All FJM Food Articles

Forkstrike scores LA restaurants on the last 180 days instead of a lifetime average. The county top 25, the hottest neighborhood and the biggest comebacks.

After years cooking in other people's kitchens, including Dudley Market and Ester's, the Venice-born chef opened Chez Mar in Mar Vista. A petite SoCal bistro built around a raw bar, now on Resy's October Hit List.

Mindy and Vinny Kinne have built six restaurants around the night they met at a bar. The newest, on Santa Monica's Main Street, is the first to stay open through dinner, with brunch until 2:30 and pizza and pasta after.

Amirali Ghasemipour built a following on weekly order drops and pop-ups before signing for a brick-and-mortar at 131 S. La Brea, the former Burgers 99. Thin-crust rounds, square pan pies with rotating farmers market toppings, natural wine and microbrews.

The 1914 Hotel Clark has been about to open since 2013. It soft opened Tuesday with 348 rooms and a signature restaurant, Votana, running a coastal Mediterranean menu under executive chef Gio Koletty. The grand opening party is October 15.

The chef behind Hansei, the Japanese American tasting menu pop-up at the JACCC in Little Tokyo, is opening a permanent restaurant on Washington Boulevard in October. Chris Ono cooked at Eleven Madison Park, RyuGin in Tokyo, Mori Sushi and Providence before this.

Los Angeles magazine's The Food Event returns October 4, 2026 to Calamigos Ranch in Malibu for its 20th year. Lineup, tickets, and the early bird deadline.

The De La Nonna team opened Sous Sous on September 14 inside the former sanctuary of Bethany Presbyterian Church, now the 25-room Hotel Lucile. Chef Patrick Costa is cooking Southern France through the American South, and a dinner reservation is the only public way onto the roof.

The h.wood Group is converting its own Sunset Strip nightclub into Little Luck, its first Japanese concept, with chef Erik Idos returning to Los Angeles after nearly ten years at Nobu and a run as executive chef in Hong Kong.

Crews removed the PUMP branding from the TomTom building on Santa Monica Boulevard in August, ending a dual-brand arrangement that began in 2023. The original PUMP closed in 2023 over a rent increase to a reported $80,000 a month.

Taix served its last meal in Echo Park on March 29 after 99 years, ahead of demolition for a six-story housing project. The family plans a smaller Taix inside the new building, targeting 2029 or 2030, with pop-ups and a cookbook in between.

Electric Owl, The Belmont, Connie and Ted's, Las Perlas and the PUMP brand all went dark within roughly a year on the same few blocks. Rent, labor and taxes come up repeatedly, and for once an operator put his name to it.

Cole's, the downtown restaurant that opened in 1908 and claims to have invented the French dip, closed on March 29 after five postponed farewells. The business was listed at roughly $500,000, with Bay Cities Italian Deli floated as a possible buyer.

Michele Galifi has turned his Arts District Sicilian trattoria into a second business before dinner service. Lulu's Coffee opened inside Bianca in mid-August, named for his younger daughter, with a signature espresso built on caramelized plantain.

Dylan Leong closed The Belmont on La Cienega at the end of August after 26 years, and unlike most operators this year he said why: rising taxes, labor costs and what he called a lack of support from the city.

The barbecue restaurant that opened on Artesia Boulevard in 1949 has permanently closed, ending a 75-year run. The Downey location, which opened in 1953, is now the last one standing.

Sebastian Laborde's Lounge 1888 opened beside the Intuit Dome in Inglewood with a public dining room and The 8, a members-only speakeasy capped at fewer than 80 guests with private liquor lockers and a six-course tasting menu that appears on no printed menu.

Ernesto Uchimura's railway-themed restaurant and cocktail bar closed after nearly 10 years, announced September 1 with no reason given. It sat on a triangular lot that was genuinely once a Pacific Electric Railway junction.

Ray Garcia closed Broken Spanish downtown during the pandemic. He reopened it as Broken Spanish Comedor in the A-frame building that once held Roy Choi's A-Frame, with an in-house nixtamal program and a Michelin recommendation in its first year.

Holbox, Kato, Providence and Somni all landed on North America's 50 Best Restaurants for 2026, with Holbox the highest-ranked Los Angeles entry at No. 26. A guide to all four, what they cost and how hard they are to book.