The nicest restaurants in L.A.

If something is amazing in LA, it's the fantastic restaurants where you can eat deliciously. Dining extensively with your family or having a special date night, that's something Americans understand well.

One tip: wait two evenings before going out for fancy dinners so you can get over your jet lag a bit. I have indeed sat there completely out of it to make a date night successful, but I was constantly getting goosebumps from sleepiness and I had an attitude towards my boyfriend that was frightening. A waste of money and the evening.

I always spend the first evenings at cheaper places like the famous sushi chain Sugarfish, where you can eat quickly. Of course, you can also enjoy a nice meal at your own hotel.

My favorite restaurants for a date night or dining with family and friends:

Cecconi’s

The Italian place that can also be found in London, New York, and soon Amsterdam. This version in West Hollywood has a great patio and a menu that will make you drool. Classic Italian dishes, deliciously prepared, and it's usually quite busy. You find people of all ages there, groups of single women dining together to entire Jewish families. A cozy atmosphere is a fact. The decor with lots of marble and mint-colored leather is beautiful, and the steak Milanese combined with the Chianti is also great.

Beauty & Essex

Just like at the sister location in New York, you enter here through an expensive second-hand store. First, various vintage jewels sparkle in front of you, and then the door opens to this overwhelming restaurant. High ceilings, dark furniture, and women in short dresses and enormous breasts fill this large space. The menu features delicious dishes, and you can choose from everything, from yellowtail sashimi to pizzetta with meatballs. The bar area is immensely large, there is even a separate floor for it, and with the classic R&B hits that play after eleven from the speakers, you really want to dance. So definitely go here on Saturday night.

TAO

For lovers of Eastern cuisine, this is heaven. Upon entering, you look over the entire restaurant via a large staircase, a Buddha as big as a bus looks at you kindly, and the tables are countless. It's filled with beautiful women, men who look like rockstars, and the well-known older couples who look shocked at everything around them. The dim sum is perfect, and the cocktails are too.

Nobu Malibu

This is a place where you want to eat just at sunset because it is right on the beach, and you can sit outside while listening to the waves. It is the hotspot for many Hollywood stars. It is the regular spot for the Kardashians, who eat in a separate area, and next to me the last time were actress Charlize Theron and her two kids. The sushi is so pure and has so much flavor that the sashimi is one of my favorites alongside the tuna tacos. They are so yummy that I crave them again while writing.

Crossroads

Crossroads is a vegan paradise. My boyfriend (who really loves meat) asks me every time to come back here together. Besides the romantic atmosphere and the wonderful wine list, the food is really incredibly delicious. The artichoke oysters, the impossible cigars with almond yogurt sauce, and the Milanese are like you've never tasted before. Very special flavors and a lot of creativity are in this menu. I can recommend everyone (even the real carnivores) to eat here together.

Tip tip tip

Because the city is so large, it can be helpful to find out in advance which neighborhoods you would like to be in, and it's also smart to reserve some restaurants at least two weeks in advance. Some of these places are booming, and you don't want to drive half an hour to the next restaurant.

Use the handy website www.opentable.com for reservations. Through that site, you can easily choose the time, change it, and you can also cancel free of charge. Some restaurants do ask for a credit card, but when you call them, they often don't.

Tip 20% in a restaurant (if you are satisfied). This is a very normal tip in the US. We think that 15% is already generous, but here they think you didn't like it. The wages are lower, so the tip is what the hospitality staff lives on.

Written by Esmee Geeratz