If you’ve watched enough HGTV or are a human being who’s had to look for a place to live, you know there are three words that count for everything: location, location, location. That apartment with questionable plumbing above a biker bar is going to look a lot more attractive if it’s right near Sunset Junction as opposed to Mid-City. The same logic applies to food. The restaurant at The Magic Castle might have a 1980's-style menu of beef wellingtons and stuffed mushrooms, but you’re at the goddamn Magic Castle, so it’s also one of the best meals of your life. When you’re in Manhattan Beach, Love & Salt feels like the coolest restaurant around. It’s busy, it’s pretty, it’s noisy, everyone is happy, and the food is tasty. It’s pretty easy to get caught up in the Manhattan Beach-ness of it all, and start declaring this the best restaurant in the city. As you drive home, you realize the food was good, if not out of this world, and that Love & Salt is definitely not the best restaurant in the city, but it is a pretty damn excellent neighborhood spot. If you’re an MB local, or you find yourself down there for the day, Love & Salt is certainly your best bet for upscale Italian food in a cool setting. The pastas are made in-house, there are some English muffins you’ll wish you could take home for breakfast tomorrow, and the roast chicken is seriously good. Oh, and you didn’t hear it from us, but the out of this world (and possible road to a heart attack) burger you had at brunch last week? If you ask nicely at dinner, you can have one then too. It’s called the Downlow burger for a reason. Love & Salt might not be the G.O.A.T. place it can occasionally feel like while you’re there, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t still great. Date night, dinner with the parents, a solo burger when you’re hungover on a Sunday - Love & Salt is a reliable and fun move for all of these things. And it doesn’t really matter whether it’s in Manhattan Beach or not.