The Beverly Hills Dining Scene

Take a Trip Around the World With These New Culinary Options

88 Club

A few doors down from La Dolce Vita, Bravo TV’s “Top Chef” winner chef Mei Lin—last seen at her award-winning Nightshade in the Arts District—and owner Francis Miranda (Daybird) have opened a fine-dining project rooted in the time-honored Chinese flavors Mei grew up cooking with her parents. 

Designed by Los Angeles-based firm Preen, Inc., the dimly lit space has a hidden speakeasy feel with just 44 seats and an intimate side cocktail bar. The private dining area overlooks the main floor, with jade details paying tribute to the stone’s cultural significance in Chinese tradition, symbolizing protection, prosperity, and longevity—along with the number 8. 

“I chose [to open in] Beverly Hills because I felt as though Chinese food had been extremely underrepresented in such a beautiful city,” Miranda told the Courier. “I think there are about 30 or more Italian restaurants and almost the same number of steakhouses. When you think of Chinese in Beverly Hills, all that comes to mind is Xian, Mr. Chow and Joss. Mr. Chow as a person and a restaurant is legendary, but I felt like it was time for something more playful and youthful that has a different vibe.”

While seated in the main dining area, the elevated comfort fare is placed on a marble rotating lazy Susan to share from sesame prawn toast, chrysanthemum salad, seasonal market fried rice, bok choy, tender grilled char siu using a pluma cut of Ibérico pork, and jasmine milk tea buns. The primarily French wine list is by Sommelier and General Manager Diana Lee (Gwen, Intercrew), with Kevin Nguyen (Death & Co, Camelia) consulting on cocktails that range from fun classics with a twist, such as Mai Tai and Long Island iced tea.

 

Cavcas 

Cavcas brings an underrepresented cuisine to Canon Drive—Armenian and Georgian—providing a nice alternative to the many Mediterranean or Italian options in the area.

Privately owned by a Beverly Hills resident, the restaurant features a glamorous white-hued dining room with a full bar and outdoor seating area. Signature dishes include wood-fired khachapuri—a cheese-filled bread boat topped with mushroom and black truffles that is a modern Georgian version of flatbread. Khorovats are smoky grilled meat and vegetable platters that are draped with thin layers of lavash bread and a side of Persian baghali rice pilaf with dill and lima beans. The salads are also substantial, including the house Cavcas served with heirloom tomatoes, crispy eggplant, and mint-infused cream cheese. For starters or snacks, Wagyu beef dolma or dumplings, plus the beet hummus are good options. For a sweet tooth, the baklava served warm with Madagascar vanilla bean ice cream is a must, as is the Dubai (pistachio paste) chocolate dome.

 

La OLA

The Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills on Doheny Drive has turned the rooftop restaurant into La OLA—a coastal Mexican eatery by longtime hotel Executive Chef Jesus Medina at the helm. Sandwiched between the spa and pool area, offerings at the alfresco dining spot, which means “the wave” in Spanish, include duck carnitas with a Yucatán salsa made with fresh habanero and swordfish al pastor with pineapple, along with agave flights of tequila or mezcal.

“We wanted to create a vibrant, open-air dining experience that truly reflects the spirit of Los Angeles—fresh, diverse, and effortlessly stylish,” Hotel Manager Erin Quon told the Courier. “We recognized a clear opportunity in the Beverly Hills dining scene to introduce elevated coastal Mexican cuisine, and this concept felt like the perfect fit for our rooftop oasis, blending bold flavors with California produce and laid-back rooftop vibes. It’s a celebration of the city’s cultural richness and love for refined, alfresco dining.”

 

Casa Dani and Katsuya

On the ground floor of Westfield Century City, Sam Nazarian’s sbe has brought together Casa Dani by Michelin-award-winning chef Dani García and Katsuya Century City by master sushi chef Katsuya Uechi. 

Housing the dynamic pairing is a 17,000-square-foot space designed by the acclaimed David Rockwell and Rockwell Group. Accommodating up to 400 guests, the two side-by-side restaurants are connected by an atrium arrival space leading to a circular bar, an open-air garden and terrace overlooking Beverly Hills and Hollywood. 

Casa Dani offers modern Mediterranean cuisine rooted in Andalusian traditions with vegetable paella or a seafood version with saffron, prawns and mussels, along with traditional classics such as Ibérico ham croquetas, and Basque cheesecake with shaved goat cheese. The adjoining Katsuya will offer fan favorites such as rock shrimp and crispy Brussels sprouts, a new toro tartare and A5 Wagyu tataki with plenty of sake selections and cocktails. 

 

Coming Soon

This fall, the former Tatel space on Canon Drive will become Azur—a French Mediterranean spot by the team behind the lively and colorful Lou Lou in Santa Monica. The latter is known for legendary Sunday brunches, and expectations are high for the new Beverly Hills venture.

