Every Friday, our editors compile a trusty list of recommendations to answer the most pressing of questions: “Where should I eat?“ Here are four places to check out this weekend in Los Angeles. And if you need some ideas on where to drink, here’s our list of the hottest
places to get cocktails in town.
For a celebration dinner against an ocean backdrop: Mastro’s Ocean Club in Malibu
Mastro’s is both a national steakhouse chain and West Coast institution born in tony Scottsdale, Arizona. Without meaning to, it’s also become a celebration dinner restaurant for some of my family’s milestones: college graduation dinners and year-round birthdays. We went to celebrate a big birthday for my mom over the weekend and I felt pleasantly surprised to find the experience holds up even a decade since I last visited. The restaurant, perched so far over the beach that near sunset any sand veritably disappears with the tide, gives the effect of dining in a charming old-school yacht with panoramic window views. Order the smoking, dry-ice-bedded seafood tower (and extra shrimp cocktail, if that’s your thing); your favorite cut of meat; and the mercilessly rich lobster mashed potatoes. Many people come here for the strawberry sauce–laden butter cake (it’s a favorite of writer Roxane Gay), but for the gluten-sensitive, a slab of flourless chocolate cake will do nicely. 18412 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, CA 90265. — Nicole Fellah, Eater editorial manager
For a vibrant patio brunch: Majordomo in Chinatown
Majordomo started serving brunch a couple of months back and I finally got to visit for an order of corn pancakes, a steak and egg riff of their famed crispy rice, and a fried bing topped with a mountain of tender pork shoulder. The corn pancakes were the highlight: sweet and salty with the summery flavor of corn throughout — heightened by the addition of warm date syrup and creamy creme fraiche. Brunch at Majordomo has all the playfulness of the dinner menu but with deviations that make the experience feel entirely new. You can still round up a group and order the bo ssam, too — most of the parties at brunch had a spread on their tables (I may or may not have watched enviously, but I was too full for an entire order). Although I didn’t pursue the DineLA menu on my recent visit, it does seem worth trying with an option for either a smoked fish sandwich or prime rib dip paired with a coconut yogurt parfait and banchan. Brunch runs from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. 1725 Naud Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012. — Kat Thompson, audience editor, Eater Southern California/Southwest
For heirloom corn pita sandwiches that blend Mexican and Lebanese traditions: Camello in East Hollywood
After my colleague Ben Mesirow visited heirloom pita pop-up Camello, it reignited a fire in me to prioritize a visit. On a Friday night with no plans, the restaurant popped back into my mind, so I immediately ordered the entire menu of heirloom pitas stuffed with black garlic carne asada and mushroom barbacoa, along with a tangy cotija cheesecake. I think I’ve eaten my fair share of pitas over the years, but was blown away by these, which use heirloom corn that stains the pockets into soft shades of pink and purple. The flavors at Camello feel very Los Angeles and at the same time entirely singular: the sandwiches blend Lebanese and Mexican traditions and trace the steps of Arab Mexicans, while drawing on flavors from an oeuvre of Syrian, Palestinian, and Japanese foodways. For now, owner Ronnie Muñoz is operating the pop-up pretty consistently out of East Hollywood, with the occasional bar or restaurant event, alongside offering delivery through Doordash. 906 North Normandie Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90029. — Rebecca Roland, deputy editor, Eater Southern California/Southwest
For uni and eggs on toast on your way up the coast: Little Dom’s Seafood in Carpinteria
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As a big fan of Little Dom’s, the cozy-fun-boozy neighborhood Italian restaurant in Los Feliz, I was surprised to only recently learn that it has a seafood-focused cousin in Carpinteria, just east of Santa Barbara. Here, the menu leans heavily into the riches of the Pacific; at brunch, find a smoked salmon platter with whipped burrata and wonderfully seedy flatbread alongside things like an outrageously juicy seared fish sandwich with pickled tomato, Calabrese chile aioli, and shredded cabbage. But my favorite dish for a leisurely afternoon meal was the uni and eggs on toasted brioche: soft scrambled eggs topped with delicate local Santa Barbara uni (the area is famous for it), pops of salinity from smoked trout roe, and a douse of housemade hot sauce to cut through the creaminess. After all, this is brunch in a beach town— why be stuffy? 686 Linden Ave, Carpinteria, CA 93013. — Hilary Pollack, Eater deputy editor
