The Essential Los Angeles

Round red lanterns floating above the street guide visitors to the sidewalk patio of this Vietnamese café in Chinatown’s Central Plaza. A traditional

Akasha is proof that Los Angeles's love affair with health-food restaurants rages on. The green-built industrial space is filled with waitstaff in hem

Located at the corner of Abbot Kinney and San Juan in the small beach community of Venice, 3 Square Café is the creation of veteran chef/restaurateur

At this retro diner-meets-coffee shop near the Hollywood Palladium, the menu (as the name suggests) focuses mainly on one item: waffles. Owner Scooter

S Bar and its restaurant companion, Katsuya, are leading the resuscitation of the sketchier stretches of Hollywood Boulevard. The Philippe Starck-desi

Power lunchers adore this outpost of New York celebrity chef (and Top Chef host) Tom

Bar Lubitsch is a covert-feeling bar decorated in shades of red and gold, and further outfitted with crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. The

Brentwood’s most popular sushi destination happens to be the chain restaurant Katsuya by Starck. Master sushi chef Katsuya Uechi and design impresario

Sake-thirsty patrons come to this West LA eatery for the European, Asian and Californian cuisines served tapas-style. More informal than his flagship

Wild seafood in its "purest and simplest form" is the guiding passion behind Executive Chef Michael Comarusti’s Providence, LA. Combining East coast t

Hand-painted bone china tea sets, bamboo cutting boards, and chrome fortune cookies entice shoppers at this high-end gift store in Chinatown’s Central

It’s difficult to miss Beard Papa's Sawtelle location with its bright lights and constant line of customers. This Japanese chain, which started as a s

Giant Robot was first launched in the mid-90’s as a hand-published, pop culture magazine. A decade ago, its founders, two UCLA grads, decided to expan

Voda Spa proffers a steam bath with a coed swimming pool and caviar body wraps.

Despite its jukebox, vintage pool table, and plaid carpeting, Seven Grand is not a standard Irish watering hole—the mounted game head trophies actuall

Cocktails take equal billing with creative comfort food at this downtown gastropub. Once seated at the small bar, guests can sample menu items, such a

Launched spring 2005, trend forecaster Desiree Kohan brings handpicked, high fashion to her mid-city Los Angeles boutique near LACMA. Des Kohan offers

For sophisticated unmentionables and bedroom play essentials, Kiki De Montparnasse is the place to go. Located on Melrose Avenue, this loft-like retai

Foxtail, a dining and dancing club, is the new after-hours spot in West Hollywood.

Limn, a theatrical gallery of furniture by Zaha Hadid and paintings just in from Beijing, is a San Francisco import.

Located in the Venice area and brimming with positive vibes, the Stronghold is an updated dry goods store that sells vintage clothing and limited-edit

On the ground floor of the Homer Laughlin Building at South Broadway, the Grand Central Market's 38 global merchants purvey various international ware

In a suburb comprising mostly low-level shops and two-story homes, this ultramodern 18th-floor hotel bar is an unexpected gem. Here, guests and locals

One of America’s premier art museums, with an inventory of more than 100,000 works, LACMA is unsung compared with its crosstown rival, the Getty Cente

Mandrake attracts Culver City gallery hoppers who are drawn by the cozy wood-paneled tavern, great DJ-mixed tunes and a space for performances and exh

At home amidst the boho-chic atmosphere of Venice’s Abbot Kinney Boulevard, this perfume boutique combines the romance of old-world fragrances with a