Scott Bridges

The Charleston is what you get when you take a celebrity chef, a menu of classic American comfort foods, a team of mixologists and a friendly staff and put them in a small space full of art deco décor and fill it with live music every night. That...

Tucked away, off charming Main Street in Santa Monica, is a hot new restaurant serving modern American cuisine in an indoor/outdoor setting. Brick + Mortar occupies the space of the former Salute wine bar. The set-up and décor is first-date-worthy and the vibe is relaxed with a little...

A bartending competition was recently held at the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills. A half-dozen mixologists from some of L.A.'s finest drinking establishments were charged with the task of creating a new cocktail. But not just any cocktail. The barkeeps were asked to develop a beverage using Monteru Single Brandy....

When I'm asked about my favorite restaurants, and inevitably I am, one of the first places that springs to mind is Michael's. I doubt I'm alone in that regard.

The indoor/outdoor dining space on Santa Monica's Third Street is in many ways what I want a restaurant to...

Here's an experiment: Mention authentic Italian food in a group of people and see how many suggestions you're offered as to where to go to find it.

Apparently, everyone has a favorite Italian place reminiscent of the old country. And if you're reading articles about restaurants, chances are that...

Don't let the name or the lack of square-footage fool you, Freddy Smalls is big where it matters -- on the plate and in the glass.

Freddy Smalls Bar + Kitchen on Pico Boulevard, west of the 405, does not occupy a lot of real...

Santa Monica locals in the mood for authentic Italian food in a fun, friendly environment already know about Locanda del Lago. The restaurant, situated on Arizona Avenue at a busy corner of Third Street Promenade, makes for some great people-watching. But as close as it is to the bustling world...

Macrobiotic cuisine is all the rage. But it can be like taking medicine. However, there's a cure for that and it is M Café.

With locations along Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills and another on Melrose Avenue at La Brea in Hollywood, the celebrity-attracting restaurant is reinventing...

Hollywood & Vine. It's been the epicenter of Tinseltown since the time of the Hayes Code. The glamour of Hollywood is still alive and well at the iconic intersection in the form of Lexington Social House.

The decor has an air of elegance that wafts one back...

Centuries ago in Hayama, Japan, under the shade of a tree, CHAYA began offering tea and refreshments to weary travelers on horseback. It has been operated by the Tsunoda family ever since. Today, there are a pair of locations in Japan (Hikage Chaya and La Maree de Chaya) and four...

I'll just say it: This is one of the best pure Mediterranean restaurants that I know of. If you're looking for a perfect Easter brunch this weekend, this should top your list.

Fig & Olive is that wonderful paradox of obviousness and surprise. The menu, with...

There's a magic that happens when style and substance collide. At first blush, Bagatelle L.A. (a partnership between Aymeric Clemente and Remi Laba of Brand Essence, and Jonathan Segal of The One Group) might strike you as a stereotypical L.A. supermodel -- sexy but shallow. Think again. The French Mediterranean...

L.A. Times restaurant critic S. Irene Virbila recently commented on the fads that are currently popping up on menus across the city. Among the trendy items are formerly discarded animal cuts -- pigs' ears and lamb necks, for instance -- part of the "whole animal" philosophy that is...

Twenty-four floors up, atop the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, you'll find an inspiring view. You'll also find inspiration for one of your other senses -- taste. Two dozen stories above Olympic Boulevard, WP24 is creating some culinary magic. And it just got better because now, the restaurant is...

Downtown Culver City. Less than a decade ago, it was blight on the culinary landscape; a wasteland for foodies. But the map has changed since then. There are several quality restaurants and a thriving cultural scene. One of the reasons for the turnaround is Rush Street. For more...

Imagine extracting the essence of Napa Valley and recreating it in restaurant form and sprouting it up in Westwood Village. OK, that's not exactly what the Napa Valley Grille is, but it may be as close as you are likely to find.

The truth is that Napa...

Water. Although it's the predominant substance on the surface of the earth and within our own bodies, most of us (in America, anyway) probably don't spend too much time thinking about it. We may prefer it from the tap, the bottle or a filtration system. We may make that choice...

There is no way not to make a grand entrance at RockSugar Pan-Asian Kitchen. The restaurant is a temple to Eastern cuisine, and it is through a palatial foyer that might as well be a space-time portal to the mystical Orient of lore that one enters.

The vaulted ceilings...

The historic Pacific Mutual Building is a monument to a glorious Los Angeles downtown of yesteryear. So it is only fitting that the building house a restaurant of similar reminiscence. The Water Grill is a reminder of what great dining is all about.

The lighting is dim...

You would never know that Diane Kron has been creating some of the world's finest chocolates for nearly 40 years. Kron's passion for perfection and her devotion to her customers has kept her from aging. Or maybe it's the chocolate.

The small business she began in a...