Zinc Cafe is one of my favorite brunch spots and it never disappoints! We had the American…read moreBreakfast, the Middle Eastern Breakfast and the French Toast - everything was fresh, flavorful and absolutely delicious. The Blueberry Smash mocktail and Zinc Sunrise were the perfect refreshing drinks to go with brunch. The service was excellent - quick, attentive and friendly without ever feeling rushed. Great food, great atmosphere and consistently a wonderful experience. We'll definitely be back!

What a beautiful venue So much potential…read moreCurrently operating like a morgue The girl that's supposed to be standing at the door is standing in the back customers keep walking in and then walking out because nobody's there to greet them I had to find my server I had to ask for coffee You can smell the death of this place in the air as they cannot even open the gates because it's probably too much work Sad

Very nice hidden gem here, it's located off the beaten path, romantic and whimsical with a…read moregoth-like feel. I tried the beignets and they were really tasty, server was attentive and a good looking crowd showed up for "The Obscure" reserved seating for tasting and I was told mocktails if you're not into the spirits of that sort.

If you've ever wondered what would happen if a chill LA patio and a New Orleans street parade had a…read morebaby, The Rising Sun is exactly that child, and it's thriving. The outdoor patio feels like you accidentally wandered into a breezy corner of the French Quarter. Warm lights, casual seating, and that "kick back and stay awhile" energy. Ordering through the app and picking up at the window makes you feel like you're part of a secret club, the kind where the password is "extra napkins, please." * Chicken Po' Boy, WOW...This thing is stacked. Crispy chicken, tangy sauce, and bread that holds everything together like it's doing core workouts. It's messy in the best way, the kind of sandwich that demands respect and maybe a bib. * Fully Loaded Cajun Tots, These tots don't play around. They show up dressed to impress, cheese, toppings, flavor, the whole squad. It's basically a tiny potato block party, and you're invited. * Beignets, very delicious, crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and dusted with enough powdered sugar to make you question your laundry choices. One bite and suddenly you're hearing jazz horns in the distance. Their coffee game....Dangerously good. My boogie coffee drink - latter came out smooth, sweet, and caffeinated enough to make me consider running around the block a few times. It's the kind of drink that makes you shimmy in your seat and say, "Yeah... life is good." This place nails the New Orleans vibe without trying too hard. Great food, fun energy, and a patio that makes you forget you're in LA traffic territory. Come hungry, come curious, and definitely come ready for powdered sugar on your shirt. Miguel C.

Friendly service. Good drinks. Great for working remotely. I ordered the raspberry spritz which was…read moreperfect in this summer heat. Refreshing and not coyingly sweet. Lots of seating indoors and outdoors. Extra seating upstairs. Bonus: as a sensitive human, I appreciated the subtle and pleasant scent of the bathrooom hand soap. Not the usual pink, drying generic soaps. Didn't stay long enough to order from the food menu. But it's good to know they have a number of options. I'm told the breakfast burrito is a good go-to. Would love to visit again when in the arts district.

One star for the great customer service and ample seating. However, my coffee and matcha were so…read moredisgusting my party and I did not drink them and tossed them in the trash. Nearly $50 on drinks down the drain The coffee was extremely sour. Which means 1 of 2 things and an experienced barista should know... I understand they were busy and maybe the barista on duty wasn't paying attention to the quality, but it was (and truly no exaggeration) the worst coffee of my life. I'm saying plain Kroger's was better than whatever we had here. The matcha... now messing up matcha is an easy feat. However, it's a new experience for me to have a "green" matcha drink and for it to taste of no matcha and only oat milk HOW? Truly I'm asking. How does that happen? The most green drink, you'd think I'd be heavy on matcha and too bitter. No. That's not the taste you got at all. Straight milk. HOW? Overpriced and disgusting? Hard pass. I have never wanted to pull a "Karen" in my life until that moment. Because wtf. But I have issues with standing up for myself and my earned money, so I simply left rather than bringing it up to an employee. And I will say the lady who was at the cashier that day and took our order was friendly and sweet. I think she tried to warn us on what was actually good to order, clearly I did not heed.

I don't come here often but when I do, I totally love it! It's a motorcycle themed restaurant/bar,…read moreshowroom, with a store, barbershop and tattoo parlor. This is a great place to invite any motorcycle friends who are visiting from out of town. First, there is parking for cars on the street, and inside there is an area strictly for motorcycles. The restaurant has an open patio and is very dog friendly- they even have a dog menu! The service is good, but pretty busy- they need to hire a few more waiters. When my friend and I were there (Sunday afternoon) it was pretty crowded. The food was excellent- and the desert was good too! It's in a sketchy part of town, so visit during the day. I'm not sure what night traffic is like. But overall, I would suggest coming here!

