Hp108
TripAdvisor
Did a full day walking tour of LA. Our tour guide Damien was very knowledgeable & passionate about giving us all the information in a clear & concise way. The tour was very well planned & organised & was not tiring.
Lisa Montesanti
We did The Real Hollywood tour & loved it! The tour was at a great pace & the guide (Vicky) was very knowledgeable & made the tour fun. Thank you!
Steph S.
Yelp
Stuart was so knowledgeable & was worth the day with him. I had been to LA multiple times before but this is the first time I had taken a tour – so thrilled to have this experience with my mom & sister. I would recommend this tour again & again.
Lucrezia Scamarcio
We had an amazing DTLA Murder Mystery Ghost tour with Damien & Dante… thank you very much from the Italian girls… very interesting & funny… absolutely recommended!
Passport17369220499
TripAdvisor
This tour was awesome! Stuart is very knowledgeable, likeable & fun. The stops on the tour were very interesting & I learned a lot. I’ve been on quite a few tours of this nature & this was one of my favorites – highly recommend!
Mel L
Did a walking tour of LA (LA in a Day). Vicky started us off with the Hollywood tour & Damien (who is also the owner) was our guide for the rest of the day. The entire day was awesome, I suggest this tour. There isn’t that much walking, to be honest. It’s very fun!
Michelle B.
Yelp
My boyfriend & I took the DTLA Murder Mystery Ghost tour with Stuart as our guide & had the most amazing time! We had experiences we will never forget! We were able to see parts & people of Los Angeles that we never would have without Stuart. I give this 10/10. If we visit again, this will be at the top of our to do list!
Sara Pozueta
Absolutely amazing! Highly recommend taking both The Real Hollywood Tour & the Central Downtown LA tour! Our time in LA wouldn’t have been the same. Great way to learn about the city, see it from a different angle, explore the local life & learn about its history & filming industry. Damien our guide was fantastic!
Gregory
Airbnb
Sylvie was our host & was fantastic. She had a lot of local knowledge & gave her unique perspective as someone who had moved to the area many years ago, so she had an outsider’s as well as an insider’s perspective. The tour gave us a great overview of Santa Monica & Venice & set us up for a great rest of the day.
Paula Lindgren
We took 2 tours, the Santa Monica & Venice Bike tour (with Sylvie) & the Real Hollywood tour (with Damien). Both were great & highly recommended. Sylvie & Damien were informative, knowledgeable & easy to talk to. They were like you were with friends. We were traveling as a family of 4 with 2 boys (15 & 12). We all enjoyed the tours.
Where to Eat in Los Angeles
There are a huge number of restaurants, cafes and other eating establishments (such as food trucks, which have become popular over the last decade) in Los Angeles and you can get almost every different type of food that exists. So how do you decide where to eat in Los Angeles? Of course there are numerous websites that can help, but we thought we’d give you the inside scoop on the places that we like. With these recommendations know that there’s no financial incentive for us to list them. The places we recommend are simply establishments that we like, it’s not a comprehensive list.
Santa Monica
Any of these places would be a great place to eat after our LA in a Day tour. In general Santa Monica has a wide range of good restaurants and is a great area to eat out, although it can be a little (or a lot) expensive.
Tender Greens (also in other locations, such as Culver City and downtown) : $
Quality buffet style food.
Father’s Office (also in Culver City) : $$
Great gourmet burgers and an enormous beer list.
The Cheesecake Factory (also in other locations) : $$
Because sometimes you do want to eat here – there’s something on their menu for everyone.
Venice
There are quite a few restaurants on Washington Boulevard, by the Venice Pier, as well as on the boardwalk. Most of the good establishments tend to be a block or two from the beach itself.
26 Beach : $$
Chilled out Westside restaurant with all the classics.
The Canal Club : $$
Great tuna burgers and great sushi. Just watch out for the margaritas though, they’re too good!
Marina Del Rey
If you’re a tourist, and you’re wondering where to eat in Los Angeles, Marina Del Rey is little out of the way, but it’s worth going here for…
Whisky Red’s : $$
Three words – Sunday Champagne brunch.
Japantown (Sawtelle)
Feeling adventurous and love Japanese food (who doesn’t?). Why not jump off the Expo Line at Expo/Sepulveda Station and walk the short distance to Japantown? There is an older established Little Tokyo in downtown, but this is an up and coming (or should that be already arrived?) dining destination – and has been ever since Japanese immigrants first began opening restaurants here in the late 1940’s.
Kiriko : $$$
Great tasting menu with everything you’d expect, from sushi to more traditional (with a modern twist) Tokyo style food.
Killer Noodle : $$
As its name suggests a noodle shop with all the varieties you could hope for – spicy ramen and more.
Culver City
Culver City has a wide range of mostly good restaurants along the main drag (which is located on Washington Boulevard). Like Santa Monica and Japantown it’s on the Expo Line, so getting here is easy.
Gaby’s Mediterranean : $
Informal style, delicious Lebanese food.
Es Con Sabor West : $
Classic Salvadorian food.
Culver Hotel : $$
Lovely historic hotel, with great menu & often live music.
Hollywood
Unfortunately partly because Hollywood is so touristy it’s not a great area for eating out, but there are a few good spots. Mel’s Diner and 25 Degrees are popular places after our The Real Hollywood Tour.
Also if you’re looking for the true Hollywood (the industry) experience when you’re wondering where to eat in Los Angeles then Musso and Frank’s is it! It was THE place to see and be seen back in the day when stars like Cary Grant, Humphrey Bogart and Frank Sinatra had their own booths and it’s still frequented by the Hollywood stars of today.
Mel’s Diner : $
A Hollywood icon serving diner type food for years.
25 Degrees : $$
Gourmet burgers in a historic location. Make like you’re a movie star.
Yamashiro : $$$
Here you really pay for the location and the view. It’s worth it – once.
Musso & Frank Grill : $$$ (top photo)
The oldest restaurant in Hollywood and still a popular spot with the rich and famous.
Downtown LA
Downtown is really the single best part of Los Angeles for eating out. Several restaurants there have become internationally famous and won culinary awards, but DTLA has a huge range of cuisines – and prices – from corner noodle shops in Little Tokyo, to $250 tasting menus in the Financial District, to the food stalls of Grand Central Market.
A great way to experience the food of downtown is to join our LA: Food + History + Design tour, we’ll take you to some great places that only locals like us know of and you’ll be able to learn about L.A.’s fascinating history.
Grand Central Market : $ – $$ (video above)
Has a huge range stalls selling quality and delicious food. The best spot to eat in L.A.? Bon Appetit Magazine thinks so.
Gelateria Uli : $
Homemade ice cream and good coffee. Need we say more?
Cole’s : $
A downtown icon, serving its French Dip sandwich since before World War One!
Phillippe’s : $
Also lays claim to being the originator of the French Dip sandwich.
Guisado’s (also in other locations) : $
Great quality tacos and Mexican food, at very reasonable prices.
Little Sister : $$
Reasonably priced, delicious Vietnamese fusion food.
The Counter (also in other locations) : $$
The best place for gourmet burgers in L.A. And there’s nothing wrong with a gourmet burger!
Takami Sushi : $-$$
With its fantastic location (21 floors up) and hidden entrance you’ve feel like you’re in on a secret here. You are!
If you have any feedback on our recommendations on where to eat in Los Angeles, or if you have some recommendations of your own, please email us and let us know. We’ll be sure to take it into account.
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