Guerilla Tacos founder Wes Avila left his beloved Arts District taco spot to start this fast-casual joint in Mandarin Plaza, serving his take on hefty, comfort-laden sandwiches, tortas, and burritos.

The latest project from Boyle Heights native and chef Mario Christerna pays homage to local history: the bustling Cesar Chavez Ave, where the restaurant is located, was originally Brooklyn Ave. While indoor dining remains closed, a raised wooden deck and sidewalk pub tables beckon diners to wind down with a menu of elevated bar foods and craft cocktails that act as homage to Christerna’s Chicano heritage.

The family behind the popular LA-based Guisados chain takes over this classic neighborhood Mexican seafood spot and specializes in fish tacos and ceviches.

Next door to sibling restaurant Union, U Street Pizza opened in April courtesy of Union co-owner Maria Petulla and executive chef Chris Keyser. The nostalgia-inducing pizzeria shares an outdoor deck with Union, with an interior that boasts exposed brick walls, hanging copper light fixtures, and a long white terrazzo bar, plus a colorful hand-painted mural by local artist Eric Junker at the back of the restaurant.

The family behind the popular LA-based Guisados chain takes over this classic neighborhood Mexican seafood spot and specializes in fish tacos and ceviches.

Drawing diners to Downtown LA’s newest food destination, Santee Passage, is this unassuming takeout window featuring Bangkok street food and Central Thai dishes, owned and operated by partners and chefs Wedchayan “Deau” Arpapornnopparat and Tongkamal “Joy” Yuon.

Owner Alexander Wilmot debuted this French bistro in the up-and-coming Sycamore Avenue corridor of the Hollywood Media District, featuring a menu helmed by chef Matthew Bollinger (Jean Georges, Trois Familia), with quintessential French favorites interpreted for a California audience.

Chefs, owners, and wife-and-wife team Niki Nakayama and Carole Iida-Nakayama launched this bento-only takeout restaurant in March 2021, following seven years of success at n/naka, their modern Japanese kaiseki restaurant.

This upstart sandwich shop made the successful leap to a brick-and-mortar storefront at the busy corner of Melrose Blvd and Western Ave, hoping to become a neighborhood fixture for community gathering and authentic Italian-style deli sandwiches.

Powerhouse culinary duo and founders of the Lemonade restaurant chain Alan and Heidi Jackson bring a reimagined steakhouse inspired by West Coast ranching to the shores of Playa Vista.

A neon green sign in the shape of a lime beckons diners to an expansive, 11,600-square foot rooftop oasis that acts as a sister restaurant to the popular Mexico City terrazza by the same name. Mexico City-born and longtime LA transplant executive chef Alejandro Guzman (Sqirl, Eggslut) helms a menu of staple Mexican dishes and well-guarded family recipes, with added influence from the California coast.

Humbly billing itself as a “Palestinian Chicken Eatery,” this new fast-casual restaurant off Slauson Ave has quickly become a neighborhood favorite.