowls, gardening tools, kitchen supplies, and more.

You’ll always find something cool here: original art, sculpted metal pitchers, funky ceramic vessels, and a curated selection of men’s clothing.

Founder Melissa Lovoy opened Lake in February 2007 in the heart of Silver Lake and filled this quietly low-key space with pieces that are modern, beautiful, and well made.

For the past eight years, Ling Chan has made this store a go-to for the coolest contemporary kids' fashion. But it doesn't stop at clothes. La La Ling also stock bedding, furnishings, hand-picked artwork for the nursery, and personalized gifts. With the help of their personal shopping service, they can help you put together a perfect baby shower gift.

This nursery specializes in California native plants, plus well-curated sculptures, chimes, and sun catchers for your garden.

We come here for great little gifts. They have twisty candles, nice soaps, fun hair clips, pretty stationary—the works.

The now classic Rose Bowl Flea attracts visitors from all over the world, so expect to compete with some serious shoppers. There’s a sprawling setup of antiques, housewares, and piles and piles of clothes to rummage through. Haggling is part of the deal. (And wear comfortable shoes.)

Skylight is the kind of independent bookstore that makes you wish Amazon never happened. They have a particularly deep selection of graphic novels, zines, hard-to-find quarterly's and journals, literary fiction, and art books. We love attending their author events.

Known for fun, colorful stationery and cards for every occasion, it's entirely possible to (happily) lose an afternoon at Shout and About browsing through every good on display. In addition to their stationery, the store has a selection of jewelry, plants, and other gifty items, making it an ideal one-stop shop for last minute birthday, housewarming, and just-because presents.

Susanne Hollis specializes in fine antiques from Asia, Europe and South America, in addition to more contemporary pieces from her own collection. From an 18th century Chinese desk from the Qing Dynasty to a 1930's Art Deco table, there's always an interesting piece for the home in here.

Whether you're in the market for kids furniture from Scandinavia, or a Pantone-themed mug, this long-standing boutique sources home goods and gifts for kids from all over the world.

The Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanical Gardens—The Arboretum for short—is one of those magical LA gems that feels worlds away from the craziness of the city, but takes under an hour to get to (unless you get caught in a freak traffic jam, so planning off-hours trips is best). Before you even step inside to explore the 127 acres-worth of lush, immaculately manicured grounds, you're likely to be greeted by a member of the resident peacock family, who much to the delight of visitors young and old, roam the property freely. It may seem like a lot of ground to cover at first, but the main sites—a tropical greenhouse, the famed rose garden (the fragrant, romantic Edward Huntsmen Trout-designed landscape makes for the perfect wedding ceremony site), herb garden, the allegedly haunted Queen Anne Cottage, and '50s-era library—are situated within strolling distance of each other. There's also a duck-filled lake, a packed events calendar, and several cafes on-site, meaning you can easily stay opening to closing.

Overlooking the Hollywood Hills and crowned by Frank Lloyd Wright's Hollyhock House, built in the early ‘20s for oil heiress Aline Barnsdall, this park draws locals and tourists alike for art classes, outdoor movies, and Friday afternoon wine tastings.

Echo Park isn't as celebrated as LA's larger parks, like Griffith Park or Runyon Canyon, but with excellent views of Downtown's skyline and a well-tended walking trail, it's a local favorite (you'll recognize it from the park's tall fountains, which are visible as you leave Downtown on the 101). For a kid-friendly afternoon adventure, rent a four-person pedal boat for the afternoon.

While there are a handful of Frank Lloyd Wrights in L.A., all but Hollyhock House are closed to the public. That shouldn’t deter you, though, as there are several “Textile Block” homes on the list, including Ennis House, which you’ll likely recognize from Bladerunner. The house is composed of ornately stamped blocks inspired by Mayan temples that are so stunning, you won’t care that you don’t get to go inside. Use the Barnsdall Foundation's convenient google map to track them all down.

An architectural survey of Los Angeles isn't complete without seeing the work of brothers Charles and Henry Greene who pioneered the Arts & Crafts movement in California. The Gamble House in Pasadena is a particularly outstanding specimen of their endemic architectural style, as Greene & Greene custom-designed every single joint and beam in this 1908 bungalow, from the remarkably crafted staircase to the stained glass doors in the entryway, to the furniture and even the textiles—all full of references to the local natural surroundings. There's a standard hour-long tour, though architecture buffs and carpentry aficionados will appreciate the longer, more intensive options, one of which is led by a woodworker.

