The new Los Angeles restaurants to book in February 2026

new los angeles restaurants february 2026

(Image credit: Photography by Jim Sullivan)

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February 2026
January 2026

When it comes to dining, Los Angeles offers a vast cultural melting pot that celebrates techniques from around the globe while championing local, year-round Californian produce. This month, Korean and Italian cuisines meld into one concept, an unassuming neighbourhood receives a stylish American dining addition, and a Parisian-style salon opens in the desert just in time for Modernism Week.

The Wallpaper* guide to new Los Angeles restaurants

February 2026

Beaton’s at Bar Cecil

While half of LA will be in Palm Springs this February for Modernism Week – or soaking up winter sun at weekend homes – be sure to book (well in advance) the hottest new haunt from the wildly popular Bar Cecil team.

Describe the mood: A chic patio and bar with Parisian salon vibes, where stylish guests linger in plush red velvet banquettes, though you may prefer to perch at the marble bar for local gossip. Black-and-white celebrity photography and sketches are chock-a-block beneath the tufted ceiling, featuring the crème de la crème of the fashion and art worlds, from Terry O’Neill to Damien Hirst.

What to order: Try a tropical Singapore Sling to fend off the desert heat, followed by salon bites ranging from pigs in blankets made with wagyu beef cocktail franks to lotus-leaf duck bao buns topped with coriander flower. The spaghetti bolognese features a rich mix of Black Angus beef, Duroc pork and veal. Just when you think it can’t get more over the top, the rich chocolate mousse with Valrhona pearls arrives, perfectly matching the decadent décor.

Why we love it: Pink dinner-jacket-clad bartenders are just the beginning. It feels like a throwback to a glamorous epoch – one without a care in the world.

Beaton’s at Bar Cecil is located at 1555 Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs, CA 92264, United States.

Hermon’s

Last Word Hospitality – the team behind Found Oyster, Queen’s Raw Bar & Grill and Rasarumah – has opened a new restaurant in Hermon, the historic neighbourhood south of Highland Park and north of Monterey Hills, that dates back to 1903.

Describe the mood: Housed in a former church banquet hall, the Art Deco bones of this 89-seat space make it a true neighbourhood gathering place. The U-shaped bar and all-booth dining room are designed for lingering, with a mix of vintage artwork, handmade California tilework and hickory floors.

What to order: Billed as ‘American cuisine with chophouse sensibility’, chef-partner DK Kolender leads the kitchen with riffs on bar-food favourites, such as fried coconut shrimp with sweet chilli ’nduja sauce. The house speciality – already creating a buzz – is the two-sheet lasagna vongole with clams, cream, guanciale, Parmigiano and breadcrumbs, resembling a flatbread made for sharing. The old-school baked Alaska, a spiralled dome of meringue and lemon curd, will have you booking a return visit.

Why we love it: Hermon’s is a warm, welcoming neighbourhood restaurant and watering hole this area truly needed – and don’t leave without a round of ‘tiny tinis’.

Hermon’s is located at 5800 Monterey Road, Los Angeles, CA 90042, United States

Lapaba

Owner Robert Kim has harnessed the talents of husband-and-wife chef team McKenna Lelah and Matthew Kim, who first met in 2014 while working at Osteria Mozza under chef Nancy Silverton, who also serves as a consultant on this project.

Describe the mood: While the location sits in the heart of Koreatown, the furniture was custom-made in Italy by Costa Group in collaboration with Kelly Architects. A long, curving Italian Carrara marble counter and a custom-made bamboo bar run the length of the main space, where every seat offers a front-row view of the kitchen’s creativity and the pasta-making room. The front bar area houses a display of over 300 bottles.

What to order: Traditional Italian classics are reinterpreted through the lens of Korean ingredients. Start with the crispy supplì – a fried rice ball stuffed with kimchi, Spam and Fontina cheese. Korean fried chicken appears in the form of lollipop wings with Calabrian chilli, yuzu kosho ranch and pickled radish. Pasta is the star, including a cheesy corn agnolotti, which should be followed by black truffle soft serve for dessert.

Why we love it: A sleek space serving a new breed of comfort fare that seamlessly blends two of the world’s best cuisines.

