Top 18+ best restaurants in California and how to visit them all

Holbox, Los Angeles

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Holbox is a counter inside Mercado La Paloma, a small food hall in downtown Los Angeles that existed before these indoor spaces became trendy. For either lunch or dinner, you can walk into Mercado La Paloma and order some of the impeccable Mexican seafood dishes at Holbox: octopus tacos, scallop aguachile, uni tostada, and more. There are two ways to experience Holbox, and we love them both. 

One is to go for the à la carte menu, affording you the freedom to customize your meal. The second is to reserve a seat for the restaurant's eight-course tasting menu, offered only on Thursdays and Fridays. For this experience, Chef Gilberto Cetina flexes his creativity and puts out more ambitious and experimental menu items like abalone tamal and more. At $120 per person, the tasting menu is one of the best deals in Los Angeles.

Kato, Los Angeles

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Kato is a rare offering even in California's diverse culinary scene: a Taiwanese-inspired tasting menu. The restaurant has gone through a major evolution over the years. Chef Jonathan Yao started Kato at a small strip mall in West Los Angeles with a five-course tasting menu that costs just $49. Kato quickly gained a lot of accolades, and Yao eventually moved his restaurant downtown and turned it into an ambitious project where he now serves a 12-course tasting menu.

If the 12-course, $325 per person menu is too much of a splurge, Kato also offers an abbreviated tasting menu at the bar. Alternatively, you can also head to the bar just for cocktails and à la carte snacks. Kato's bar actually has some of the best cocktail programs in town, so we can recommend any of the three experiences above, which can all be booked on OpenTable.

Providence, Los Angeles

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At Providence Restaurant in Los Angeles, Chef Michael Cimarusti commits to utilizing only sustainable seafood in his tasting menu, which has earned the restaurant a Michelin green star on top of its 2-star accolade. Providence opened in 2005, but it has continued to evolve. A major renovation to the interior gives diners a feeling of being under the ocean. A garden and bee hive on the rooftop contributes to the restaurant's sustainability efforts.  

The chef's tasting menu at Providence costs $325 per person, and reservations can be made up to two months in advance on OpenTable. One of the restaurant's signature items is the soft poached egg topped with Santa Barbara sea urchin, which is an additional cost. But since you're splurging anyway, why not try it as well?

Melisse, Santa Monica

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Chef Josiah Citrin opened Melisse in 1999, one of the first French fine-dining restaurants in Southern California. Decades later, the restaurant has evolved for the better. In 2019, Chef Josiah Citrin announced he would split the restaurant into two: Melisse and Citrin. The new Melisse is a tasting menu-only restaurant that seats 14 guests. 

The revamped experience feels refreshingly new and blends Chef Josiah Citrin's classic French techniques with California ingredients and his love of rock and roll. Melisse's tasting menu has 18 courses for $399 per person, and reservations can be made on OpenTable. The wine pairing offered with the tasting menu is also noteworthy and features small and obscure producers from around the world.

Lazy Bear, San Francisco

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Lazy Bear in San Francisco started as a pop-up supper club when former lawyer David Barzelay was laid off and started hosting dinner parties. Its popularity led to the establishment of the brick-and-mortar location. It's been 10 years since Chef Barzelay opened Lazy Bear's permanent site — the restaurant has become one of the best in the city with its multi-course tasting menu. 

While Lazy Bear no longer has communal seating for its diners, the restaurant maintains that fun, dinner-party vibe. One of the most famous dishes at Lazy Bear is the lamb chops, seared and charred to perfection with a marinade made of fish sauce, sugar, garlic, and mustard. Pre-paid reservations for Lazy Bear's tasting menu, priced at $295 per person, can be booked on Tock. 

Republique, Los Angeles

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The husband-and-wife-run Republique is one of those restaurants that hit on all fronts while still being accessible. Chef Walter Manzke periodically offers themed tasting menus worth grabbing seats for, but the à la carte menu is always a solid call for a date night out. For dessert at dinner and during brunch service, Pastry Chef Margarita Manzke bakes some of the best pastries in town and French-inspired desserts. 

Some customers also come to sidle up at the bar for a drink since the cocktail program here is also one of the best around. No matter the occasion, it seems Republique is never the wrong answer.  Reservations for dinner can be made on OpenTable, while lunch and brunch are walk-ins only (unless it's for a party of eight or more). Walk-ins are also accepted during dinner, depending on availability. 

Sushi Kaneyoshi, Los Angeles

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There are quite a few outstanding sushi restaurants in California, and it was challenging choosing one for this list; however, Sushi Kaneyoshi certainly deserves its accolades. Chef Yoshiyuki Inoue has honed his skills at other famous sushi restaurants, including Sushi Ginza Onodera and Sushi Mori. At Sushi Kaneyoshi, Chef Inoue utilizes traditional edomae sushi techniques but infuses it with modern sensibilities. 

Sushi Kaneyoshi only offers an omakase experience for $300 per person. There are 12 seats at the sushi bar, made available nightly at 7 p.m., so reservations can be hard to come by. Reservations for the month are released on Tock on the first day of the month at 3 p.m. PST. 

Hayato, Los Angeles

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At Hayato, Chef Brandon Hayato Go serves a traditional Japanese kaiseki menu with California ingredients. It's one of the finest examples of the kaiseki tradition in all of California. The entire menu of 14 courses is prepared in an open kitchen in front of the guests' counter seats. The seasonal tasting menu costs $400 per person, but it is worth the splurge, if you can get a reservation.

Hayato only has seven seats, so reservations are very difficult to come by. It's often easier to book as a single diner. Reservations for the month are released on Tock on the first day of the month at 10 a.m. PST, and they sell out in minutes, so be ready to book quickly. 

Birdsong, San Francisco

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At Birdsong, Chef Christopher Bleidorn specializes in what he calls whole-form cooking. From local vegetables to whole animals, the food at Birdsong is also all about the wood-fired grill. The menu at Birdsong is heavily inspired by the Pacific Northwest, but it's innovative and whimsical, with signature dishes like cornbread and caviar or the lacquered smoked quail. 

Birdsong offers two different tasting menu experiences. The full-tasting menu, The Journey Menu, typically consists of over a dozen courses, and costs $325 per person, while an abbreviated Discovery Menu is priced at $265 per person. Reservations for both menus can be made on Tock. 

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