Griffith Park is one of those spots where you think you’ll spend an hour and end up staying for the day. Complete with an observatory, a planetarium (there’s a live show every sixty to ninety minutes), loads of displays, and even more hiking (it sits on more than 3,000 acres, and offers fifty-three miles of trails), this draws a crowd from across the city. On weekends, it’s packed.

At 120 acres, almost every iteration of plant life is represented at this San Marino resource: Fortunately, it's broken out by themes. There's a Rose Garden, a Palm Garden, a Chinese Garden, a Japanese Garden, and so forth—but what really stands out is The Desert Garden, where you can see some 5,000 species of cacti and other succulents.

Richard Neutra built the “VDL Research House I” in the '30s as a live/work space where he proved, with sweeping windows, that spatial limitations need not constrict one’s lifestyle or budget. It’s a premier example of modern architecture in California and is under continual renovation by researchers at Cal Poly Pomona; these same architecture students give excellent tours on Saturdays from 11 to 3.

The Norton Simon Museum has the most impressive permanent collection in LA, including a great wing of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art. They also have a lovely sculpture garden with a couple of pieces by Rodin contemporary Aristide Maillol—it’s a nice place for a glass of wine between galleries.

This is the east side's most awesome yoga studio. They offer a variety of tailored classes based on nearly everything you could be looking for in a yoga session: "chill," "restore," "sculpt," "sweat," "baby & me," etc. They also offer even more customized, one-on-one private sessions, as well as on-site classes at businesses and universities around Los Angeles. One Down Dog's class packages can be used at both their Eagle Rock and Silver Lake location.

These aptly-named salons are pleasantly airy, modern and minimal, and give awesome Brazilian waxes. Their high-quality blue and cream wax, imported from France, is great for sensitive skin. They also offer eyebrow shaping and any wax you can imagine, from nostrils to stomach, for women and men alike.

As the name suggests, you'll find peace at Still, which offers great yoga classes at reasonable prices in Echo Park. The vibe is positive and calm, and classes are taught for all different levels.

It’s hot and dark, and it can get crowded—but honestly, the more the merrier. Thanks to a booming soundtrack of Drake and 2 Chainz and the only light coming from candles, you can neither hear or see other yogis. It sounds a bit corny, but we’re saying it anyway: Y7 makes exercise fun. The beats, the upbeat teachers hollering encouragement, the lack of forced-upon-you Zen mean that an hour flies by. Prepare for a serious sweat and stretch, with a side of convenience. Mats and towels are available for rent at the desk, the lockers are the combination kind, meaning you don’t need to come prepared with a lock, and there are several showers (as well as deodorant, face wipes, and hair ties to freshen up) on the premises.

This floral studio, helmed by creative consultant Alice Lam, puts together fabulous arrangements for private clients and local businesses.

Jennifer Pelletier is the creative mind behind the Meadow.LA, a floral design studio where arrangements and installations feel modern and gorgeously balanced, with elements that conjure up a bit of whimsy: Stems curl towards the sky, blooms poof outwards, and blossoms appear to drip down the side of the vase. Pelletier mostly works with businesses and brands, but she accepts private clients and does events, too.

In one of the more ambitious remodels in the city’s recent history, the Ace transformed the United Artists theater into a huge pull for locals and visitors alike. While downtown L.A. is undergoing a greater Renaissance, this 1920s institution is inarguably one of its crown jewels. Besides hotel rooms, there’s a coffee bar, and an Acne outpost just around the corner.

In a Frank Gehry building just across from the Walt Disney Concert Hall and steps from the Broad, the Conrad has: Sleek bedrooms with floor-to-ceiling windows, some of them overlooking the hotel’s pretty pool and the Grand complex. Two José Andrés restaurants, which both have stupendous service and several standout dishes, like San Laurel’s black Mission fig stracciatella salad and Basque-style cheesecake. And an outstanding spa that features an infrared sauna, Augustinus Bader facials, Gavin McLeod-Valentine–trained aestheticians, and harmonic therapy using binaural beats. It’s easily the best place to stay on Bunker Hill.

