The reopened—and completely revitalized—La Dolce Vita is a maximalist Old Hollywood fever dream set in a tiny, windowless room that feels like a winners-only Oscars’ afterparty. Studio execs crowd the gold-tinted bar sipping tequila gimlets and the best-made martinis our livers have ever processed. Other people with disposable incomes crowd into big leather booths surrounded by tableside caesars and plates of juicy bone-in veal parm.

After surviving a quick brush with closing in March 2020, Nate N Al remains an all-out classic and one of the few places in this part of town that actually feels authentic. Is this the best deli in LA? No. But come here a little hungover on a Saturday morning, order the bagel and lox and stuffed cabbage, gaze upon the most eclectic crowd in the neighborhood, and you’ll want to camp out here for the day.

There is no denying that Lawry’s Prime Rib is a chain. But this 70-year-old steak house is a Beverly Hills original and eating a dinner here is a major right-of-passage in this town. Though the menu has expanded over the years, the move is still the standing prime rib and that famous spinning salad (yes, they actually spin it while they make it). If your parents are in town and you want to show them how far you’ve come in life, Lawry’s is your move. Save room for the Yorkshire pudding.

Lunch rush in downtown Beverly Hills is harrowing. Despondent talent agents sob in Teslas while hedge fund managers get drunk at Wally’s for the 100th time this month. Bypass the chaos and go to Lorenzo California, an Italian sandwich counter serving our favorite quick lunch in the area. You're here to eat focaccia lined with prosciutto parma, truffle cream, olive paté, and white onion agrodolce. Sure, most sandwiches hover in the $16-$20 range, but they’re giant.

Beverly Hills has plenty of high-end sushi spots, but Sushi Note Omakase is making the best nigiri in the neighborhood. (Think classic cuts like dry-aged amberjack and scallop with sea salt.) This place is located inside an old hair salon in the Rodeo Collection’s parking garage, and it's not totally unlike one of those secret sushi bars in Tokyo that people make Youtube vlogs about. A meal here will cost you $190 (excluding the optional $100 wine pairing).

If you’ve eaten at Mother Wolf or Felix, you know the schtick at those places is perfectly executed, al dente pasta. Funke comes from the same restaurant group family. And although this Italian spot reminds us of a Vegas hotel lobby from the early 2000s, they do serve reliably excellent pasta. We suggest going heavy on the flour-and-egg stuff (much of which you can watch being formed in a workshop at the center of the restaurant).

Sur Le Vert is a casual wine bar on Canon that provides downtown Beverly Hills with something it sorely lacks—a cool pre-dinner hang out spot. Reservations are available, but we like using this sleek, green-hued bar from the Tabula Rasa people as a place to kill time before heading somewhere else in the area. The wine list is vast and filled with mostly natural wines and if you get hungry, there’s a full food menu with solid snacky dishes like smoked tuna crudo and curated cheese boards.

​​This upscale soba shop likes to call itself the “pinnacle of noodle”—which, to be quite honest, we’re not really opposed to. At $30 a pop, they’re certainly not the cheapest bowl of noodles in town, but then again, you’re in Beverly Hills, baby. Our favorite is the #1, filled with chewy, house-made noodles, chashu pork, wontons, and a clear, umami-rich broth made with truffle and soy-based sauce that we’d happily drink out of a pint glass any day of the week.

Heard of Nobu? In a plain-looking building in the middle of La Cienega’s Restaurant Row, Matsuhisa is where the whole yellowtail with jalapeño empire began. The menu is huge, with everything from a big tempura section, to sushi, to all those signature Nobu dishes, but it’s all served in a setting that has none of the scene or pretension that you often find in Malibu. If you’re feeling rich, do the sushi or dinner (which includes hot dishes as well as sushi) omakase for a greatest hits parade.

This dimly lit steakhouse specializes in prix-fixe menus consisting of various wagyu dishes. It's an indulgence of the highest variety, and yet, the actual experience inside is remarkably sensible. The five-course menu is $85 per person. Sure, that’s a lot of money and no one should mistake Matū for a Tuesday night dinner spot, but to be eating five courses of premium beef on S. Beverly Blvd. for under $100 is a good value.