Holiday dining in Downtown Los Angeles can become more frantic than Santa’s busy workshop, with some restaurants feeling like just another part of the city’s cold constant hustle, yet the real holiday treat is finding those neighborhood spots that manage to trade the grind for genuine hospitality, making you feel right at home.
71 Above – Golden Hour Penthouse with a View
Photo courtesy: 71 Above
Let us begin high above the city at 71Above, which is basically the ultimate penthouse apartment with a view. Just add Executive Chef Javi Lopez who commands plates like Speck-Wrapped Pork Loin served on polenta, with butternut squash, brussel sprouts, brown butter, pine nuts, apple, and Rosemary that taste as spectacular as the restaurants nightly view of the golden sunset, along with servers who handle every detail within the glass-laden, 360-degree panoramic views. Dining at 71 Above feels exactly like those holiday gatherings when mom pulls out the good silverware and sets the table to impress the family who’s flying out for dinner. www.71above.com
HH Brazilian – Downtown’s Never-Ending Holiday Potluck
Photo courtesy: HH Brazilian
If you happen to have a family of meat-loving carnivores, H&H Brazilian Steakhouse can’t help but remind you of those holiday potlucks where everyone brings their own pans of meat. The only difference here is that at HH Brazilian, dinner is served by professional gauchos with endless cuts of lamb, chicken, sausage, and filet mignon—It’s a total “help yourself” salad buffet, and all-you-can-drink for $25 most nights, making HH Brazilian the place for family gatherings where the wine flows a little too easily. The only regret the restaurant doesn’t allow for to-go boxes so you’ll just have to put up with the family until every last slice is gone. www.HHsteakhouse.com
Vaca – Tapas Before Bedtime
Photo courtesy: Vaca Restaurants
If your home life is more about sophisticated flavors and a kitchen that never sleeps, Vaca at the base of the Beaudry Luxury Apartments is the one that fits right in. It’s got that Spanish soul where the partners—Top Chef star Amar Santana and Ahmed Labbate—have re-invented the great, hidden Downtown dinner party with a menu that feels like a masterclass in Spanish hospitality. We’re talking Cantimpalitos (glazed chorizo with sherry and dates), the Pulpo a la Gallega with warm octopus and fingerling potatoes, and their 50-day aged Prime Ribeye just to name a few. The hospitality is so warm at Vaca, it feels like visiting that one relative who went to culinary school and actually wants to show off. www.vacarestaurants.com
ÜCA DTLA – Tucking Into Comfort at the Delphi Hotel
Then there is ÜCA DTLA, which took over the old Standard rooftop and turned it into a new “it” spot for Latin-American inspired cuisine. This season, ÜCA presents Miracle Christmas: a holiday menu and decor set against one of Downtown’s most iconic skyline views. Tuck into tender Steak Tacos with cotija cheese, flavor-packed Pollo Pibil, or the Branzino Achiote, and keep warm with a Snowball Old Fashioned—a $20 holiday kick of rye whiskey, gingerbread, and orange essence.
No Waymo “slay ride” home thanks to The Delphi hotel just below. It’s the ultimate “home away from home” where your suite is just a less glitchy elevator ride away. www.ucadtla.com
TABL M – Your Restaurant Home Away from Home
Tucked away at The Bloc, TABL M specializes in Lebanese food and wood-fired pizzas. The husband-and-wife team, Marwan and Mirna, stand by their motto: “It’s not a restaurant, it’s our home open for you.”
Designed for sharing, their menu presents exotic Lebanese favorites like Fatteh Chickpea—a bowl of tahini yogurt topped with crunchy pine nuts, olive oil, and fried bread, finished with a dusting of cumin. Another shared favorite is the TABL M Shawarma for two with oven-roasted meat, tomato, parsley, onion, sumac, pickles, radish, and tahini sauce, accompanied by their signature donut-shaped falafel crafted from a blend of ground chickpeas and fava beans, mixed with onions, garlic, and fresh herbs.
The wood-fired Lebanese Pizzas offer savory combinations of beef ham, mushrooms, tomato sauce, cheese, olives, corn, and oregano for the table to enjoy. Of all the eateries at The Bloc, TABL M feels like walking into a kitchen where the hosts are genuinely happy you showed up, treating every customer like an old friend they’ve been waiting to feed all day.
Though it is easy to miss, hidden behind the 7th street escalators, it is a great find for the weary holiday traveler or those visiting The Bloc for the Sparkle DTLA festivities. www.tablm.com
The Wine Station – Your Wine Seller with Better Snacks
This holiday season, give the gift of a great time with all the gifts you can make with a grape. The newly opened Wine Station in the Social District is basically your dream wine cellar at home but with much tastier snacks. It’s got that specific communal energy where guests can be found hovering around the large charcuterie boards or hoarding a plate of Hamachi Crudo all to yourself.