We’re longtime fans of the Proper hotels—and interior designer Kelly Wearstler’s worked some magic with this one again. The rooms, while mostly on the snug side, are gorgeously designed. There’s a rooftop pool with views of DTLA. And then there are the three excellent restaurants: Downstairs, James Beard Award-winning team of chef Suzanne Goin and restauranteur Caroline Styne run the Portuguese-inspired Caldo Verde. Dahlia is the speakeasy bar—it’s great for intimate nights out. And don’t skip the rooftop restaurant, Cara Cara, at sundown.

It took two years to restore this hotel to its 1926 glory, or what the hotel calls its “Spanish colonial splendor.” And it was worth it: Impressively grand common areas with soaring ceilings; hundreds of rooms, each classic and modern with a few artful touches thrown in; and an unusual (very cool) coffin-shaped pool surrounded by cacti. The hotel also makes an impressive showing of places to eat and drink: Veranda for Mexico City-inspired meals and Bar Figueroa for an old-Hollywood vibe. In fact, if you don’t stay here, it’s absolutely worth to at least stay the evening.

Hotel Per La is colorful and luxe without feeling too formal: The lofty lobby feels like verdant Italian garden; the rooms are chic and comfortable—some have standing tubs and courtyard patios. A rooftop with gorgeous views and a pool (and poolside bar, Bar Clara) make it the perfect downtown respite. Their ground-floor restaurant, Per L’Ora, serves excellent apertivos and agnolotti.

The Hoxton knows how to have a good time anywhere she goes, so we were thrilled when the hotel landed in the Los Angeles Railways Building in DTLA (after an epic renovation). One of the best things about the Hoxton’s approach to hospitality is that the hotel caters to people who just want to relax as well as bon vivants who just want to be bon vivants. Whether you post up in the lobby, which takes design cues from the building’s Beaux Arts roots, or at the mid-century-modern-meets-monstera-garden rooftop bar and pool, the whole place hums with energy. If you’re traveling alone (or even if you’re not), you’ll almost certainly make new friends here. Or at the very least, you’ll enjoy cocktails and conversation in one of the hotel’s two restaurants. Café Basque, the Hoxton’s lobby diner, has breakfast and an all-day menu to satisfy palates from hungover to health-conscious. Up on the roof, Cabra leans into a Mediterranean-inspired menu and ships out poolside snacks. Rooms come in four sizes—and the smaller ones are thoughtfully designed, so they don’t feel cramped or have those annoying shower doors that open the wrong way. If you’re looking for an event space that doesn’t feel like one, check out the Apartment, a five-room spread that can be rented out by the room or in its entirety.

Level is advertised as a luxury furnished apartment complex, which it is. But we've discovered it's also one of downtown LA's best secrets for a hotel stay. First off, it's immaculate. The design is modern, and the amenities are pristine—there's giant gym and a gorgeous rooftop pool with an area for screening movies. And second, we might actually be more inclined to stay here than at a traditional hotel. Each room has a full working kitchen, a washer and dryer, and a view that looks like the entire southern half of California. And it's located in walking distance of LA Live and some of downtown's best restaurants and bars.

Brothers Nakul and Arjun Mahendro enlisted the help of their classically trained chef dad Pawan Mahendro to open their Indian gastropub, Badmaash. The menu here is devoted to both traditional and reimagined Indian dishes: chili-cheese naan, Punjabi fish-fry, butter chicken, and chicken tikka poutine—an homage to the Mahendro’s Canadian roots.

Chefs Ori Menashe and Genevieve Gergis (both of Bestia fame, still, after all these years, a hard table to land) have opened Bavel. The duo’s roots span Israel, Morocco, Turkey, and Egypt, so the menu has a strong Middle Eastern bent. There’s the expected hummus, baba ghanoush, and assorted flatbreads, in addition to a Wagyu beef tagine and grilled lamb, finished in Menashe’s signature flavor-happy style—all meant to be shared. And because interiors can be just as much of a draw as the food, particularly downtown, where raw and industrial spaces prevail, Gergis tapped Studio UNLTD to collaborate on the light and bright décor (skylights, hanging planters, whitewashed brick walls, brass fixtures, and Moroccan tiles). Food photos: Nicole Franzen. Interior photos: DYLAN + JENI.

