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Los Angeles food: 5 iconic dishes locals actually eat
The ultimate Los Angeles food scene guide! From late-night taco trucks to breakfast spots and desserts, eat your way through LA like a local.
Los Angeles isn’t just known for Hollywood stars, pristine coastlines, and year-round sunshine. The Los Angeles food scene is renowned for its top restaurants and incredible diversity. You’ll find authentic Mexican, Korean, Asian, Thai, Cuban, and Filipino cuisines.
To discover the best food the City of Angels has to offer, we’ve enlisted the help of a local Holafly expert, Jihea Chang, who lived here while completing her Bachelor’s degree and knows her way around the city.
You’ll find her personal recommendations scattered throughout this food guide to help you make the best choices for tacos, Korean BBQ, desserts, breakfast places, and even tipping culture. Stay connected on your trip with Holafly’s unlimited data eSIM for the USA.
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1. Street tacos and the best Mexican food
According to Jihea, there are two versions of tacos:
“The tourist version includes $18 USD artisan tacos at trendy LA spots like Gracias Madre, Broken Spanish, or Guerrilla Tacos. What locals actually eat are $2–3 street tacos from trucks and taquerias.”
If you want to truly experience LA street tacos like a local, here are the places to go:
- Leo’s Tacos (multiple locations): Al pastor sliced off a spit with pineapple on top
- Mariscos Jalisco (Boyle Heights): Famous tacos de camarón (crispy shrimp)
- Tacos Y Birria La Unica: Slow-braised beef birria with consomé
- El Chato (Pico-Union): Legendary late-night truck
2. Korean and Japanese BBQ
Jihea believes “Korean restaurants in LA taste better than those in Korea sometimes.”
This means trying out Korean food in Los Angeles is a non-negotiable. Head to Haejang Chon KBBQ for a wide variety of options and quality food. It’s also a great place to book a late-night reservation.
You can also try out Gyu-Kaku BBQ, an authentic Japanese BBQ restaurant where you can share premium cooked meats over a grill.
Must-go: A place you can’t miss is Koreatown’s BCD Tofu House, especially if you’re a tofu lover. If not, this place might just convert you! You can try their assorted tofu soups with beef, shrimp, and clam.
Our local expert also claims Ktown’s BCD Tofu House is more famous than the one in Korea. It’s unique, originally from LA, and very popular.
3. Eat like a college student in LA: In-N-Out Burger, IHOP, and Pink’s Hot Dog
Craving fast food and casual dining in LA? According to Jihea, here’s where all the college students eat for cheap yet tantalizing meals.
- In-N-Out Burger: A classic in the Los Angeles food scene. If you don’t get to try In-N-Out Burger on your trip to LA, you might never hear the end of it. The “Double-Double Animal Style” is a cult favorite.
- Panda Express: The perfect fusion between American and Chinese food in Los Angeles.
- Pink’s Hot Dogs: A landmark restaurant in Los Angeles with an endless hot dog menu combinations. Perfect for a quick snack, both taste-wise and budget-wise.
- Chipotle Mexican Grill: Try tacos, burritos, and salads at Chipotle — a go-to for many college students in LA. It’s quick, relatively healthy, and affordable.
Another place Jihea recommends: “The Whole Food Buffet Bar is honestly so good. I went to the one in Westwood, and it has mac ‘n cheese, grilled chicken, fried chicken, soup, and the food quality is amazing. This is kind of the ordinary food locals usually eat for lunch.”
4. Desserts and snacks
The best food in Los Angeles is incomplete without exploring the dessert scene. This is perfect, especially for those late-night, post-dinner dessert runs where you’re craving something extra sweet.
Here’s where you can find the best desserts in LA from a local:
- Saffron and Rose Ice Cream (Westwood): Best for authentic, stretchy Persian Ice cream. The saffron, pistachio, and rosewater flavors are a must-buy.
- Millet Crepe (Sawtelle Japantown): A unique, multi-textured Japanese dessert. Get the creme brûlée crepe, featuring a crunchy custard top layer and a customizable filling of Nutella, strawberries, or matcha.
- Somi Somi (Koreatown): Korean-American soft serve with goldfish-shaped waffle cones (taiyaki) and matcha and ube flavors.
