Please help: deciding on resto's for dinner - FRI & SAT - first time in LA

[tripaddict28]

We're a married couple, early 30's, coming to LA for the first time from Toronto; we're looking for dining suggestions for Friday & Saturday night (for dinner) - we'll be staying at the W Hollywood and are looking for lively, trendy dinner places that you think are a must-try! Thanks in advance.

[ipsedixit]

Without knowing your budget or what kind of food you like, here are some off-the-cuff suggestions:

Saam

Animal

Red Medicine

Urasawa

Mo-Chica

Hatfields

[westsidegal]

just a heads up,
if you go to urasawa, expect to get out of there for about $500 per person.

[ipsedixit]

Whatever you do, please do not go to Crustacean. Better off at a place like Koi, Katsuya, or heck, even Mr. Chow or Joss.

[goodhealthgourmet]

Whatever you do, please do not go to Crustacean.
~~~~~~~~~~~
agreed. and fortunately Ketchup is no longer open so we don't have to steer the OP away from that one as well!

[Phurstluv]

I would try:

The Bazaar - high end molecular in west hollywood, close by
Katsuya Hollywood - for sushi & scene watching, close to hotel
Cleo - super close, extremely new w/decent 1st reviews Mediterranean
Animal - meat centric no frills but a CH favorite in mid city
Scarpetta or Culina - for Beverly Hills Italian

These are really just scratching the surface, and hitting the immediate area where you will be staying, so it doesn't include much travel time. I know my fellow CHers will come through with even more.

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Katsuya Hollywood
6300 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028

Culina
300 S Doheny Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90048

Scarpetta
225 N Canon Dr, Beverly Hills, CA 90210

[tripaddict28]

Sorry I should've specified, budget is about $100+ per person.
In terms of food, we're open to suggestions !

[tripaddict28]

I booked a table at The Bazaar through Open Table but am a bit confused -- is this one restaurant or several restaurants/bars? Which one am I booked for through Open Table? Help please!

[ipsedixit]

Go to Saam instead, it's the private dining room at Bazaar. Better food, better atmo. Bazaar is all about style over substance.

[tripaddict28]

When I clicked on the reservation for 'The Bazaar' it didn't give me an option to pick which place I'd like to reserve -- so does this reservation encompass all these locations? I'm not sure.

[ipsedixit]

Don't believe Saam is available on OpenTable.

[honkman]

You have to call Saam directly (go on their webpage). Definitely worth the visit - they have only one tasting menu ($120)

[fdb]

The Bazaar consists of a bar (Bar Centro) , a dessert area (The Patisserie) , and a restaurant which is split into two areas, Roja and Blanca. Saam is the private room (designed to feel like a library) tucked in the back that serves a prix fixe chef tasting menu of 20+ small bites. Saam is more elegant and quiet but the dining areas in The Bazaar is more lively and trendy which may suit a young 30's couple like you. Open Table will reserve you a table at The Bazaar. You can call to request being seated at either Rojo or Blanca sections. Rojo is inside an enclosed area where you can watch the chefs cook in the kitchen while Blanca is open to the bar area where lively actions take place. After dinner, you may request to be moved to The Patisserie area for your coffee and dessert. While Saam is great, I think you can't go wrong at The Bazaar. Enjoy!

[goodhealthgourmet]

if you're meat-lovers, you should definitely try to get a table at Animal.

i'd skip Scarpetta, because though it's one of my favorite restaurants in LA, you now have a location in Toronto. but if you haven't been there yet, go when you get home! ;)

Hatfield's was another good suggestion. the other spot i'dd add for consideration is Pizzeria Mozza

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Pizzeria Mozza
641 N. Highland Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90036

[tripaddict28]

Scarpetta in Toronto is great, so we'll skip that in LA.
Not a big time fan of meat (although hubby is!), so we'll skip Animal as well.
So far I'm thinking: Bazaar, Katsuya, Pizzeria Mozza....
The others on my list were: Koi, Geisha House, Mr. Chow's, Nobu....thoughts?

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Geisha House Restaurant
2773 North Main Street, Santa Ana, CA

Pizzeria Mozza
641 N. Highland Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90036

Koi Restaurant
730 N La Cienega Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90069

Mr. Chow
344 N. Camden Dr., Beverly Hills, CA 90210

Scarpetta
225 N Canon Dr, Beverly Hills, CA 90210

[New Trial]

Osteria Mozza (next to the Pizzeria, serving great pastas and offering a fantastic mozzarella bar) and Providence (wonderful and creative seafood) would be worthwhile additions to the list. Koi, Geisha House, Mr. Chow and, to a lesser degree, Nobu (best of the four), are highly missable. If you want superb high end sushi, go to Mori instead or, if you want a Japanese place which offers great cooked dishes as well as sushi, Kiriko or Kiyokawa.

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Providence
5955 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038

Kiriko
11301 W Olympic Blvd Ste 102, Los Angeles, CA 90064

Mori Sushi