Owner Thibaud Duccini and Chef Romain have created a space that pairs a world-class wine list with food that feels both elevated and effortless. The house-special Rotisserie Chicken pairs perfectly with an impressive selection of wines, from a crisp Far Niente Chardonnay and Faust Cabernet to a celebratory pour of Ruinart Champagne. Between the high-end Torres Black Truffle chips and a warm bowl of Spaghetti Al Pesto, the menu offers some of the most comforting crème brûlée your grandma would make if she happened to be a world-class pastry chef. www.winestationdtla.com
The Hoxton – Backyard Pool Party 28 Stories Up
Photo courtesy: Innana at Hoxton
Jump in! The Hoxton Hotel is now home to a rooftop poolside sanctuary called Inanna Bar. With Inanna Bar’s Mediterranean flair, the whole rooftop radiates with the relaxed energy of a private balcony and sundeck 28 stories up in the air. It’s like a backyard pool party with a view.
Innana Bar’s menu is packed with coastal-inspired dishes like Grilled Branzino with meyer lemon and Roasted Lamb Chops with a harissa-almond crust, paired with signature cocktail bar sips like their Pelopennesian Fashion or a refreshing Pomegranate Spritz.
This holiday season, Hoxton Hotel invites extended stays, bringing in the new year with their “Arabian Nights” NYE takeover with a three-course prix fixe feast and full access to a hotel-wide celebration—complete with tarot card readings, belly dancers, live DJs, and a champagne toast.
Use the code PARTYTIME when booking a room. It includes two tickets to the hotel-wide party and a $50 credit for a recovery breakfast at Moonlark’s Dinette on New Year’s Day. www.thehoxton.com/los-angeles
Hatch Yakitori – Cozy Fireplace at the Bloc
Photo courtesy: Hatch Yakitori
Hatch Yakitori at The Bloc is like that high-energy Japanese den with a cozy fireplace cooking up Executive Chef Erick Cielo’s incredible skewers of meat, plates of bone marrow, and bowls and spiced-right vegetables from the entry way to the open kitchen.
Favorites like the Chicken Meatball with a sous vide egg yolk dip, Pork Belly with yuzu kosho, and their signature Squid Ink Karaage pair quite nicely with a Matcha Highball or a Yuzu Sour from the bar. No need to spend the holidays hungry or alone at Hatch. Cheers to family and friends with the unmistakable smoky aroma that fills the room at Hatch Yakitori each holiday season. www.hatchyalater.com
Long Lost Family at Culturas
Photo courtesy: Culturas DTLA
Culturas at Hope Street Village in the Social District treats guests like long-lost cousins finally making it back home for the holidays. Especially if your family was from Peru, or Mexico, you’re sure to recognize the flavors of their traditional dishes passed around the table.
This experience is a collaborative masterpiece by renowned chefs César Taboada from New York’s Artesano and Ricardo Zarate from LA’s Hummingbird. Together, they’ve brought the soul of the NY Peruvian scene to California, while also embracing a Mexican influence.
Celebrating two of the world’s greatest culinary traditions in one spot, Executive Chef Eric “Eder” Jacome serves up family traditions with Short Rib Enmoladas, Baja Fish Tacos, Queso Fundido, and Carne Asada making Culturas a downtown favorite to exhale, indulge, and remember what it feels like to be part of the family. www.culturasrestaurants.com
Settecento – Our Italian Villa with an Outside Courtyard
Photo courtesy: Settecento
Settecento is basically an Italian villa disguised as a fine dining establishment. Adjacent to the historic La Library, it’s only fitting the decor mirrors a book study with a hint of libation, as musical wind instruments dangle from the ceiling over the bar.
The outside courtyard mimics a perfect garden, where the live entertainment reminds you of that neighbor who plays his music just a little too loud, but his selection is too good to bother asking him to turn it down. At Settecento, the pasta is fresh and the good times never end.
Executive Chef Daniele Gagliardi keeps the flavors authentic with fresh, handmade favorites like the Tagliatelle al Ragu and the creamy Cacio e Pepe. Here, guests find Pollo al Mattone and the Margherita Verace pizza coming hot out of the oven. These are served alongside fine wines and house favorites like the Smoked Negroni, the Settecento Spritz, and a classic Espresso Martini to keep the evening going. www.settecentodtla.com