- The Apple Pan (West Los Angeles): Best for old-school baking. They’re pretty famous for their burgers, but the real star of the show is their famous banana cream pie and apple tart.
- Diddy Riese (Westwood): Another LA college student favorite and famous for budget-friendly, customizable ice cream sandwiches.
- Crumbl Cookies: Best for thick, cake-like gourmet cookies.
- Chocolate Bash: Over-the-top, chocolate-drenched crepes, waffles, and Belgian chocolate masterpieces.
5. Best breakfast places in LA
You’ll find a variety of breakfast and brunch places in Los Angeles, so choosing the best can get pretty tough. From fluffy pancakes to global flavors, here are the top breakfast places in LA.
- The Griddle Cafe (Hollywood): Famous for its massive, over-the-top gourmet pancakes. Who doesn’t love giant breakfast portions? Get “The Secret”, which features buttermilk pancakes with brown sugar and cinnamon.
- Lodge Bread Co. (Culver City): Best for wild-fermented sourdough and rustic breakfasts. The avocado toast here is special, served on thick, house-baked bread.
- Sqirl (Silver Lake): Delicious and innovative California breakfast bowls. Try the famous Sorrel Pesto Rice Bowl with poached eggs, feta, and fresh herbs.
How to navigate the Los Angeles food scene like a local
Finding the best food in Los Angeles means stepping out of your comfort zone and venturing through the city’s culinary neighborhoods. Make sure you can use mobile internet in Los Angeles to help you navigate.
If you want to maximize tasting all the best food Los Angeles has to offer, you’ll need to know exactly where to go. For example, Thai Town has some of the best food in Los Angeles, and for fresh Japanese sushi, Little Tokyo is unbeatable.
To help you choose your next stop based on your location or specific cravings, here’s a breakdown of iconic Los Angeles food spots:
| Restaurant | Cuisine type | Best for | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sushi Gen | Japanese | Exceptionally fresh, high-quality sashimi and authentic food | Little Tokyo |
| Jinya Ramen Bar | Japanese | Rich, slow-simmered tonkotsu broth | Multi-location |
| Fugetsu-Do Bakery Shop | Japanese dessert | Hand-crafted, historic mochi and manju | Little Tokyo |
| République | French/American | Mid-day pastry spreads and elevated brunch | Mid-Wilshire |
| Eggslut | American breakfast | Rich, gourmet egg sandwiches on brioche | Grand Central Market |
| Pink’s Hot Dogs | American fast food | Historic, snap-casing chili dogs | Hollywood |
| Musso & Frank Grill | American steakhouse | Classic martinis and vintage Hollywood steaks | Hollywood |
| The Butcher’s Daughter | Vegetarian/Vegan | Plant-based juices and avocado toasts | Venice |
| Catch | Seafood/fusion | Upscale seafood rooftop dining | West Hollywood |
| The Boiling Crab | Cajun seafood | Messy yet flavorful garlic-butter seafood boils | Wilshire |
| Perch | French bistro | Sky-high rooftop cocktails and small plates | Downtown LA |
Important: When dining out in Los Angeles, you need to be aware of the local tipping “rules”. Jihea says that “tipping is very common, and it’s considered rude if you don’t tip at least 15-20%.”
Stay Connected and explore LA’s Food Scene with Holafly
Finding the best food in Los Angeles will be difficult without a reliable internet connection. Getting lost or losing signals while hunting for that viral taco truck is the easiest way to ruin your Los Angeles food crawl.
Stay connected while traveling with a trusted eSIM for the USA from Holafly. Instead of worrying about limited data allowances, high roaming charges, and spotty public WiFi, you can enjoy unlimited data, 5G speeds, and 24/7 customer support as soon as your place lands in LA (or anywhere in the USA). All you need is an eSIM-compatible phone.
What’s more, Holafly also offers 1 GB of Always On monthly backup data with every eSIM plan. The additional allowance is added as soon as you activate your Holafly eSIM and is available as long as you keep your eSIM installed.
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Born and raised in Queens, New York, I'm a Psychology graduate with a passion for writing that I've been nurturing since 2019. Over the years, I've enjoyed creating meaningful content across various niches, including sports, hospitality, and career development. At Holafly, I focus on crafting useful and inspiring pieces to make your adventures more effortless. One of the best perks of this role? Creating travel content always seems to inspire my next vacation destination!
