Two L.A. spots made Yelp’s Best New Restaurants of 2026 list, including this Chinese-American stunner

There's never a shortage of new places to eat in Los Angeles, which makes getting noticed a little like trying to get a reservation at the hottest spot in town. But two L.A. newcomers have managed to stand out from the pack, landing on Yelp’s list of the 25 Best New Restaurants of 2026.

The local entries are Firstborn at No. 2 and Lucia at No. 19, with both restaurants bringing very different approaches to the fine-dining game.

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Firstborn, the Chinese-American stunner in Chinatown, is the highest-ranked L.A. restaurant on the list—and the only Angeleno newcomer to crack Yelp’s top 10. Chef-owner Anthony Wang draws on his Chinese-American heritage and European culinary training for a seasonal tasting menu that evolves regularly.

The restaurant occupies an art-deco space and has already earned Michelin recognition, but the food is what makes Firstborn particularly intriguing. The $68 prix-fixe offers three choices per course, with possible dishes including caviar blinis, duck sausage, crispy Chongqing fried chicken, duck fat rice and melon shaved ice. Cocktails lean into a sci-fi-movie aesthetic, while the lighting keeps things decidedly romantic.

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Meanwhile, Lucia brings a seen-and-be-seen vibe with its Caribbean dishes. Owner Sam Jordan and two-time James Beard Award finalist Chef Cleophus “Ophus” Hethington focus on the Caribbean diaspora with seasonal items like the Jamaican bun with coconut butter and sorrel-apricot jam, truffle and manchego saltfish croquetas and jerk lamb shank.

And while Firstborn and Lucia are the Southern California standouts, Yelp’s list highlights broader dining trends. Steak is having a very obvious moment: searches for “steak near me” jumped 59-percent over the previous year, reaching an all-time high in August 2026. Indian food is also surging, with searches for Indian bowls up 135-percent and “Indian food buffet near me” up 459-percent.

Yelp says the rankings are based on the volume and ratings of reviews for new full-service restaurants opened after January 1, 2025, with reviews collected through June 11, 2026. So while L.A. may have enough new restaurants to fill several lifetimes of dinner plans, Yelp’s algorithm has narrowed the field to two worth putting on the radar.