In an industrial-inflected, warehouse-like space in L.A.'s Arts District, you'll find Bestia, helmed by husband-and-wife duo, Ori Menashe and Genevieve Gergis. While the scope of the menu is ambitious (and innovative, as Ori hates to waste meat, meaning you'll find the occasional beef and lamb heart or chicken gizzard dotting the offerings), you should really go for the pizza: Ori gives his dough a good 24-hours to rise and fall before it heads into the wood-burning oven, and you can tell. A trip here requires Uber, as this place draws huge crowds—the bar is a fun place to wait, and the cocktails are delicious.

Brera Ristorante is almost hidden in a warehouse building in an industrial pocket of the Arts District—you need to know it’s there to find it. Angelo Auriana and Matteo Ferdinandi, who run this place, grew up in Italy’s Po Valley and, fittingly, serve no-nonsense, traditional Northern Italian trattoria food. Come hungry and order the beef carpaccio, drizzled in a grassy, green olive oil to start. The stinchetto—a big hunk of falling-off-the-bone pork shank on a bed of polenta—is ideal for three people to pull apart. Then the dumpling dishes: The capunsei are made with ricotta, the pisarelli with bread, and the gnocchi with potato. Oenophiles will appreciate the breadth of the wine list, full of the heavy-hitting Barolo and Amarone bottles alongside more unusual, small-production labels.

This natural wine bar, operated by the folks from Psychic Wines, is electric. The wine list is eclectic, the patrons even more so, and the dishes are simple but colorful and elegant. Every now and then, they turn the space into a nightclub for the evening—you can find details on their Instagram.

Cole’s is one of several spots in town claiming to serve the “original” French Dip sandwich, and though we can’t confirm or deny, we can say that their dip is bomb. Yeah, the dipping jus is flavorful and the prime rib tender, but it’s the Atomic mustard that pulls it all together. (Don’t forget garlic fries.) Post-dinner, proceed to the quirky little speakeasy in the back for an old fashioned.

There's something so comforting about a hot bowl of ramen on a cold day, and anytime there's even a hint of rain in Los Angeles, the lines at this Little Tokyo joint are out the door. What makes the ramen here stand out is the broth, which is cooked with pork bones for hours to achieve its thick, flavorful consistency. The portions are huge, so be prepared to take home leftovers. There's a second location on Sawtelle.

Across from Rossoblu is the latest from the Scopa Italian Roots team, this time a chic Latin-inspired venture with a lush, tropical feel. Everything is meticulously executed, from the vibe (gorgeous, open-air) to the food (whipped beans, spicy beef empanadas, and the corn—oh man, the corn with the queso fresco, cotija, and chili-lime salt). The drinks are in a category all their own; they’re inspired by vintage cocktails, so get into it. Order a daiquiri or piña colada at the bar.

De La Nonna is a great spot for group dinners. The focaccia-style pizzas are small; order a couple for the table. It’s a high-energy spot—if you’re feeling it, you might keep the party going at the Let’s Go! next door.

This is an offshoot of Chef Kazunori Nozawa's popular sushi restaurant, Sugarfish—and like Sugarfish, the emphasis is on the freshness and quality of the fish. But that's where the similarities end, as KazuNori is all about the hand rolls. They have two menus—one if you're ordering to go or eating on their patio, and another if you're sitting at the sushi bar.

In a city rife with delis, this is where you want to go for hot pastrami—the #19 is legendary. It’s also refreshingly simple: slow-smoked pastrami, Swiss cheese and slaw on fresh rye, and since the meat is so ridiculously juicy, you can easily skip the Russian dressing. The only setback is the skimpy opening hours (8am-4pm; closed Sundays), but coming right before closing and ordering to-go is a good workaround if you’re aiming for dinner.

Filipino spot Lasita has a lively dining room and patio that's perfect for date nights or get-togethers with a few friends. Order the rotisserie chicken and a bunch of sauces for dipping. (Unless you’re here on a Monday night, when they serve a seafood-centric menu instead.)

In 2015, Chef Tin Vuong opened his second Little Sister near Pershing Square downtown. Head here when you're in the mood for good Southeast Asian food.

Located in the Hauser and Wirth gallery complex in DTLA’s Arts District, at Manuela, chef Wes Whitsell nostalgically cooks the food he ate growing up in Texas, injected with modern flavor and technique. The restaurant is very much farm-to-table, the garden eggs really do come from the garden (they have their own chicken house, home to twelve rare-breed birds). All the smoking, fermenting, preserving, and pickling are done in-house. The sides really stand out, featuring vegetables commonly eaten in the South but rarely seen on LA menus like okra, scarlet runner, and dragon beans.

