All FJM Food Articles

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.

Savage Seas turns the Fonda Theatre's Hollywood rooftop into a nostalgia-driven cocktail tasting experience channeling the city's classic tiki bars, with a full bar and half-sized martinis served in matching glassware.

The Brothers Sushi opened a Beverly Hills location at 255 S. Beverly Drive, in the room Sushi Kiyono held for 27 years. Address, menu plans, and what to know.

Quality Branded's first West Coast restaurant opened in the Beverly Hills space that housed The Palm steakhouse for decades. A boar sculpture named Boris guards the door, the burrata is flown from Puglia weekly, and the lobster arrives on fire.

Aaron Robins is closing Boneyard Bistro after 21 years in Sherman Oaks. The smokehouse that helped make Ventura Boulevard a destination for chef-driven barbecue serves its final meal Saturday, September 12, 2026. The chef, the history, and what to order before it goes.

Kiyoshi Kimura, the Tokyo restaurateur who has paid record prices for bluefin at the New Year tuna auction eight of the last nine years, chose Chapman Plaza in Koreatown for his first restaurant outside Japan. Tablet ordering, late-night hours and prices well under what the name suggests.

Mark Okuda's Michelin-listed sushi operation runs a Downtown Culver City room built on dry-aged fish. Omakase runs from about $95 at lunch to $200 at dinner.

Skywalker Grill, the rooftop restaurant atop George Lucas and Mellody Hobson's new museum in Exposition Park, opens September 22 alongside the museum itself. It is open to the public with no gallery ticket required, and reservations are already live on Resy.

Restaurateur Jonah Freedman took over Mistral, the French bistro that has anchored Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks since 1988, and reopened it with the Wine Spectator list intact, a new sommelier, and a late-night menu that cuts the bill by a quarter.

Max and Helen's is the Larchmont diner from Somebody Feed Phil host Phil Rosenthal with Nancy Silverton, built on a nostalgic 1970s menu with all-day breakfast. Weekend waits have run long enough to become part of the story.

Hide Takeda of Michelin-recognized Sushi Takeda opened Utamaro in West Los Angeles, running a roughly ten-course omakase for about $80 alongside an izakaya menu where nearly everything costs under $20. Lunch runs Friday and Saturday only.