Stopped by Bike Shed Moto Co. in the Arts District for brunch today, and it was a great experience!…read moreThe atmosphere and vibe are super cool and chill--inside, you'll find bikes on display alongside a unique mix of a restaurant, bar, barber shop, tattoo parlor, and beauty salon. It's almost a one-stop shop for everything! We ordered the pancakes, French toast, steak & eggs, Loco Moco, a matcha latte, and a cold brew. All the food was pretty good, the service was fantastic, and the pricing was very reasonable. Plus, parking was surprisingly easy! Definitely recommend stopping by. I'll definitely be back on another day to try more from their menu!

Who says Filipino food can't be considered fine dining? Chef Josh Espinosa is showcasing how the…read moredishes we're accustomed to can be prepared with an elevated approach. Sampa is located in the Arts District near the intersection of S Hewitt St and E 5th right next to Urth Cafe. There's a parking lot directly across the street from the restaurant but you can also park around the corner by Arts District Park for $5. If it's your first time visiting Sampa, you have to be open minded towards the concept itself. Yes, the dishes here are smaller in portion and costs more than your typical fast casual spot. All the servers here are attentive and offer to help with what to order if you're unsure. For dinner, the Crispy Pasta is their take on crispy pata but served with spinach tagliatelle. The crab fat fried rice is a no brainer and depending on the night you come, I highly recommend the Sinigang xiaolongbao special. You don't have to be Filipino to appreciate what Sampa is doing for the culture, just come by and see for yourself.

The restaurant is Filipino food with an "upscale," aka fancy, spin…read more Ok - so, I was in the area with my son, saw the grill outside. I thought it was a taco stand. It was not. It's where they grill certain items, lobster, ribeye, skirt steak, the intestinal part of a chicken (?). So, not tacos but grilled meats so we stayed. twist. First of all, it's a lovely space. In a not very obvious area of DTLA, next to Urth Cafe but no other restaurants. We didn't have reservations so we had the option of sitting at the bar or following the waitress to a back room area instead of the front room that is visible to everyone. My son is a minor, so to the back we went! Seriously, the closer we got to the back room the more I felt I had been cast in "The Chef." Scary! Lol! The back room is black. Blackout black! Black tablecloths, walls, chairs, dark, low light. Very luxurious and open space. Which - because it wasn't full at the time - felt a bit like being in the film, The Menu." A bit too upscale and empty to feel comfortable. More guests arrived later, a large table, so that was more comforting. The food: Recommended *Kara Kara Tamales: braised oxtail with a peanut butter sauce. Wow! The taste was wonderful! Hard to explain but Filipino/African food meets Latin food. It was on the "shared plate" menu, which to me means it will be a lot. But the 2 tamales were not very big. Still, they were so rich that the 2 really were sufficient to share. Quite filling. I couldn't get enough of the sauce! *Crab fried rice: Very tasty and generous portion. Plenty share! Not recommended: The street eats menu. Now, this is what pulled us in - the sights and smells of the food being grilled outside the restaurant. Most of which was on this meme. Like a tasting menu. But for price to portion ratio, it simply isn't worth it. I ordered the skirt steak. 4 oz, cut in half. Cooked down to what looked like .5 oz! Each on a toothpick sitting in a paper plate (or maybe it was cupcake holder?) IDK. I just know it wasn't a good presentation and the taste wasn't memorable. Regular. More grill smell than taste. Not at all worth $8. Service: Really nice. And mostly good. Though they did fail short by (1) Using only small appetizer size plates and (2) Not bringing a fresh plate to eat the crab fried rice on after the peanut butter sauce laced tamale appetizer was eaten. The server brought the fried rice, but didn't bother to give us fresh plates (nor silverware). My son was mortified when I grabbed a plate from one of the empty tables! (Teenager energy on full effect). But after initial attentive service, the variety of different servers whizzing by didn't stop to ask if we needed anything. And I sat waiting at least 8 minutes staring at the rice. I assured my young man that the servers would be fine with me getting another plate to save them from having to. And once I did, he suddenly started eating from my plate of my peanut butter free fried rice. And of course, when a server did attend to us and I let her know, she was glad I took matters into my own hands instead of not eating for 15 minutes. Thoughts: Go for dinner, and order from the full dinner menu, skip the skimpy street eats menu. With reservations you can sit in the main restaurant area that has some view to the outdoors. Without it - back to the black room you go! Know that it will be expensive. And it will be original. Not sure I'll go back. It's very "special occasion" upscale dining. But If I do it'll be with reservations. The meal was memorable and worth experiencing.

After a late night out, the hubs and I needed something reasonably close and yummy for breakfast…read more We were staying at the Hotel Per La so I sent my hubs to grab and our food to bring it back to our hotel room. My breakfast burrito was good. My husband's breakfast sandwich was better so halfway through we traded. Service was great. Ambiance was nice.