Marugame Monzo is the place to go for udon of all flavors—from curry udon to uni creamy sauce udon, shrimp tempura udon, and seafood tomato cream udon. The real draw of Marugame Monzo, though, is that you get to watch the udon being made in the glass-enclosed kitchen—the impressive pounding, rolling, and cutting of the dough into thick udon noodles. An entertaining and tasty meal.

Fittingly situated behind the Broad contemporary art museum, Otium’s box-like, wood, steel, and glass building can easily be mistaken for a large-scale art installation. Inside, the large light-filled dining room and communal table area revolve around a sprawling open kitchen and are meant to accommodate the museum crowds without making anyone feel, well, overcrowded. Chef Timothy Hollingsworth, formerly of The French Laundry, developed a menu that’s at times experimental but always approachable and delicious, think: artichoke and burrata, bacon tart, and falafel.

Downtown Los Angeles in a word? Colorful. And in three words: loud, congested, and hectic. Which is what makes us especially grateful for the succinctly named Q Sushi. Beyond a heavy wooden door on bustling W 7th Street, Q Sushi is a transporting and utterly serene getaway in the middle of the endless energy of the city. Classical music alongside perfunctory service devoid of small talk, it’s the kind of place that lowers your blood pressure as soon as you walk in. It’s also the kind of place that was recently awarded a Michelin star for its omakase-only experience. So settle in and clear your schedule—you’ll be here for about twenty mind-blowing courses.

Sonoratown is sensational. The meats here are charred over a mesquite grill instead of a flat-top. The carne asada is made with beef short rib instead of the traditional skirt steak. They have another location in Miracle Mile, if you happen to be coming from the Westside.

The long, sinuous sushi bar is where it's at, though you'll need to order a minimum of four items to sit here, which, once you taste the fish, won't be a problem. Fresh as can be, the sushi is prepared diligently by experienced chefs who emphasize the high-quality cuts with a light ponzu sauce here, a sprinkling of lemon and sea salt there. It's located in a strip mall and ideal for a business or casual lunch. Don't be intimidated by the line, as it moves fast.

At Sushi Zo, the policy is omakase only, so it's an indulgence in all ways, but it's a place for purists, as the incredibly high-quality, fresh but uncomplicated fish actually melts in your mouth.

Yangban serves up creative interpretations of traditional Korean dishes, made with Californian ingredients. The whole operation is a marvel: It’s one part restaurant, one part deli counter, and one part minimart, which sells everything from pantry staples to incense and streetwear by LA-based Asian-American designers. The twice-fried Yangban wings are insane; we order them with kimchi and pickled veggies.

Named after the province of its founders, Yang Chow serves up authentic Mandarin and Szechuan cuisine in a simple downtown space. Their signature slippery shrimp is worth the trip alone.

Dig into yellowtail sashimi, shisito peppers, spicy albacore crispy rice in an industrial space. If the wait time is up there, grab one of their takeout handroll kits.

Apotheke is nearly impossible to find—though not for long, given that David Chang’s Majordomo is next door. It’s on a slip of Spring Street that’s...not quite Chinatown...not quite DTLA. The interior of the bar, with its low rosy lighting, blush banquettes, leather armchairs, and pretty tile, is reminiscent of a French boudoir; that is to say that while so many bars feel inherently masculine, this one skews feminine. The outdoor patio is just as comfortable, with Turkish rugs scattered over the deck, big sofas to sink into, and plenty of space heaters. The beauty of the off-the-grid location is its size: You can sit outside and stargaze, never experiencing the claustrophobia so prevalent in other LA bars. The drinks are more like elixirs spiked with alcohol and divided into “aphrodisiacs,” “health & beauty,” and “painkillers.”

There are now a number of quality craft beer spots and breweries in LA, but Angel City Brewery remains a favorite. Located in the historic John A. Roebling Building in the Arts District, Angel City is a great casual spot to gather with friends for day-into-night beers. The brewery hosts a number of regular events, like Tacos & Trivia Tuesday, and is a popular host to a range of fun food trucks, although you can bring your own food with you, too. You can go on a tour of the brewery Tuesday, Thursday, and weekends, and there are also a few different options for private events, including a large beer hall (capacity: 200) that is perpendicular to the brew house. The brewery always has several Angel City styles on tap, some of which you can find in other bars and shops around California and Nevada.

