The best Beverly Hills restaurants

Name a more iconic L.A. fine-dining institution… because we’ll wait. After almost 40 years, Wolfgang Puck's Spago is still everyone's old fine dining standby, but its ever-changing menu keeps the restaurant feeling fresh and relevant. (Don’t worry, you can still order the smoked salmon pizza.) Spago purists will be pleased to hear the kitchen is refreshingly old-school when it comes to presentation, but modern flourishes are what keep this icon feeling fresh without ditching its hits. If it’s your first visit you must order Spago’s iconic tasting menu for the classics, but if you’re a repeat guest, the most fun you can have is offroading with the fleeting and hyper-seasonal specials, especially when it comes to dessert. Spago’s been serving stellar cuisine since the Reagan era, proving that age ain’t nothing but a number.

Beverly Hills is full of high-profile restaurants perfect for an expense account or date-night splurge, but one of the finest and most memorable is Curtis Stone’s ambitious temple to the tasting menu. This Michelin-starred eatery first gained buzz for its ingredient-driven concept—swapping menus out every month—but the restaurant's current format tends towards seasonal, with chef de cuisine Osiel Gastelum, who has drawn upon his Mexican roots since Maude's post-lockdown reopening, imbuing the menu with a kind of spy freshness you won't find anywhere else in town. 

Celebrity chef Nobuyuki "Nobu" Matsuhisa's empire began at this Beverly Hills operation, which continues to thrive. Matsuhisa's masterful merging of Japanese and Peruvian cuisines is best experienced at the omakase dinners of seven courses or more (starting at $90). Tell the chef your likes and dislikes and then let him loose on your tastebuds.

At this bright, airy restaurant on Canon Drive, you’ll find some of the city’s best modern Mexican cuisine courtesy of chef Joshua Gil (formerly of Santa Monica’s now-closed Tacos Puntas Cabras), plus excellent mezcal and tequila-based cocktails. The restaurant’s hidden patio in the back is ideal for a quieter date night, while its lively front patio and sidewalk seating area are perfect for people-watching and munching on Gil’s always delicious seafood tostadas. Standouts include the salmon skin chicharron and braised pork belly, both of which are relatively constant on Mírame’s seasonally driven menu.

This breezy hotel restaurant from the h.wood Group (Delilah, The Nice Guy, SLAB) offers stunning views of the hills any time of day, as well as flavorful, upscale Cal-Mediterranean cuisine, but the citrus tree-lined roof of the Beverly Hilton truly transforms into the ideal spot for romance at night. A verdant yellowtail crudo infused with citrus za'atar and a decadent potato latke topped with caviar are must-order appetizers here, though you can't go wrong with any of their wood-fired entrées. The cocktails are excellent as well, particularly the Spicy Siena—Sant'olina's take on a good old-fashioned spicy marg.

Lawry’s isn’t totally a steakhouse, but it is a throwback to a steakhouse era: Their legendary prime rib gets carved tableside in massive silver carts by men wearing tall chef’s toques, while waitresses don a ’50s-inspired uniform that harkens back to party dresses and martini lunches. There are more modern additions to the menu, such as the vegan mushroom steak or the shrimp-and-jalapeño fritters, but if you’re going classic, there are only a few decisions to make: what size cut you’d like, what temperature and whether or not to add a vegetable (Tip: Always add the creamed spinach). A few bites in and you’ll know why Lawry’s has been around for over 80 years—and by the time you leave, you’ll wonder why you don't eat from silver carts every night.

Wolfgang Puck’s class-act steakhouse bookends the Wilshire stretch of Rodeo Drive; it’s probably better to dine here after all of your shopping, so you can comfortably slip into a food coma. The chic and airy setting lends a modern vibe, as does the menu: The sashimi is line-caught, the produce is often organic, there’s bone-marrow flan, and diners not only choose the type of steak they’d like to order, but also where it came from, with Nebraska beef, Japanese purebred Wagyu and corn-fed Illinois cuts, among others. Even the usual steakhouse-sauce options get an upgrade, with additions such as yuzu-kosho butter and Argentinean chimichurri. This isn’t your grandpa’s steakhouse.

This isn’t your average omakase. At Tempura Endo, a celebration of Kyoto-style tempura, vegetables and proteins fry in a rotating selection of cotton seed, sesame seed and safflower oils, with batter made from hard water, white wine and Japanese tempura flour. The menu changes frequently, but you might find sea urchin wrapped with laver and prawn or sesame tofu fried to a crisp. While à la carte dishes are available, most diners come for one of the set menus, which range from $150 to $280 per person. The latter includes a special matcha tea ceremony—the perfect way to end your meal in serenity.

