The editors at Eater Los Angeles dine out several times a week, if not per day, which means we’re always encountering standout dishes that deserve time in the limelight. Here’s the very best of everything the team has eaten this week.
Panqueques from Broken Spanish Comedor in Culver City
I’m not a consistent bruncher but, when I do partake, pancakes must be on the table. My favorite recent iteration has been the masa-based panqueques at Broken Spanish Comedor in Culver City, crowned with a pat of citrus butter and a drizzle of syrup. The scent of corn emanates from the tender rounds, conjuring memories of sweet corn tamales or holiday-time corn pudding. It feels right that Broken Spanish Comedor — housed in a former IHOP — would have pancakes on the weekend brunch slate. The stack manages to remain
light without losing that preeminent corn flavor I always search for in a masa pancake. Pair them with café de olla sweetened with piloncillo and spiced with canela, and salsa verde–laden chilaquiles. 12565 Washington Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90066. — Rebecca Roland, deputy editor, Eater Southern California/Southwest
Suki Yaowarat from Thaim in Pasadena
There’s a new Thai restaurant in Old Town Pasadena that I admittedly wasn’t excited about when I first glanced at its opening menu, which featured simple wok-fired dishes like pad Thai and pad krapao. By the time I finally visited last week, the menu had expanded to include some of my favorite dishes — like sour Isaan sausage served with peanuts and Thai chiles and fatty slices of pork jowl alongside fiery nam jim jaew. The biggest hit of the night, however, was Thaim’s Suki Yaowarat. Suki haeng, or dry suki, is a popular dish in Thailand — inspired by Japanese sukiyaki — but it isn’t very common stateside. The version at Thaim involves a stone pot filled with stir fried glass noodles to absorb the spicy red bean curd sauce that gives suki haeng its signature color and punchy, salty-sour flavor. A generous portion of chicken, squid, and shrimp get fired alongside the noodles with napa cabbage and garlic. Where Japanese sukiyaki tastes sweet and soy-forward, Thailand’s riff leans into chiles and pungent acidity, adapting the flavor for Thai palates. Thaim’s version is one of the best I’ve ever had. 20 Union Street Suite 160, Pasadena, CA, 91103. — Kat Thompson, audience editor, Eater Southern California/Southwest
Ackee plate from Ackee Bamboo in South Robertson
When I first moved to Los Angeles from the East Coast, finding Ackee Bamboo in Leimert Park felt like coming home. Afro-Caribbean food, especially from the Jamaican diaspora, remains part of my family history and childhood, prominent not too far from the Brooklyn, New York neighborhood where I spent the first several years of my life. After 20 years in Leimert Park, the restaurant moved from its iconic South Los Angeles location to a quieter stretch of Robertson Boulevard in 2025. The new shop has the same strong flavors and commitment to accessibility — many of its dishes can be ordered vegetarian or vegan and dietary modifications can be requested. In need of nostalgic nourishment, I had an ackee plate (vegan when served without saltfish) piled with the savory, silken ackee fruit; caramelized plantains; stewed cabbage; and rice and peas, as well as some of the best red pea soup I’ve ever had (it’s vegetarian, replacing pork or chicken with squash). While Los Angeles is experiencing something of a Caribbean food renaissance with shiny newcomers like Lucia, Amiguita, and ABL, Ackee Bamboo serves unbeatably homey Jamaican food in the heart of the city and should not be overlooked. 2835 S. Robertson Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90034. — Nicole Fellah, Eater editorial manager
Black tiger prawns from Mastro’s Ocean Club in Irvine
A week ago, I hopped into an electric vehicle with friends to Mastro’s Ocean Club in Irvine, which opened in fall 2025. I admit not being particularly excited to drive 50 miles to dine at a chain restaurant next to an outdoor shopping mall. But here’s where I stand with Mastro’s: this is one of the best steakhouses in Southern California. Even though this location (others live in Malibu, Downtown, Beverly Hills, and Costa Mesa) was a trek, the dining room felt grand — the room you hope to arrive in when you enter a steakhouse. Everything is big, from a heaping silky bowl of lobster bisque, hamachi sushi doused with makrut lime, and a wonderfully juicy bone-in ribeye. I loved everything about our meal, especially roasted garlic jumbo black tiger prawns: bathed in butter, parsley, and garlic, they were the first thing to disappear from our table. It’s easy to forget the classic combination of prawns with Champagne, but you should not here. Always finish with the sublime butter cake. 772 Spectrum Center Drive, Irvine, CA, 92618. — Mona Holmes, editor, Eater Southern California/Southwest