In a lofty warehouse with games and high-top seating, Arts District Brewing has a ton of taps and a solid food menu. They have a speakeasy-style cocktail bar behind the brewery, too. It's a good option for big groups without much fuss.

EightyTwo is a bar, but the drinks are more like a bonus here. The real draw: one room full of quarter-operated classic video games and another dedicated to the great game of pinball. Rotating food trucks make regular stops in the back courtyard, so you can take a break in the middle of a Pac-Man tournament.

It's a little bit off the beaten path, but that's part of the charm of this old-school, urban bar with a great craft beer selection, reasonably priced cocktails, a photo booth, Pac-Man, jukebox, and more. There's also a great happy hour and a takeaway liquor license, which is pretty clutch in this town. P.S. Check out the ladies bathroom. Here's a hint: It smells oddly of bubblegum.

This brewery is low-key and has some of the best craft beer in the city. It’s a relatively small operation—more tasting room than the sprawling warehouse vibe that’s become so common for LA breweries.

This hot-pink Italian disco, situated just behind De La Nonna, is a great place to go out. If you come early in the evening, the groovy, mirrorballed space is a chill spot to have a drink and listen to music. The dancing really picks up at around 9 p.m.

A truly good bar speaks to our purist hearts: great music, solid drinks, and excellent service are what we crave. Wolf & Crane triple-checks all these boxes. This drinks-only establishment (an anomaly in its food-driven Little Tokyo neighborhood) serves up an inventive cocktail list with a rare bent toward Japanese whisky. The staff is incredibly knowledgable about every bottle on the shelf (some holding very rare whiskies) and willing to explain the history and notes of each, sommelier-style, which makes a trip here even more enjoyable.

Endorffeine’s owner, Jack Benchakul, is a former biochemist turned pastry chef turned barista, and he personally brews every single cup of the phenomenal coffee served here. He hosts ticketed desserts-and-drinks tasting menu experiences, too.

Built in 1917, restored in the '90s, and then revamped in the past few years, this downtown market—which has operated continually for the past century—still maintains its original façade in the Homer Laughlin Building. Nowadays, you'll find specialty shops like DTLA Cheese, along with small food joints serving up Mexican, Chinese, and Japanese food, ideal for the downtown office crowd and tourists alike.

There's no short supply of Mexican food in LA, so when we say that Guisado's has some of the best, it's a hefty stamp of approval. Guisado is the Spanish word for stew—the kind of slow-braised, spiced meats that taste just as good with a side of rice and beans as they do starring in a taco—and that's exactly where this spot excels. Slow roasted pork with pickled red onions is the fan favorite, but they also do excellent fish, steak, and chicken. The original is in Boyle Heights, though they now also have locations in Echo Park, Beverly Hills, Pasadena, Burbank, and West Hollywood.

It’s pretty typical of L.A.'s fusion culture that the best po'boys in the city come from a tiny deli in the heart of Old Chinatown, complete with black-and-white linoleum floors and an old-school green striped awning. The deli is tucked into a specialty grocery store, where you can buy hard-to-find Southern ingredients like Andouille sausage, Zapp's potato chips, and Café du Monde coffee. Behind the counter, they make shrimp, oyster, and catfish po’boys served with creamy remoulade sauce that are about as close to New Orleans as you can get in Los Angeles.

Any given morning, you can expect the line for Maru to dribble down the block. The crowd skews creative, and the craft of coffee is taken seriously. They also make delicious tea drinks, including one of our favorite matcha lattes in the city. There's another location in Los Feliz.

These purveyors of ultra-creamy ice cream got their start in Santa Barbara in 1948, and the heritage of their brand is hugely important to them. Their dairy is sourced from grass-grazed cows which are raised just north of LA on the central coast, and they've been working with the same creamery since they got their start (eggs are cage-free, too). This is the kind of place where classics like vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry reign supreme. Kids obviously can't get enough of it. You can buy this stuff at many upscale grocery stores, but we prefer to have it scooped for us at either their Grand Central Market or Studio City locations.

Since the regeneration of the area in the 30s, the main plaza on Olvera Street has hosted a vibrant Mexican marketplace. It's home to some of the city's oldest and most historic buildings (26 of them) including the Avila Adobe, built in 1818, LA's oldest surviving residence; Pico House, a luxury hotel built in 1870; and the Plaza Substation that used to form a part of the Yellow Car network.