Also this fall, Swedish chef Marcus Jernmark—who hails from the three-Michelin-starred Frantzén in Stockholm, as well as Aquavit and Per Se in New York, is opening Nordic-themed Lielle LA. The location is behind the former Mr. C Beverly Hills in the space once occupied by Walter Manzke’s Bicyclette French bistro and Ricardo Zarate’s Picca.

Additional international openings are set for 2026. Sant Ambroeus is an Italian concept from Milan (named after the city’s patron saint) that has garnered cult status in Palm Beach, New York, and more recently in Aspen. In 1936, two pastry chefs opened a cafe just a few steps away from Teatro alla Scala. In 1982, the first Manhattan location of Sant Ambroeus opened on Madison Avenue. Today, corporate chef Iacopo Falai focuses his menu on elegant Milanese-style cuisine and will be bringing his talents to a custom-designed stand-alone building on the corner of Beverly Drive and Dayton Way in the first quarter of next year. Expect a full-service restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating and two expansive bars, plus a private dining room for events and a daytime cafe with a separate entrance. 

The brand’s first flagship location for the West Coast marks a milestone more than a decade in the making. “We always knew we wanted to bring Sant Ambroeus to Los Angeles,” Managing Partner of Sant Ambroeus, Gaetano Guarducci told the Courier. “But it was important to us to be thoughtful and deliberate about choosing the right location. After many years of searching, we’re thrilled to have found the perfect spot in Beverly Hills.”

 

News from Old Favorites 

Nozawa Bar, the 10-seat, 20-course exceptional omakase haven tucked behind SUGARFISH on Canon Drive, has welcomed new Japanese Executive Chef Jay Sada. Born and raised in Fukuoka on the island of Kyushu, Japan, Sada brings his decades of experience along with some fun additions to the menu, such as a shabu shabu course with 100% grass-fed Wagyu ribeye from First Light Farms, and plenty of sashimi and nigiri dishes to carry the tradition forward. 

 

Culinary Icons on the Move: 

Nancy Silverton Adds to Menu at the Original Soho House in West Hollywood

After 15 years, the original Soho House on Sunset Boulevard has undergone a top-to-bottom make-over. This includes James Beard Award-winning superstar chef Nancy Silverton revamping the menu in the Garden at Soho House West Hollywood restaurant. Silverton, who was profiled on Netflix’s award-winning docuseries “Chef’s Table,” and is the co-owner of the Mozza Restaurant Group encompassing Michelin-starred Osteria Mozza, Pizzeria Mozza, and chi SPACCA, to name a few in Los Angeles.

Silverton’s new Tuscan-inspired menu includes about 10 items destined to be signatures, such as Nancy’s Nicoise with Ventresca tuna and potatoes, but don’t expect any pizza or pasta from the chef this time around. Instead, fun finger foods include the mini corn dogs with pimento cheese and pickled celery, along with arancine smoked scamorza cheese. 

More salads and veggies come in the form of a 10-wedge Cobb and a Caesar crostone (Italian toast) with braised leeks and egg with Cantabrian anchovy, and a cauliflower fritti with Calabrian mint aioli.

Larger format plates range from a grilled whole branzino with preserved lemon aioli, salsa verde, spicy romesco, and braised chicken thighs with broccoli or the grilled ribeye with black olive tapenade and white beans. 

For dessert, expect the chef’s rich butterscotch budino with caramel sauce, crème fraiche and pine nut-rosemary cookies made with polenta for a sweet and memorable ending. 

 

Evan Funke’s Roman Street Food Lounge Concept in Hollywood

Just when you thought master chef Evan Funke didn’t have any more Italian concepts to share with Los Angeles, Bar Avoja opened over the summer tucked behind his Mother Wolf restaurant in Hollywood. This modern Roman lounge is run by Mother Wolf Group Managing Partner Giancarlo Pagani and presents chef Funke’s take on Roman street food or “cibo della strada.” Avoja is Roman slang for “hell yeah,” and this sentiment blends cocktails, fine wines, and pizza al taglio, arancini cacio e pepe, fiori di zucca, and house-made dolci. The clubby space wrapped in rich walnut woods and red velvet seating, is only open Thursday through Saturday, but it’s a sexy date night outing with occasional live music, and the perfect lounge to begin or end your evening. 

 

Brock Makes His Debut

James Beard Award–winning chef Sean Brock from Husk in Nashville and Charleston, to name a few, makes his West Coast debut with darling, a restaurant and hi-fi listening lounge on North Robertson Boulevard. While Brock is best known for championing Southern food, this venture will celebrate California’s agricultural abundance through elemental live-fire cooking. The 12-dish menu will shift monthly to reflect the local micro-seasons. Bar Director Jason Lee (Bar Benjamin, baroo, n/soto) mirrors this philosophy while drawing cocktail inspiration from peak-season produce and global influences.