What awesome restaurant should we not miss in LA?
January 19, 2012 9:37 AM Subscribe
LA Filter: A friend is coming in to town to visit and we are planning on going to The Getty on a Saturday afternoon. It will be near my birthday and her first trip to LA... Where should we go for dinner?
Best answer: The restaurant at the Getty is very good, actually, and that saves you having to fight traffic to another location.
posted by yoink at 9:46 AM on January 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by yoink at 9:46 AM on January 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Nthing eating at the Getty itself; the restaurant (not the cafe) at the museum itself has amazingly good cooking with lovely views, and is open for dinner from 5 to 9 pm on Saturday evenings. I ate there when visiting the museum a couple of months ago, and while a lot of the artworks in the collection have faded from the memory, I still remember the meal I had!
posted by muhonnin at 9:47 AM on January 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by muhonnin at 9:47 AM on January 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
Whatever you do, ignore recommendations for anything in Santa Monica. It's theoretically a quick trip from the Getty down the 405 to the 10 and out to Santa Monica, but on a Saturday night that can take an hour or more--and a gruelling stop-start-stop-start hour at that.
posted by yoink at 9:49 AM on January 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by yoink at 9:49 AM on January 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
If the Getty restaurant doesn't work for you for whatever reason, there are several great Italian restaurants in nearby Brentwood that would be very nice for a birthday dinner. Traffic on Saturday between the Getty and Brentwood shouldn't be too bad.
posted by parkerposey at 9:59 AM on January 19, 2012
posted by parkerposey at 9:59 AM on January 19, 2012
Bucking Yoink's statement, I suggest a Persian restaurant in Little Tehran/Tehrangles in Westwood. Just a short drive back down the 405.
posted by Mercaptan at 10:01 AM on January 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Mercaptan at 10:01 AM on January 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
When I visited the Getty, I was so taken with some of the artwork that I went back to look at certain pieces again while my friends waited in the lobby. That's another reason you might want to eat there -- you'll be able to browse the galleries again after you're done eating.
posted by kate blank at 10:20 AM on January 19, 2012
posted by kate blank at 10:20 AM on January 19, 2012
There's good stuff nearby on Sawtelle just north of Olympic--mostly Japanese restaurants. Chego in Palms is supposed to be pretty great as well. It's by the Koji truck guy.
posted by mandymanwasregistered at 10:32 AM on January 19, 2012
posted by mandymanwasregistered at 10:32 AM on January 19, 2012
Response by poster: We don't have a preference on types of food or expense. I imagine we will be dressed fairly casually since I will be picking her up from LAX and heading right over, but we can always change clothes. It sounds like we just might want to eat there and maybe grab drinks somewhere on our way back home.
posted by blackkar at 11:33 AM on January 19, 2012
posted by blackkar at 11:33 AM on January 19, 2012
Re: Chego. Good food, but in a run down strip mall. Not exactly a "show off LA" kind of place.
posted by ikaruga at 12:40 PM on January 19, 2012
posted by ikaruga at 12:40 PM on January 19, 2012
Actually, I'd recommend Father's Office: good food, slightly upscale, lots of booze. The Santa Monica location is crowded (or cozy), and both are a bit further than the suggestions others have made.
posted by ikaruga at 12:43 PM on January 19, 2012
posted by ikaruga at 12:43 PM on January 19, 2012
If the Getty restaurant doesn't work out, one of my favorite places is Rustic Canyon in Santa Monica.
posted by biscuits at 12:46 PM on January 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by biscuits at 12:46 PM on January 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
I second the Tehrangeles motion—getting a chance to have great Persian food is really one of the treats of Los Angeles and some of the best restaurants are really quite close to the Getty.
I tend to prefer Shamshiri, but Shaherzad, and Flame are also good (and in that same stretch of Westwood).
To my taste, Shamshiri has the best stews, while Shaherzad and Flame tied for meat the last time I was there, although Shaherzad definitely won in the ambiance category.
(As is Attari Sandwich Shop, which is fantastic but low-end.)
Javan is not quite in the same neighborhood, but still close to the Getty, and I think it has the best tadigh by far. (They list it as an appetizer, but the way they serve it, with a nice amount of your favorite stew makes it a small meal, really, especially if you feel like sharing this and some other dish with someone.)
posted by jann at 8:44 PM on January 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
I tend to prefer Shamshiri, but Shaherzad, and Flame are also good (and in that same stretch of Westwood).
To my taste, Shamshiri has the best stews, while Shaherzad and Flame tied for meat the last time I was there, although Shaherzad definitely won in the ambiance category.
(As is Attari Sandwich Shop, which is fantastic but low-end.)
Javan is not quite in the same neighborhood, but still close to the Getty, and I think it has the best tadigh by far. (They list it as an appetizer, but the way they serve it, with a nice amount of your favorite stew makes it a small meal, really, especially if you feel like sharing this and some other dish with someone.)
posted by jann at 8:44 PM on January 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
(That is, Attari is in the same stretch of Westwood as well.)
posted by jann at 8:46 PM on January 19, 2012
posted by jann at 8:46 PM on January 19, 2012
Whoops, I just checked on Google Maps and I got Shamshiri and Shaherzad confused.
Shamshiri is the one with the best ambiance overall, maybe the general winner.
Shaherzad is the one that looks a bit older, can be really really busy/full, and has the awesome fesenjan.
posted by jann at 8:53 PM on January 19, 2012
Shamshiri is the one with the best ambiance overall, maybe the general winner.
Shaherzad is the one that looks a bit older, can be really really busy/full, and has the awesome fesenjan.
posted by jann at 8:53 PM on January 19, 2012
Westwood is certainly doable (go down Sepulveda, not the 405, though).
posted by yoink at 9:26 PM on January 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by yoink at 9:26 PM on January 19, 2012 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by JMOZ at 9:46 AM on January 19, 2012 [1 favorite]