French-born chef Christophe Happillon has become known as L.A.'s oyster sommelier through his oyster pop-ups at high-end restaurants and hotels. In 2014, he brought The Oyster Gourmet to Grand Central Market in the form of a tiny stall with wood-canvas wings that open and close not entirely unlike...yes, an oyster. Like the space, the menu is small but satisfying—oysters, of course, and also a selection of clams, shrimp, and some raw fish, along with wine and beer. In addition to his space at Grand Central Market, Happillon still does seafood catering, and brings oyster pop up bars to events and parties in Los Angeles.

Another stellar French Dip joint that swears theirs started it all, Philippe’s has been around since the ‘50s, and therefore, might just have the original “original” on the menu. There are actually five dips on offer, the beef being the obvious fan favorite. That said, we like the turkey as it’s lighter but just as flavorful.

By day, this Chinese tea house and restaurant in Mandarin Plaza serves excellent noodles and small bites along cups of oolong. By night, people flock here for tea cocktails, which are a little unexpected—you might order a drink with pu-erh, tequila, chili pepper, and lime, for example—and always fabulous.

There was once a time you could get Stumptown only in Portland, Oregon. Thank goodness things have changed. We keep the bold roast on tap at goop HQ and happily visit the shops when we're in the Pacific Northwest, New York, New Orleans, and downtown Los Angeles. Stumptown’s latest location, in the fashion district along bustling Los Angeles Street, offers a good amount of seating for the smallish space. We like to come here for downtown meetings or lazy Sunday pour-overs.

Whether you order the mushroom or the adobada tacos, get it “con todos”—the team applies salsa, onions, and other toppings with mixologist-level precision. Victor Delgado and Jorge “Joy” Alvarez-Tostado understand, in the same way a white-tablecloth restaurant does, that the excitement and energy a dish is served with is critical to the dining experience—their version is just way more fun.

Tea Master serves some of LA’s best matcha in a Little Tokyo strip mall. This place is the real deal; the owner is a student of Edosenke, a centuries-old Japanese school of tea ceremony. And their matcha soft serve is a treat after lunch at Sushi Gen across the way.

Verve practices direct trade with the farmers who source their coffee beans—an important (and very difficult to execute) practice that allows them to exceed fair-trade minimums when they pay farmers for their goods. Here, you'll also find reliable internet and plenty of seating housed in a sleek, urban-feeling space.

Wexler's Deli in Grand Central Market occupies a remarkably small space considering the insane volume of good food it produces. Their focus is on Jewish comfort food, with a simple menu that’s focused on the classics: bagels with lox and shmear, pastrami and smoked fish (cured and smoked on-site), and insanely good pickles that they make themselves. Good to remember: They deliver.

This teeny but beautifully curated vintage store is arguably one of the best in L.A. It’s also the place you want to be when hunting down the perfect pair of vintage Levi’s—the selection here isn’t necessarily vast, but each piece is lovingly chosen, washed, and repaired by the owners themselves to look its best. There are also band t-shirts, army jackets, and a few racks of dresses—all in excellent shape. If pins and patches are your thing, the semi-annual pin-and-patch parties are a gold mine.

As the West Coast's largest art and architecture-centric bookstore, this is the sort of place where you can put together a stack of beautiful coffee table books.

Straddling downtown and Little Tokyo, the Japanese-based Kinokuniya offers great notebooks, stationery, pens, and gifts. Kids, in particular, go nuts here. There's also a location in Culver City.

New to DTLA, Kinto focus on striking a balance between beauty and functionality when it comes to building out the ultimate home cook’s kitchen. In other words, not only will the delicate Japanese pottery and double-wall champagne glasses on offer add pizzazz to your counters but, thanks to Kinto’s obsession with quality, they’ll stand the test of time, too. With the coffeeware collection of carafe sets and porcelain brewers, you’ll navigate your kitchen with the dexterity of an artisanal coffee-shop barista.

A hugely successful used books and record shop may seem like an anachronism but this shop keeps expanding.

This lending library lets readers borrow or buy books in a very relaxed way, as the staff here seems to care more about getting people to read the books than buy them, and lending times, unlike a typical library, vary according to the length and difficulty of the novel. It's a little out of the way, but worth the trip if you're looking to do some serious reading.