I'll be honest here, I kind of wanted to hate this place ever since I almost went a few months back…read morebut changed my mind when I saw six people wearing fedoras at a table and wanted nothing to do with that, but here we are, months later giving this place another real shot. My wife and I stopped here a few weekends back for lunch and I was pleasantly surprised with just how much I enjoyed the food. The ambiance here is pretty generic, white and bright and very copy and paste of a lot of places popping up recently. The staff was super friendly while taking our orders and dropping the food off, which is always appreciated. I ended up ordering the Santo's Turkey Melt which is smoked turkey, grilled onions, Swiss cheese, and chipotle aioli served on sourdough with a side of french fries. The sandwich was really good and the same can be said for the french fries and I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of fries given, so thumbs up to that. I forgot what the food costs so I visited the website and for some reason they don't think it's important to put that online, which is pretty darn stupid if you ask me. Overall, I didn't have a bad experience at Sandcouch Cafe and I would visit again in the future thanks to it's convenient location. The food was solid and the staff was friendly, and that's really all I need when ordering a sandwich.

This is one of my favorite spots to meet up with friends for a casual get together when in the…read moreDowntown LA area! It's conveniently located to the LA Convention Center, Crytpo.com arena, and LA Live which makes it a must visit before or after an event! I am obsessed with their happy hour, which offers healthy items at discounted prices with generous portions! I have been here so many times throughout the years but most recently found myself here during a busy World Cup match! Regardless, the service and quality of food was not sacrificed! I was greeted as soon as I got there and the bartenders were overwhelmed but still friendly and helpful. I was so tempted to get a margarita, since theirs are amazing, but decided to keep it dry and just get their vegan nachos. I was able to score a table outside on their lovely patio, which felt secluded enough from the main street. My food was brought out quicker than I thought and I was delighted, as I was famished! The vegan nachos here are fantastic and the happy price is only $10, which is a steal for what you get! They are costed in the most magical concoction of a bean puree, cashew cheese sauce, and guacamole which all have the most creamy, luscious and savory flavors. It's so hearty and well seasoned and not only filling, but you feel great after. Parking is pretty easy, as there are usually ample meters available nearby. I cannot wait to return again soon the next time I'm in Downtown LA! I am hoping to try more of their vegan options and next time I will for sure get a drink to go along with their delicious food!

Prank has a fun atmosphere and a great location in DTLA, but my experience was a bit mixed. The…read morecocktails didn't quite live up to expectations. I ordered the Espresso Martini, and it tasted pretty watered down and lacked the bold coffee flavor I was hoping for. On the bright side, the food was definitely the highlight. The mussels were flavorful, the calamari was crispy and cooked well, and the fries were delicious. Those dishes really saved the experience . Overall, I'd come back for the food, but I'd probably steer clear from cocktails and order a real drink. Prank is a convenient place for dtla residents in surrounding apartments to come get some quick bites and drinks and catch a live game

Distrito Catorce is a gem in Boyle Heights that delivers on all fronts. The food was outstanding!…read moreFresh, flavorful, and beautifully presented. Every dish felt thoughtfully prepared, with authentic flavors and quality ingredients that stood out from the first bite to the last. The ambiance was welcoming and the art was tasteful. What truly elevated the experience was the service. The staff were attentive, friendly, and knowledgeable, making us feel genuinely welcomed throughout the meal. They were quick to offer recommendations and ensured everything was perfect without being intrusive. We ordered the tostaditas de atún agua chile negro, beet salad, carne asada taco and Al pastor taco and watched the World Cup game. Distrito Catorce combines exceptional food, a great atmosphere, and top-notch service. It's the kind of place that leaves you planning your next visit before you've even finished your meal. Definitely plan on coming back to watch more World Cup games.

I knew heading into Distrito Catorce that I wanted to see three things . The closing art exhibit,…read morehear the live band, and finally try Chef Jonathan's menu. It was basically a grand slam. To be honest, I was already biased because his Smorgasburg pop-ups were consistently good. But Distrito Catorce is different , it's like art. My favorite dish was the tacos de papa with salsa macha. The crunch of the potato taco riding into the salsa macha and crema felt like home, but with some extra pop. His salsa game is on point. The scallion salsa on the ribeye taco was also gas. Lastly, I really dug the tostadita de atún. It hit perfectly on these hot summer days. Low-key, I still want to try the El Rey de Noche. Tacos de beef trompo are starting to hit LA, and dude was ahead of the curve making picanha-brisket tacos de trompo. Service is smooth too. The servers are helpful, and solid at the bar. Overall, it's a cool spot with a menu that feels unique to LA.