LA & Valley Eats: Exciting new restaurants to try this month

 

In today’s LA & Valley Eats, we’ve rounded up the absolute best new restaurants in Los Angeles. Ranging from outdoor dining to pop-up shops, these delicious destinations are sure to satisfy every craving. 

LA Cha Cha Cha

820 E 3rd St

Los Angeles, CA 90013

Located on an expansive rooftop in the Arts District, this colorful Mexican restaurant (the original location is in Mexico City) strikes that perfect balance between fun and casual, while also being downright beautiful.

 

Little Fish

Echo Park, CA

A good pop-up simply serves food – a great one feels like you’ve been let in on a secret. Little Fish is the latter. We recommend the fish sandwich and the Kewpie mayo/pickle combo that clings to the bun, and serves as the perfect complement to an otherwise salty sandwich. Plus, each box only costs $20-$25 and comes with a hefty portion of pasta salad and a bag of Zapps New Orlean-style kettle chips – and might just be one of the best deals in town.

 

Interstellar

109 Broadway

Santa Monica, CA 90401

Steps from the Third Street Promenade, Interstellar is the best breakfast and lunch option in Downtown Santa Monica. The small cafe’s Korean-American co-owners pull off lots of dishes from lots of cuisines – like bulgogi burgers, katsu curry, pasta, chilaquiles, breakfast burritos, club sandwiches, and much more.

 

Thanks Pizza

450 S. Western Ave #305 FC-1

Los Angeles, CA

This order-at-the-counter spot in the third-floor food court above California Marketplace is serving affordable, well-built pies with outside-the-box toppings that taste incredible. he garlic chicken pizza is a little spicy with a sweet, pungent kick from the blue cheese, but the mascarpone pizza might be my favorite pizza I’ve eaten all year.

 

Falafel Chee

10817 Venice Blvd

Los Angeles, CA

There are only two options on Falafel Chee’s menu – platter or pita wrap. The platter comes  with falafel, homemade hummus, and tahini, as well as mango and tamarind sauces that Iraqi owner Manaf Alsudaney ships in from the Middle East. The pita wrap comes with all the sauces, pickled turnip, and crunchy falafel that will leave your belly happy.

 

Chifa

4374 Eagle Rock Blvd

Los Angeles, CA

The menu is inspired by the owner’s original Chifa restaurant in Lima, Peru, and features dishes like Pollo ala brasa, mapo tofu, and traditional zongzi, sticky rice wrapped in banana leaf and filled with Chinese sausage, pork belly, and mushroom.

 

Saso

39 S El Molino Ave

Pasadena, CA 91101

The new Basque-inspired seafood spot in Pasadena has a menu filled with things such as Alaskan mussels over charred leeks, poached shrimp and deviled eggs, and a crudo bar including oysters, wagyu tartare, and ora king salmon carpaccio. They also have an excellent patio in the courtyard of the Pasadena Playhouse.