This quaint bookshop, nestled in the heart of Chinatown, is made for those rare, rainy afternoons in Los Angeles. (Though we’ve been known to use the stacks as a hiding place from the sun, too.) You could spend hours getting lost among the hundreds of curated cookbooks and knickknacks ranging from salt cellars to vintage bandannas all tucked away on the corner of North Hill Street. Not only does it offer an extensive range of unique reads, such as the Portuguese tea magazine Eighty Degrees, but Now Serving regularly hosts book signings and guest speakers with many of the authors whose work lines the shelves. Follow them on Instagram (@nowservingLA) to stay up to date on upcoming events.

Olive Ateliers curates vintage home goods sourced from around the world—patinated pots, stone sinks, elm consoles, and so much more. They release new items on a first-come, first-serve basis; if you’re a serious shopper, get on their email list to know when new inventory drops.

Downtown's wholesale flower market (it takes up close to two city blocks) is a DIY goldmine. Yes, there are fresh flowers and succulents—both locally and globally grown—as far as the eye can see. But you can also come here to snag supplies like vases, gardening tools, and ribbon for a song. Pros get first dibs daily; the general public can pay a $2 admission fee during the week and $1 on weekends.

There’s no way to grasp the size and scope of ROW DTLA without seeing it in person, so we won’t attempt to describe this massive conglomerate of industrial structures as anything but WOW. What we can put into words is the impressive the curation of places to eat, shop, work, and just chill. A sampling of restaurants includes Japanese food at Hayato (order a bento box), and the flakiest, crunchiest Japanese fried chicken we’ve ever had at chef Kuniko Yagi’s Pikunico. Stores are focused on locally owned businesses, like Kinto and Bodega—arguably the most well-stocked sneaker store in the city. On weekends, the streets are closed off to cars, leaving ample space for kids to shake the willies out. On Sundays, Smorgasburg LA takes over ROW DTLA’a neighbor, the Alameda Produce Market.

Located on an unassuming street, this gallery-boutique hybrid is one of the most delightfully unexpected finds in LA. Owners Jodi and Stephen Zeigler had their first exhibit in 2014 and have since been featuring some of the most compelling works on display in the city. Hosted in a stellar light-filled room, the art covers a wide range, from nostalgic punk rock memorabilia to experimental photography ane mixed media pieces. On the other side of the space is the boutique, where the duo offer a well curated mix of wares, from indigo-dyed fabrics to Le Feu de L'eau candles to out-of-print photography books and zines, all of which make ideal gifts.

Kimm Birkicht is a beloved LA-based floral designer with deep industry roots, which translates to an innate understanding that every arrangement—whether it's for a wedding, family gathering, or work event—needs to speak to the client's individual aesthetic.

The Broad's modern and contemporary art collection is vast—what you see on any particular visit represents only a smidge of the total collection. Luckily, they're constantly rotating pieces in and out of the museum, and the gallery looks a little different every time you go. You can solidly expect to see Warhols, Basquiats, Harings, and Lichtensteins, and surely some massive Jeff Koons balloon sculptures. Admission is free, and the museum releases a limited number of same-day tickets, but it's best to book in advance. If you'd like to see the museum's special exhibitions, you'll need to book a timed-entry ticket for a fee.

This makers market pops up at ROW DTLA one Saturday a month—see their website for their upcoming dates—and features local Asian artists and food stalls.

Until the opening of the Broad across the street, MOCA was LA's only museum wholly dedicated to contemporary art. As always, there's something great to see at their downtown location, their outpost in the Pacific Design Center, and the super rad Geffen Contemporary, housed in a former police car warehouse in Little Tokyo.

Since the early 1900s, L.A.'s Natural History Museum has been playing host to millions of artifacts from the past five or so billion years—and the collection keeps growing. (In 2011, they opened Dinosaur Hall.)

Perhaps one of the most significant things to come from the Ace Hotel's renovation of the United Artists building was the restoration of the original United Artists Theatre. Built in the 1920s and extravagantly decorated with Gothic design flourishes (including thousands of tiny mirrors in the ceiling), the three-story space is one of the city's most important architectural gems. Under the art direction of the Ace, it's also become a hotspot for some of coolest cultural activities in LA.

Designated for the 5 to 11 set, this LA Phil concert series at Walt Disney Hall touches on everything from Tchaikovsky to the incidence of repetition in minimalist music.