Level Los Angeles Downtown - South Olive

With only one seating per night, this exclusive destination is a treat for a mere handful of lucky diners. Indeed, securing a reservation is no small feat, but the reward is a culinary spectacle with few equals. All eyes are on Chef Brandon Hayato Go, who handles and arranges every ingredient with care and explains every course in great detail. Seasonality is everything, as thoughtfully sourced ingredients are sliced, fried, grilled or steamed to exacting standards. The likes of abalone, snow crab, onions and corn are presented on prized Japanese pottery and porcelain collected by the chef him

There's tucked away and then there's Sushi Kaneyoshi. This clandestine (read: difficult to find) sushi counter is in the most unexpected of places and has been a difficult reservation to score since the very beginning. However, once inside, the serene, minimalist dining room is a vision to behold. Great care is taken with every detail, whether it's the quality of ingredients, the precise knife cuts, the careful forming of nigiri or the gorgeous pottery, some of which are handmade by Chef Yoshiyuki Inoue himself. From golden lobes of uni to rich monkfish liver, product and preparation are held

You'll need to read the instructions sent ahead of time to find the entrance to Chef Ki Kim's restaurant, but any navigation woes are quickly put to rest once you're inside this ten-seat spot. The contemporary Korean tasting menu pulls in global influences, and meals begin with a few bites such as shirako gimbap, a shell filled with truffle rice and diced kimchi, or crispy, tender octopus in a creamy sauce with octopus head and gochujang. Charred sugar snap peas with steelhead trout roe and tuna or creamy pasta made with perilla seed and topped with fresh winter truffle display a creative flai

Chef Seigo Tamura's 715 doesn't offer the typical hushed omakase. Instead, music plays in the background here, where an eight-seat counter is wonderfully spacious, and chef mostly keeps to himself as he assembles each bite with quiet efficiency. Start the meal with a number of kitchen dishes like excellent monkfish liver, or charcoal-grilled beltfish served with a scattering of sansho pepper. All of the seafood comes from Japan, and larger fish like tuna are aged in-house. Rice for the nigiri is on the firmer side with a touch of sugar added as a nod to his Osaka roots. Their sake list feature

This popular spot hums with activity from eager diners and a bustling open kitchen. Headed by the talented Chef Max Boonthanakit and team, Camphor plates seriously good French fare with a sprinkling of creative flair. Inventive cocktails, including the refreshing Rue de Baci, complete the experience. Sea bream crudo with green apple ice and horseradish cream offers a fresh, aromatic opener before a main course like scallop demi-lune pasta in truffle-chive beurre blanc. Bistro classics like steak au poivre with Cognac cream (best accompanied by golden brown frites) remain central to the menu. A

Chef Jonathan Yao has found a grand stage in this cool enclave of polished concrete in the Row DTLA. Here, he and his team have worked diligently to hone an inspired tasting menu, drawing deftly from his Taiwanese background and LA upbringing, threading a path between boldness with refinement. Gently cooked Mt. Lassen trout is bathed in a vibrant, complex fish broth bolstered with fermented Napa cabbage tingling spice, while crisp-skinned Peking-style duck breast is matched with a sesame ball filled with juicy confit and a rich jus flavored with citrusy magao pepper, at once comforting and exc

With its tall mirrors, tiled walls and tin ceilings, this rustic Italian eatery is every inch the classic trattoria. Hidden in plain sight just across from Grand Central Market, it is a known quantity with the local crowd, who fill these tables at all times of day. A few bites, and you'll be ready to pledge allegiance to the Republic, too.The array of excellent handmade pastas is seemingly endless, like long, tubular strands of bigoli della nonna, headlinng an impeccably balanced angus-and-sausage ragout. Then, try to pry yourself away from the noodle nexus and savory tomato-based sauces to sa