The Los Angeles Michelin Guide Has Six New Additions — But Which Restaurants Made The Cut?

Photo Credit: Jakob Layman

The Los Angeles Michelin Guide has six new submissions this month. But which restaurants made the cut?

Barra Santos

Cuisine: Portuguese

Snag a seat outside or in at this small, no reservations restaurant in Cyprus Park. Inside, the best seats are at the bar with a view into the kitchen. The focused menu is Portuguese and even features some family recipes. Plenty of items are designed for sharing, including their crispy and tender bacalhau fritters with salt cod, potato, and caramelized onion, or charred cabbage over a bed of white beans studded with Iberico pork and garlic butter sauce. Their whole branzino with a flavorful green sauce made with pumpkin seeds, roasted serranos, and tomatillos is an absolute must. Finally, spiced almond cake with whipped crème fraîche is a nice ending.

Danbi

Cuisine: Korean

Danbi sports a sleek, modern dining room with an industrial feel (think concrete floors, hanging plants, and dark wood tables) as well as a large bar for bites and sips like their “kimchi mule.”

Chef Lareine Ko’s streamlined menu pops with large, shareable plates. The hit list includes mushroom bibimbap with fresh vegetables, as well as a crispy scallop pancake accompanied by a creamy mentaiko sauce. Wagyu Zabuton, cooked over charcoal and served on a hot cast iron skillet over a bed of grilled onions, is a solid winner. End the meal with one of Chef Isabell Manibusan’s pastries—perhaps the almost-nostalgic banana milk cloud with brûléed meringue and banana milk crème anglaise, or the Mont Halla, a Korean twist on a Mont Blanc.

Leopardo

Cuisine: Californian

Chef Joshua Skenes is back on the scene with Leopardo, a likeable spot with a laidback feel where the menu leans on seafood with a few pizzas thrown in for good measure. Come with a group to sample a variety, beginning with crispy red flint waffles with bordier butter and maple syrup, and splurge by adding Ossetra caviar aged for six months with country bacon salt. Then, tuck into a raw bar offering, perhaps the live prawn crudo with a kumquat and habanero sauce. A classic margherita pizza is never a bad idea or opt for their Hello Satan pizza with wild honey, chili, salumi, and herbs. End on a sweet note with tiramisu or a wild blackberry hand pie, made even better by adding soft serve.

Cocktails like “Rhubarb like a Negroni” or a “Barbeque Old Fashioned” are impressive.

Photo Credit: Gra
Grá

Cuisine: Pizza

There’s a welcoming vibe at this hip spot where the focus is on natural fermentation with sourdough pizza, seasonal pickled vegetables, and fermented drinks such as tepache. Grá has indoor and covered patio seating, but all eyes will be on the cooks preparing pizzas in their wood-fired oven. It’s all about the thin and crispy sourdough crust with high quality toppings. Classics like pepperoni will always rule, but hard hitters like stracciatella and prosciutto with basil and a drizzle of coffee-infused honey are worth noting. While pizza is certainly the scene stealer, don’t ignore their salads or appetizers, including grilled maitake with pickled green peppercorn and agretti in a flavor-packed broth. For dessert, go for the soy-sauce caramel sundae or chocolate tart.

Mae Malai Thai House of Noodles

Cuisine: Thai

Just a short walk from their original food stall, this restaurant’s strip mall digs are simple but it’s a comfortable, welcoming spot with a tempting menu to boot. As the name suggests, their specialty is noodles, particularly boat noodles with a thick, intense broth and your choice of pork or beef, noodle type, and spice level. Fret not if you can’t decide, as the bowls are small and ordering two or more varieties might just be the perfect compromise. Don’t skip out on their stir-fried dishes, such as the boldly spiced chili holy basil with ground pork, bell peppers, and green beans. For dessert, choose from coconut ice cream or kanom tuay, a two-layer custard featuring a green layer infused with fresh pandan leaf, and a white layer with coconut.

Stella

Cuisine: Italian

Italian food with local California products is the promise at Stella, where a two-story dining room has an Art Deco flair, and the chef’s counter offers a mesmerizing look at live-fire cooking.

Don’t miss the lardo di Colonanta, a dish of thinly sliced and meltingly soft lardo paired with strawberries, razor-thin caciocavello cheese, and a balsamic amaro. Su Filindeu is an impressive pasta dish with hand-stretched noodles cooked in bone broth accompanied by braised lamb neck and pecorino dolce. Other sure bets include Iberico pork pluma with porchetta spices, saba lacquer, and hens yolk cooked over the live fire, or opt for a hand-made pizza. Finally, cassata Sicilliana is a delicious dessert to cap off the meal.