Transplanted from a previous location in Beverly Hills to a strip mall in Encino, this scrappy, artful upstart seats diners in close contact with cooks (including chef Phillip Franklin Lee) and offers seasonally inclined tasting menus.

Website: scratchbarla.com
Number of seats: 30
Average per-person check: $65
Popular dishes: Roasted yet raw prawns; puffed smelt with bone marrow mustard; house-made cheese and charcuterie.
What people come for: Open kitchen, personalized tasting menus
Address: 16101 Ventura Blvd.
Phone Number: 818-646-6085

Cod dish

An interior view

In an industrial warehouse in the trend-setting Arts District, near the demolition of the old 6th Street Bridge, this spacious jewel takes a grand approach to regional Italian cuisine (especially meats) reimagined by the team behind Factory Kitchen.

Website: officinebrera.com
Number of seats: 110
Average per-person check: $60
Popular dishes: Lardo al pepe — cured pork back fat, chestnut honey, arugula, candied walnuts and pink peppercorn; bassa padana — arborio rice, luganega rope sausage, cotechino and grana padano; manzo all’olio: slow braised beef shoulder, root vegetables, anchovy-oil, potatoes and natural jus.
What people come for: Distinctive cocktails, extensive wine list
Address: 1331 E. 6th St.
Phone Number: 213-553-8006

Foie gras with sea urchin, red caviar

An interior view

In a dramatically redone space that used to be a nightclub, warm woods and soaring ceilings play home to chef Mike Williams’s rustic American fare with a sophisticated sense of style.

Website: norahrestaurant.com
Number of seats: 140
Average per-person check: $55
Popular dishes: Cast-iron cornbread with rosemary-honey butter; seafood charcuterie — smoked trout rillettes, octopus torchon and shrimp boudin; uni butter-poached shrimp with smoked tomato, scallions and cilantro; steak for two.
What people come for: Creative cocktails
Address: 8279 Santa Monica Blvd.
Phone Number: 323-450-4211

An interior view

This stylish and creatively minded home for chef Timothy Hollingsworth (an alum of The French Laundry) serves contemporary California cuisine in a significant spot right next to the new Broad museum for contemporary art.

Website: otiumla.com
Number of seats: 200
Average per-person check: $65
Popular dishes: Hamachi with nori, avocado and sweet & sour tomatoes; foie gras with funnel cake, strawberry, fennel and balsamic; lamb with ​pine nut, pole beans, tomato and yogurt.
What people come for: Open kitchen, Chef’s Table for 12, garden mezzanine private dining
Address: 222 South Hope St.
Phone Number: 213-935-8500

Pasta dish at Officine Brera

Trendy LA restaurants remain casual in feel, albeit with a sharp focus on food

Roots & burrata