Small Plates
A.O.C.
8700 W. 3rd St., Los Angeles, CA, 90048
310-859-9859
At A.O.C. Christiaan Rollich’s salad-in-a-glass comes in a vodka version but tastes just as fresh with chamomile tea, basil, arugula, jalapeño, cucumber, and lime.
Neighborhood: Beverly Grove, Los Angeles, West Hollywood
Category: Best of LA, Best of LA 2013: Eat, Best of LA: 2013, Best of LA: Eat, Restaurants, Small Plates
Bar Toscana
11633 San Vicente Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 90049
310-826-0028
Brentwood’s Toscana restaurant has taken over the space next door for this sleek, cocktail-centric spot that lowers the area’s age bracket by 15 years…
Neighborhood: Brentwood
Category: Italian, Restaurants, Small Plates
Barbrix
2442 Hyperion Ave., Los Angeles, CA, 90027
323-662-2442
A meal at this nonchalant wine bar might be composed of jamon iberíco, a few grilled stalks of chile-spiked broccolini, and a lemony nest of chitarra with pencil-thin asparagus.
Neighborhood: Silver Lake
Category: Arts & Entertainment, Bars, Restaurants, Small Plates
Commonwealth
222 S. Glen-oaks Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 91502
818-845-2225
The “global small plates” field is a crowded one, but this is Burbank’s first real taste of today’s dominant restaurant trend.
Neighborhood: Burbank
Category: American, Restaurants, Small Plates
Crossroads
8284 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, CA, 90046
(323) 782-9245
White-tablecloth vegan—it was bound to happen.
Neighborhood: Hollywood, West Hollywood
Category: Best of LA, Best of LA 2013: Eat, Best of LA: 2013, Best of LA: Eat, Mediterranean, Restaurants, Small Plates, Vegetarian/Vegan
Gjelina
1429 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 90291
310-450-1429
At the apex of Abbot Kinney’s love affair with beach-chic fashion and local produce lies Gjelina.
Neighborhood: Los Angeles, Venice
Category: Restaurants, Small Plates
Laurel Hardware
7984 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 90046
323-656-6070
Other than the luxury cars at the valet stand, there’s little indication from the street that this place is any-thing but a hardware store.
Neighborhood: West Hollywood
Category: American, Restaurants, Small Plates
Scopa Italian Roots
2905 Washington Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, 90292
310-821-1100
The team that brought Black Market Liquor Bar to the Valley is behind this bustling, brick-walled dining hall in Venice that’s become a night owl hangout.
Neighborhood: Marina del Rey, Venice
Category: Italian, Restaurants, Small Plates
Superba Snack Bar
533 Rose Ave., Los Angeles, CA, 90291
310-399-6400
The ocean breeze that wafts along Rose Avenue keeps Superba’s patio cool, with a stockpile of thick blankets ensuring that nobody catches cold.
Neighborhood: Venice
Category: Californian, New American, Restaurants, Small Plates
The Hart and the Hunter
7950 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA, 90046
323-424-3055
Flat as a schoolhouse ruler, crisp as a Kentucky dawn, the chicken cracklings that get shot with chili vinegar at this Melrose venue serve as a beacon for the spirited cooking of Brian Dunsmoor and Kris Tominaga.
Neighborhood: Beverly Grove, West Hollywood
Category: American, Restaurants, Small Plates
The Wallace
3833 Main St., Los Angeles, CA, 90232
310-202-6400
Chef Michael Teich ran the kitchen at the Mediterranean-influenced Cleo in Hollywood and spent time at Venice’s California-cuisine hub Axe.
Neighborhood: Culver City
Category: American, Gastropub, Restaurants, Small Plates
Vinotéque
7469 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA, 90046
310-860-6060
It was a hit in Culver City, and now Vinotéque has reopened on a food-centric stretch of Melrose Avenue…
Neighborhood: Hollywood, Los Angeles
Category: Restaurants, Small Plates