Lapaba is located at 558 S Western Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90020, United States.

January 2026

Broken Spanish Comedor

Native Angeleno chef Ray Garcia has revived his original downtown LA Modern Mexican concept, Broken Spanish, which closed in 2020, into a new space on Washington Boulevard in Culver City.

Describe the mood: The old ‘A-Frame’ building, which once housed Roy Choi’s restaurant of the same name, has been redesigned by Candace Shure of Shure Design Studio. ‘Comedor’ translates loosely to dining room or a place to eat together, which became a key part of the concept, according to Shure. As such, the studio focused on warm neutrals and comfortable earth tones, seen in laser-cut breezeblock-style wood panels and curved ceiling light pendants wrapped in gauzy linen.

What to order: Garcia brings back his beloved chicharrón entrée (which can take five days to make), utilising crispy pork belly and pickled red cabbage, along with his albóndigas made with duck meatballs, bacon, and nopales, plus a rendition of chicken enchiladas with feta in green tomatillo salsa.

Why we love it: It’s great to have Garcia back on the westside serving some of the original Broken Spanish classics, along with a good salt air margarita.

Broken Spanish Comedor is located at 12565 Washington Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90066, United States

Read our full restaurant review of Broken Spanish Comedor

Little Mountain

Montecito in Santa Barbara County is about 60 miles north of LA, but is a well-travelled path for weekend getaways, second-home owners, and a solid celebrity enclave.

Describe the mood: Tucked away in the Upper Village of San Ysidro Road, the design was carried out by Andrew Cosbie (formerly of Commune Design and Studio Shamshiri), in collaboration with owner and creative director Eva Schreier (Mexico’s Hacienda Los Milagros). The warm, rustic details give a nod to Santa Barbara’s Spanish Colonial architecture, and the dining spaces evoke the feeling of gathering at a friend’s home – especially by one of the fireplaces, or if you sit at the chef’s table near the open kitchen hearth.

What to order: Chef Diego Moya has a pedigree that includes Le Comptoir and L’Arpège in Paris, and brings his ‘sourcing-first philosophy’ to this West Coast enclave, which features live-fire cooking with vegetables and seafood. Solid starters include local spiny lobster with Tokyo turnip, and grilled radish with hazelnuts and Seascape white cheddar from the Central Coast. A standout main is the Mt. Lassen trout and wild mushrooms. Do top off the night with the toasted maple sourdough ice cream.

Why we love it: It’s worth the drive, and there is nothing that compares to this warmth in the hills of Montecito.

Little Mountain is located at 516 San Ysidro Rd, Montecito, CA 93108, United States

Read our full restaurant review of Little Mountain

Max and Helen’s

Larchmont Village is now home to an old school diner from Somebody Feed Phil television host Phil Rosenthal and Mozza chef Nancy Silverton. The duo has struck a chord as people are lined up around the block for two to five-hour waits – and that’s on a slow day.

Describe the mood: Rosenthal enlisted Matt Winter (of M. Winter Designs) to create ‘an old neighbourhood diner that looks like it has been there for 100 years that you just happened to walk by.’ Winter wanted the room to encompass a post-war aesthetic, as if European artisans had constructed the hand-troweled plaster, custom wall panelling, and white marble counter. Authentic 100-year-old New York subway lights shine over the steel barstools from 1920, which are a prime seat.

What to order: The Larchmont Slam breakfast comes with eggs, bacon, potatoes and what some are calling ‘the best pancakes on the planet.’ Lunch items include a grilled to perfection Reuben sandwich with pastrami and sauerkraut, and the most ordered item, Lily’s thick and rich hot chocolate with a melted marshmallow rim (named after Phil’s daughter who also runs the front of house).

Why we love it: We could all use a dose of cosy, comfort, nostalgic pantry classics right now, and this diner has that covered in spades.

Max and Helen’s is located at 127 N Larchmont Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90004, United States

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Carole Dixon is a prolific lifestyle writer-editor currently based in Los Angeles. As a Wallpaper* contributor since 2004, she covers travel, architecture, art, fashion, food, design, beauty, and culture for the magazine and online, and was formerly the LA City editor for the Wallpaper* City Guides to Los Angeles.