LA is vast and this guide barely scratches the surface, but it gets you started. If you haven’t read the primer yet, do so here.

Eat

Los Angeles is one of the greatest food cities in the world, and it is almost entirely based on its Mexican food, Japanese food, Korean food, and its produce. The sunshine is worth it. The farmers’ markets are worth it. The fact that you can get a life-changing taco at a truck in a parking lot at midnight and a Michelin-starred omakase twelve hours later is worth it, and also – entirely, specifically Los Angeles.

A note before we start in on food: LA has a substitution culture that many cities do not (ahem, NYC). You want to sub in oat milk, egg whites, no gluten, extra avocado, dressing on the side? No problem. You will not get an eye roll for that here (ahem, again, NYC). Instead, you will get a cheerful nod and a smoothie that somehow costs $22 but manages to be worth it anyway.

Michelin-Starred & Fine Dining

Providence is the pinnacle of LA fine dining. Chef Michael Cimarusti just earned his third Michelin star in 2025 — the first in LA to do so — and the eight-course seafood tasting menu ($375) is worth every penny. The menu includes Santa Barbara spot prawns, West Coast steelhead trout, and there is both precision and poetry on every plate. Best to book for milestone celebrations or for anyone who wants to understand what LA’s fine dining mecca actually looks like.

Bestia is Arts District Italian that has somehow managed to stay essential for a decade plus. The charcuterie program is extraordinary, the pasta is made in-house, and the room is buzzy in a way that makes every meal feel like an event. Book well ahead.

Bavel is Middle Eastern fine dining from the team behind Bestia. It is romantic, gorgeous, and unlike anything else in the city. The lamb neck shawarma and the hummus alone are worth the reservation. This is our pick for couples who want a special dinner without a tasting menu commitment.

Felix Trattoria remains Venice’s best Italian. Everything is wood-fired, carb-heavy, and satisfying in the way that only really good pasta can be.

Anajak Thai is in Sherman Oaks, technically, but worth the drive. This is the highest-rated restaurant in LA according to The Infatuation, and it’s been that way since 2021. They have a killer natural wine list, a room with a signed Fonzi headshot above the door, and a very creative menu. Book weeks ahead.

Holbox is a Michelin-starred seafood stall inside Mercado La Paloma in South LA. We’re talking Yucatecan-style mariscos: aguachile, pulpo, smoked kanpachi tacos. This is one of the most exciting meals in the city at a price point that will shock you. The Thursday/Friday tasting menu is exceptional if you can get it.

LA Classics & Cult Favorites

Aka the food LA is actually known for.

Tacos. This is not a category we like to shortchange or sleep on. Los Angeles has some of the best tacos in North America and they are largely not in restaurants. Sonoratown (DTLA) is the soft flour tortilla standard, go for the tripa. For a proper taco crawl, the Eastside is where you want to be: Boyle Heights, East LA, the trucks on Slauson. If you find yourself near an Angel’s Tijuana Tacos, they’re Julia’s favorite. If you only do one: Holbox (see above) or ask your hotel concierge which truck they actually eat at.

Burritos. A trip to California isn’t complete without a burrito stop. Cofax on Fairfax does the smoked potato breakfast burrito that is worth planning your morning around. Sonoratown does a Sonoran-style version that is a different religion entirely. Al & Bea’s in Boyle Heights has been doing it for nearly six decades. Get one of each.

Gjusta (Venice). A bakery, a deli, and a general institution. Get the smoked fish, the bread, and the pastries. Go early. Go hungry. Accept that you will be standing in line and it will be worth it.

Joan’s on Third This gourmet market and café has been a WeHo staple forever. It’s great for provisioning a picnic, good for a fast lunch, and excellent for an overpriced but delicious sandwich that you eat on the sidewalk.

Courage Bagels (Silver Lake). The bagel shop that made transplanted New Yorkers feel at home. The bagels are chewy, seeded, and very good. The lox situation is excellent. It’s worth the weekend line.