Chef Helene An helped revolutionize the way Americans view and taste Vietnamese food, and her L.A. flagship is the best place to see why. Now part of a successful multigenerational culinary empire, An’s Vietnamese seafood eatery has made a name for itself through signature dishes like garlic noodles with tiger prawns and the arresting whole Dungeness crab, though smaller bites like the grilled beef satay and the corn soup are not to be missed. Artful, inventive and walking the perfect line between comfort flavors and fine dining, An and executive chef Tony Nguyen keep the legacy going strong.

The crown jewel of the Sugarfish empire, Nozawa Bar bears the family name of Kazunori Nozawa, the sushi chef whose Studio City restaurant started it all. Tucked inside the Beverly Hills Sugarfish and overseen by chef Osamu Fujita, Nozawa Bar incorporates many of the same elements as its predecessor in the Valley: impeccably fresh fish served on warm, loosely packed rice, omakase-style. Giant sticks of king crab and slices of fatty tuna are preceded by nigiri graced by prodigious amounts of salmon roe and uni. The decadence continues with hand rolls, rich monkfish liver dressed with miso and a unique, ultra-sweet tamago. The only catch? There are merely 10 seats at this 20-plus course experience, so be sure to make a reservation—and be sure to get there on time.

Located on La Cienega’s restaurant row, the sky-high menu prices at this upscale ramenya luckily match the quality of its food. Befitting its famous area code, Kazan’s most popular soba ramen comes topped with truffle oil—an unnecessary act of gilding the lily in our book, but luxurious nevertheless. Despite its limited street parking and deluxe price point, chef Ryu Isobe’s delicious noodle bowls make this brick-lined, chicly decorated ramenya worth visiting, both for its more traditional broths as well as its vegan and fusion offerings. Pork-based broth puriss can also still get tonkotsu. Note: Kazan also shares a valet-only parking lot with Matsuhisa next door.

While this old school option sticks out among the usual bourgeois area restaurants, it’s here on this list for a reason: With more than 70 years under its belt, this isn’t just a neighborhood institution—it’s one of L.A.’s most beloved Jewish delis. Look for the giant, orange cursive lettering and you’ll find a wormhole to decades past, complete with leather booths and a massive deli case that’s packed with black-and-white cookies, potato salad and smoked fish. Breakfast is served all day here, but the move is the matzo-ball soup or the hot corned beef.

If you’re looking for the best Japanese yakiniku in Los Angeles that isn’t Gyu-Kaku, this is, by far, our favorite place to go. Specializing in high-end yakiniku, Yazawa in Beverly Hills is the only North American location of a global chain. The restaurant’s dim-lit sleek interiors play host to omakase dinners full of Wagyu beef—all of it grilled in front of you on built-in tabletop grills. Standouts on the smaller a la carte menu include the premium garlic rice, which arrives sizzling to your table in a clay pot, but we strongly suggest picking one of the set meals if it’s your first time at Yazawa.

With over 20 different varieties on the menu, pasta is king at Il Pastaio, this moody Italian restaurant located a block from the iconic Beverly Hills sign. Whether you're drawn to a classic ragu over spinach pappardelle ribbons, or a more outside-the-box option like spugnette don Lillo (sponge pasta with onion, peas, haricot vert, fava beans, spinach puree and pecorino cheese—phew), rest assured that all pasta is handmade on the premises. Book a reservation or come early—this place fills up fast and is pretty much busy during all hours.

One of the least expensive restaurants on this list, Chaumont is known for its boulangerie-style pastries and other French desserts, but the café’s salads, sandwiches and other breakfast plates make for a perfect, mid-priced Beverly Hills brunch. We wouldn't blame you for staring at the sweets behind Chaumont's glass counters, but be sure to have your order ready: The shop is popular among nearby office workers and locals. For lunch, we recommend the shop’s savory croissants, the chicken schnitzel salad and the simple, delicious salmon grain bowl.

This bustling, always scene-y wine store is both a formidable New American restaurant and excellent wine bar—if you can get past the hour-long wait for a table. On any given night, Wally’s is bound to host at least one celebrity sighting, but you might also be dazzled by its 35-plus page wine list heavy on French and California selections. As far as wine bars go, Wally’s food and charcuterie offerings are top-tier. Chef Ryan Kluver’s robust menu includes everything from duck to rack-of-lamb to Wagyu steak in a variety of forms (massive 36-ounce bone-in Tomahawk, anyone?).

Even if you’re not a celebrity trying to get seen by the paparazzi, you’ll probably find a meal at the Polo Lounge pretty glamorous anyway (and might see a few reality TV or movie stars yourself). Served by an impeccably trained staff, this Beverly Hills classic’s slightly dated menu comes to life when eaten on spotless white tablecloths amid its patio’s bright pink bougainvillea and cozy table nooks (once reserved for stars from Hollywood’s Golden Age). In the evenings, order the Polo Lounge’s signature chocolate soufflé for one of the city’s most iconic desserts.