11500 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064

Kiyokawa Japanese Restaurant & Sushi Bar
265 S Robertson Blvd Ste 10, Beverly Hills, CA 90211

Koi Restaurant
730 N La Cienega Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90069

Geisha House
6633 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood, CA 90028

Mr. Chow
344 N. Camden Dr., Beverly Hills, CA 90210

Nobu Los Angeles
903 N. La Cienega Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90069

Osteria Mozza
6602 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90036

[westsidegal]

imho, skip Geisha House.
that place was perfect for my daughter's "sweet sixteen" party, but if your tastes are more developed than those of the average sixteen-year-old kid, the food will be a disappointment.

[yogachik]

I can't believe Geisha House is still on a list of any kind. Out of towners think this is the place to go when in LA, but it's not - and you'd only be in a room with other tourists. Skip it, and Koi.

Mr Chow's is sceney, but just so-so. Katsuya will scratch that itch to be among the young and happening scene with decent (and sometimes very good) food. Bazaar fits the bill perfectly

I highly recommend going to Santa Monica/Venice --. At least try to get to Gjelina for breakfast or lunch.

[tripaddict28]

Is Gjelina's open for dinner? We'll be in Santa Monica/Venice in the latter half of the day. Any other recommendations for that area?

[nosh]

Gjelina is definitely open for dinner -- if you haven't filled your evenings -- but also has most of their best dishes on the lunch menu (maybe brunch on weekends). Be sure to get a pizza (lamb sausage), at least a couple of the roast veggies (the radicchio for sure, and the cauliflower or broccolini), the gnocchi in brown butter, and don't miss the butterscotch with salt for dessert. My favorite in L.A. these days.

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Gjelina
1429 Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice, CA 90291

[westsidegal]

if great food is a criteria, don't go to mr. chow's

[goodhealthgourmet]

as others have said, skip Geisha House. PLEASE.

Mr Chow's isn't worth your time, particularly when you've got Susur Lee cooking in Toronto...unless you're more concerned with ogling celebrities than you are with your meal ;)

and Koi, while perfectly serviceable, isn't nearly the best representation of sushi in this town...i'm not sure it's even a worthwhile scene anymore for someone interested in that aspect.

Nobu is what you'd expect Nobu to be - good, expensive, and yes, sometimes a bit of a scene. but at least you'd get to enjoy a beautiful drive to Malibu if you go to the *original* location. it's certainly not the ultimate, but IMHO the best choice out of the places you listed.

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Nobu
11357 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA

[fdb]

I've never been but my 30-something niece and her husband always go to Bar Marmont when they are in town. You may want to check it out.

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Bar Marmont
8171 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90046

[tripaddict28]

Thanks for all the replies so far! Much appreciated!
We booked Saam for Sat night but didn't realize it takes 3.0-3.5 hours to get through all the courses! Hopefully it will be worth it.....sounds like many people recommend this place!
Mr. Chow's, Nobu, and Geisha House are off the list - thanks for the feedback.
For Friday night, we're thinking Osteria Mozza or Katsuya, and we'll definitely be dropping into Cleo's during our trip as it is right near our hotel.

[Phurstluv]

Sounds like a good plan, have fun and let us know how it all went!!

[tripaddict28]

Between Pizzeria Mozza and Osteria Mozza, which one is recommended? Thanks!

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Pizzeria Mozza
641 N. Highland Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90036

Osteria Mozza
6602 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90036

[wienermobile]

Both great food. Pizzeria more casual. Osteria is more pricy and has Nancy Silverton's wonderful mozzarella bar. Can't go wrong with either.

[Phurstluv]

Yes, wienermobile is correct, they are different, with Osteria being more formal, though it's not formal at all, just a level up from the Pizzeria. But I love that the Pizzeria is open all day, and you can reserve a table off peak hours, in order to get the date that you want.

[tripaddict28]

Thank you so much for the recommendation for Saam! We had an incredible dinner on Saturday night and the food and service was out of this world. We enjoyed a very lively night at the Bazaar afterwards.
We also enjoyed meals at Pizzeria Mozza, Gjelina, and Cleo's. Thank you again for all the recommendations, you guys rock!

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Pizzeria Mozza
641 N. Highland Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90036

Gjelina
1429 Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice, CA 90291

[Phurstluv]

So glad you had a great time! You hit some great places!

[tissue]

Go to Hungry Cat!

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The Hungry Cat
1535 Vine St, Los Angeles, CA 90028

[goodhealthgourmet]

they've already come & gone.

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