Republique Grand Café Brasserie energy in a gorgeous building on Wilshire. The breakfast and lunch here are among the best meals you can have in the city. The pastries are extraordinary.

Gjelina (Venice). This restaurant defined a certain kind of LA dining and still hasn’t been beaten at it. The menu looks like shareable plates, wood-fired everything, and vegetables that taste like the sun grew them specifically for your meal. The room is difficult and noisy and perfect, but a reservation is definitely needed.

Erewhon. Yes, it’s a grocery store. Yes, you’re going. The Hailey Bieber smoothie is $22 and you should get it anyway (it’s called the Strawberry Glaze smoothie now). Pick up snacks here for a beach day or a Griffith hike. This is peak LA and we are not apologizing for it.

The Things You Came For: Donuts, Sushi & Korean BBQ

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Friday

3:30 p.m. Start with the city’s story
Head to the Museum of the City of New York on the top edge of Central Park. “New York at Its Core” is the best quick immersion into 400 years of NYC; it gives a great preview to the storied neighborhoods in the city. When you step back outside, the trees of Fifth Avenue feel more overture than backdrop.

6:00 p.m. Midtown, but make it chic
Rockefeller Center is having a second act and you should catch it. Book Le Rock for a brasserie dinner that’s equal parts polished and buzzing, order bison au poivre, oysters on ice, and the natural wine. If you can’t snag it, pivot you to Lodi (languid Italian) or The Grill (old-New-York theatrics done right).

9:00 p.m. Two kinds of nightcap
Pop into Pebble Bar for strong pours, low light, and pretty people. Grab a matchbook you’ll later find at the bottom of your bag like a pressed flower. Or go the other way: Jimmy’s Corner, a narrow time capsule lined with boxing photos and the cheapest, happiest beer-and-a-shot in Midtown. Opposite ends of the same city — both correct.

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New York to me is a city in contradiction. New Yorkers are kind, but not nice. They are extremely practical and yet extremely fashionable. It’s a place where strangers help you with your stroller up and down the subway stairs without ever exchanging a word, and a place where everyone has an opinion on where you should go for dinner (want to make a NYer’s day? Ask them for their recs on your dinner plans).

This guide is an amalgamation of recommendations heavily vetted by The It Girls Collective (Julia and I), and our incredible contributors, and is but one-amazingly curated-slice of how to experience the city. We focused a lot of time on our food section of this guide because New York is an endless font of food inspo, but to set the metaphorical table, this is a curated list, not an exhaustive list (we do have plans to make more of an exhaustive list!).

We of course also included our top spots to stay, things to do, things to buy, and a few sample long-weekend itineraries for different kinds of travelers. This guide isn’t trying to cover everything — because you don’t need everything. You need the right things.

In writing this guide (and in planning trips for our clients) we anchor our recommendations and itineraries in the following philosophies:

• Pacing. We care a lot about timing and spacing and allowing your itinerary to be just the right amount of “busy” but also allow for serendipitous wanderings and plenty of breathing room to just be present.

• Pairing. We think a lot about what would go with what – what restaurant should we recommend after seeing The Met, what hotel is the perfect fit for the family of five (one with connecting rooms of course), what lunch is going to hit just right after a long walk on the High Line. We want everything to feel seamless and “just right.”

• Packing. This is our shorthand for what is the “vibe” of a trip. What’s going in the suitcase is a small but powerful glimpse into the vibe of a trip. Is it evening formal wear for a black tie event or is it yoga pants and hiking boots for a wellness bent? We want to create the trip so it matches the vibe perfectly.

Think of this as your cheat sheet to New York that feels insider-y, but still hits the iconic spots. And, as always, reach out with any questions or any recommendations we might have missed!

Also, we wrote an entire primer on how to think about traveling to NYC - it’s a practical planner on when and how to go, down to what to pack! Read it here.

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