2014's Best New Restaurants In Los Angeles
Just like the onslaught of wide-eyed movie star wannabes, Los Angeles is inundated every month with new restaurant openings all over the city. Some restaurants will follow the culinary trends, others will try to invent new ones and still others will stick to the traditional fare. Regardless of cuisine, national statistics claim that only a small percentage of these new eateries will stay open and become successful. If you live in Los Angeles, get to these top five new restaurants that opened in 2014 because no one knows what 2015 has in store for them.
Superba Food + Bread
1900 S. Lincoln Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90291
(310) 907-5075
www.superbafoodandbread.com
With a spring opening, Superba Food + Bread is still going strong. How could it not with quaint indoor/outdoor seating and a killer, moderately priced breakfast, lunch, brunch and dinner menu? Located in Venice, brunch seems the most popular with locals but you can't go wrong with its salmon belly BLT, cauliflower parm sub or any of its pastries. Free WiFi and a lot for parking are a double bonus.
Related: Best Pasta in Los Angeles
Shiki Beverly Hills
410 N. Cañon Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90210
(310) 888-0036
www.shikibeverlyhills.com
As what you would expect from a Japanese restaurant in Beverly Hills, Shiki offers delicate works of edible art on each plate. Helmed by Chef Shige and Chef Fujimoto, Shiki invites you to indulge in creations inspired by the four seasons. Wagyu tohban, Kampachi sashimi with sesame miso sauce and Serrano pepper and Toro tartar with caviar are just a few of the mouthwatering menu items. Shiki is not budget friendly but worth every dollar.
Plan Check
1111 Wilshire Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90017
(213) 403-1616
www.plancheck.com
While the restaurant may not be new, this location opened in 2014 to city wide applauds. With locations on Sawtelle and West Hollywood, Plan Check has quickly become one of the city's favorite eating spots. Offering gastropub food with delicious flavors, favorites on the menu include beer nuts with wasabi, the famed PCB (Plan Check Burger) with Americanized dashi cheese, ketchup leather, schmaltz onions, and mixed pickles on a crunch bun, as well as the smokey fried chicken and the baked crab dip. Want to wash down all that tasty food? They offer a full cocktail list, wine list, draft beer and bottled beer list that will delight any patron. With its success in 2014, it's only a matter of time before it spreads to other neighborhoods of the city, giving denizens of LA the chance to sample the menu items no matter where they live.
Bowery Bungalow
4156 Santa Monica Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90029
(323) 663-1500
www.bowerybungalow.com
With its location in Silverlake, Bowery Bungalow offers diners a comfortable, yet striking and unforgettable experience. Just steps from Sunset Junction sits in an unassuming cottage house which took over a former Thai Restaurant. With its Middle-Eastern menu, the farm-to-table restaurant offers great dishes like the "Turmeric Fried Rice" with chicken, organic egg, chickpeas, golden raisins and almonds, the "Chicken Musakhan" with Yorkshire pudding, and the slow cooked lamb. Other stand outs include their baby back ribs which are rubbed with mideast spices. A modern salute to the cuisine of North Africa and the Mediterranean, the restaurant offers both indoor and outdoor seating and a bar with choice beer and wine selections.
Ocean Prime
9595 Wilshire Blvd
Beverly Hills, CA 90212
(310) 859-4818
www.ocean-prime.com
Situated at the bottom of the 9595 Wilshire office building, Ocean Prime has locations throughout the U.S., but this is its first in Los Angeles. Offering surf and turf selections, the restaurant is split into two parts. On one side, sleek black steel and glass structure reveals a sushi bar with lobster tail rolls and a dining room where you can dine on steak and seafood dishes. On the other side, patrons take part in a cozy lounge with wood tones.
Magnolia House
492 S Lake Ave
Pasadena, CA 91101
(626) 584-1126
www.themaghouse.com
Set in a renovated 1912 craftsman's bungalow, Magnolia House has been many things before it was a budding restaurant. A home, a post-prohibition era liquor store and other businesses after that, Pasadena and Los Angeles residents are thankful that those businesses are long gone. And that's because this newly opened eatery and bar offers unique cocktails and a small plate menu with influences from around the globe. What stands out? Whether you taste the blackened mahi tacos, the king crab mac and cheese, the wild mushroom flatbread, or the shrimp toast, chances are you won't leave disappointed. Really though, everything on the menu is great and they offer house cocktails that are as unique as can be. Try the Copper Heart with Pisco, Grapefruit liqueur, lemon juice and cinnamon as well as the Jonesey with Irish Whiskey, Watermelon, Blanc Vermouth and Aperol.
Maude
212 S Beverly Dr
Beverly Hills, CA
(310) 859-3418
www.mauderestaurant.com
A restaurant by celebrated chef Curtis Stone, Maude has always been a dream of the chef. With an incredible menu that is changing, the restaurant is set in a tiny outlet in Beverly Hills which people walk by without much notice most of the time. But, if you're lucky enough to score a reservation here, you'll be in awe as you dine on a set menu with seasonal fresh ingredients. It's a must try for anyone.
Hiatus Urban Barbeque
1292 S. La Brea Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90019
(323) 879-9700
www.hiatusbbq.com
Another spring opening hit, Hiatus Urban Barbeque gives a you a big bang for your buck in this quaint, design-it-yourself eatery. You pick your meat (chicken, pork, beef, brisket, veggies), your sauce, your slaw and your topping, and the cheerful people will assemble it for you. They'll even steer you in the right direction should your combo choices not be in your stomach's best interest. There's no patio seating and the place itself only seats a small amount of diners but there is a lot designated for Hiatus Urban Barbeque customers, making pick-up orders easy.
Dirt Dog
2528 S. Figueroa St.
Los Angeles, CA 90007
(213) 749-1813
www.dirtdogla.com
Food truck-style dogs in a permanent location makes Dirt Dog a dream come true. Making this place even better is that all of its dogs are wrapped in bacon and topped with grilled onions and red and green bell peppers. The difference comes in the sauces and spreads. Go with hot and spicy or juicy and mild or somewhere in between. You get a choice of buns too from traditional, Portuguese or lobster. And let's not forget the sides. Having opened in July, it's safe to assume Dirt Dog is staying put.
