Best Restaurants in Los Angeles for a Girls Dinner

Opportunities to dine al fresco on sunset-kissed rooftops might rarely end in Los Angeles, but the city has no shortage of stylish restaurants that make it feel right to be inside, too. Whether you’re looking for old-school glamour in Beverly Hills or an edgier more underground appeal downtown, launch into the weekend and roll deep with your best group of girlfriends at these see-and-be-seen restaurants in Los Angeles perfect for a girls’ night out.

ÉLEPHANTE, SANTA MONICA

While panoramic rooftop ocean views and a casual coastal California ambiance undoubtedly make this Westside eatery a daytime go-to, thanks to its Italian-inspired menu (grilled octopus, tuna tartare, Neapolitan-style pizzas, delicate pastas) and stellar natural wine list, Élephante is a perfect place to catch up with girlfriends over dinner, too.

Named after Arco dell’Elefante, a rock structure just off the coast of Pantelleria in Southern Italy, designer/restaurateur Nick Mathers channels a Southern Mediterranean meets North African aesthetic throughout the indoor-outdoor space with natural wood, stone, and copper finishes punctuated by custom furniture, and internationally sourced design accents, including oversized baskets from Africa, and vintage rugs from Morocco.

Find out more: Élephante

 

V DTLA, DOWNTOWN

Housed in a former 1920s jewelry store, V DTLA comes to Los Angeles by way of Stockholm, Sweden, and wows with incredible design details, including a jewelry counter-style front bar, antique tilework, and a repurposed vault; now an “intimate” dining space. Channeling a European social club vibe (co-founder Christian Lagerlöf calls it “SoHo House without the membership,”) several lounge spaces set over two stories, including a marble bar on the second-floor mezzanine, are ideal for a Friday night powwow.

Small shareable plates, salads, and quick-fired Genovese-style pizzas grace the menu; while a concise cocktail program –– try the Elyx Vodka-based Smoking Pot served in a rather charming terracotta flowerpot –– balances out the wine and beer list.

Find out more: V DTLA

 

REDBIRD, DOWNTOWN

Unquestionably one of Los Angeles’ finest restaurants, husband-and-wife team Neal and Amy Fraser opened Redbird, inside the former rectory of the Vibiana’s Cathedral in Downtown Los Angeles in 2015. Whether seated in the lounge bar, courtyard garden – which features a retractable roof – or one of the restaurant’s five private dining rooms, it makes a thoroughly gorgeous setting for dinner.

The menu delivers too. Progressive, innovative and refined New American-inspired dishes and shared plates run the gamut from day boat scallops and a Thai style crab soup to an artfully plated Liberty Farms duck. The wine list is worldly (some are available by the glass) and craft cocktails sublime.

Find out more: Redbird

 

AUBURN, WEST HOLLYWOOD

Sleek and elegant, ambitious and high-end, Auburn opened on Melrose in the Spring in 2019 and has since been shining pretty brightly as one of LA’s newest dining stars. Helmed by chef Eric Bost the menu format here is unique––four, six, or nine courses can be selected from a menu of 12 ever-changing seasonal items. Currently featured; koji-aged Sonoma duck, hiramasa crudo, and Santa Barbara abalone.

For a more casual catch-up, grab a bite and a drink at the bar, where an a la carte menu pairs nicely with the specialty cocktail list whose artfully balanced drinks are composed of and finished with everything from Amaro and Mezcal to Palo Santo and Douglas fir.

Find out more: Auburn

 

FIVE LEAVES LA, EAST HOLLYWOOD

Nab a plush corner booth at this charmingly Art Deco yet modish all-day bistro where East Hollywood intersects with trendy Los Feliz and Silver Lake neighborhoods. Set in a restored 1930s building, it’s expansive and airy with a casual California feel; there are marble and copper-toned fixtures throughout while an elegant marble-topped bar anchors the space.

Food-wise there are nods to Aussie-American dishes from its Brooklyn flagship, including housemade ricotta with figs and thyme, and a lamb shepherd’s pie with roasted root vegetables. And be sure to save room for the rosewater pavlova. For cocktails, try the Turmeric Bees Knees or keep things classy with some amaro-based aperitifs.

Find out more: Five Leaves LA

 

POLO LOUNGE, BEVERLY HILLS

With its candy-striped dining room and with bougainvillea-lined patio, it doesn’t get more quintessentially Old Hollywood than the Polo Lounge at The Beverly Hills Hotel, part of Dorchester Collection. A favorite among stars old and new, Marlene Dietrich was a resident in the 1940s while movie executives and studio bigwigs still come to wheel and deal here –– the restaurant’s first, second, and third booths are perfectly positioned for the best people-watching, discreetly of course.

Dishes such as the McCarthy Salad (created for frequent guest and local polo player Neil McCarthy, also in the 1940s) and tortilla soup, are legendary and have graced the menu for decades.

Find out more: Polo Lounge

 

YAPA, LITTLE TOKYO

Gather the girls and head to this darling new Little Tokyo restaurant and cocktail spot for some brilliant Nikkei-inspired cuisine. The menu at Yapa, which means “a little something extra” in Quechua (an indigenous language spoken in the Peruvian Andes) takes traditional Peruvian ingredients and prepares them with Japanese techniques –– try the fried korokke with corn and yellow peppers, sashimi-style yellowtail tiradito, and Andean rice-and-bean pancake tacu tacu.

Replete with hanging greenery nab a spot on the leafy side patio if possible and start things off with a round of Nordic Vacation cocktails; a mix of aquavit, pear, and cedar for the perfect pre-dinner aperitif.

Find out more: Yapa

 

 

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