There are many great things to do in Hollywood, including a wealth of romantic restaurants with picturesque backdrops and sultry ambiances that will light the flames of desire. The city is packed with something for every occasion, from oceanside establishments to woodland hideaways that are perfect for celebrating special love (Video). After dinner, head out and about to enjoy some of the city’s top attractions such as Hollywood Boulevard, the TCL Chinese Theatre, and Mount Lee high up in the Hollywood Hills which is home to the iconic Hollywood sign.
Musso & Frank Grill
Musso & Frank Grill is a legendary Hollywood restaurant where waiters serve classic American fare and handcrafted spine-tingling, stirred-not-shaken martinis to diners in luxurious mahogany red leather banquets booths. Hollywood's oldest eatery is now 100 years old and still going strong, specializing in comfort food from an earlier generation such as sweetbreads or sauerbraten of tongue, calf liver, lamb kidneys, chicken pot pie, and Welsh rarebit. The menu also offers lighter fare and a wide variety of drinks including classic old school cocktails, casual and rare wines, craft beers and imported spirits.
6667 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028, Phone: 323-467-7788
Yamashiro
Yamashiro Restaurant is a classic Japanese restaurant in the heart of the Hollywood Hills that has been serving traditional Japanese cuisine in an exquisite setting for over 100 years. Located high above Hollywood Boulevard, the restaurant’s name means “Mountain Palace” in Japanese and was built to replicate a palace located in the “Yamashiro” province mountains near Kyoto, Japan. Design elements and highlights of the restaurant include the magnificent entrance and driveway, the beautiful waiting area and sushi bar, the garden courtyard, a 100-year old bicycle, and a 600-year ancient pagoda. The restaurant hosts a family-friendly Hollywood Night Market in the Hollywood Hills every Thursday night that boasts over 30 vendors selling gourmet street food, live music, and an outdoor bar.
1999 N Sycamore Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90068, Phone: 323-466-5125
El Floridita Restaurant
Following the footsteps of the famous restaurant of the same name in Havana, Cuba, El Floridita Restaurant in Hollywood is a festive supper club that offers delectable Cuban fare and live Latin music. Located in an unassuming strip mall off of Fountain and Vine in the heart of Hollywood, the restaurant, which was once known as Prince’s club of choice for getting down to Latin music, promises a memorable night out with outstanding Cuban and Caribbean food, sublime cocktails, and live dance performances by some of the best regional and national salsa combos in the country. Tuck into Cuban delectables like ropa vieja and masitas de Puerco fritas while sipping mojitos and grooving to Johnny Polanco y Su Conjunto Amistad. Watch out for celebs like Mick Jagger, Halle Berry and Jennifer Lopez who regularly frequent the spot for some salsa.
1253 Vine St, Los Angeles, CA 90038, Phone: 323-871-8612
Fabiolus Cucina Italiana Verona
Owned by Verona-born Fabio and Chiara Conti, Fabiolus Cucina Italiana Verona is a family-friendly restaurant that serves authentic Italian fare, including favorites such as house-made pasta, wood-fired pizza, and traditional Northern Italian dishes. Located within walking distance of some of Hollywood’s top attractions like Avalon, the Palladium, the Montalban theatre, and Arclight Cinemas, the restaurant is ideally situated for a pre-theater show dinner or post-show drinks. Dishes are prepared with fresh, locally sourced ingredients and produce, using age-old recipes that have been passed down through generations.
6270 Sunset Blvd, Hollywood, CA 90028, Phone: 323-467-2882
Gwen
Gwen is a European-style, chef-driven butcher shop and a restaurant that serves meat-centric tasting and a la carte menus in an industrial-style setting. Diners can choose from a three-, five, or 10-course tasting menu, which are served in the main dining room, or an a la carte menu that is served at the bar. The refined full-service restaurant focuses on fire-based cooking techniques with house-made charcuterie, and prime and rare breed meats being at the center of each plate. A lovely patio is perfect for lite bites or pre-dinner cocktails and being just a stone’s throw from The Pantages Theatre in Hollywood, the restaurant’s pre-theatre menu is a popular choice.
6600 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028, Phone: 323-946-7500
La Boheme (LB66)
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Hailed as one of West Hollywood’s most beautiful restaurants, La Boheme (LB66), is an upscale steakhouse with reclaimed wood floors, tall ceilings, large glass windows and doors and elegant French chandeliers with low tungsten light. The super-stylish steakhouse serves classic fare such as succulent prime steaks, large-format chops, and meat platters along with hearty sides and freshly prepared salads, along with an extensive selection of fine wines to pair with plates. La Bohème features a charming garden patio with a crackling fireplace framed by beautiful roses and scented jasmine.
8400 Santa Monica Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90069, Phone: 323-848-2360
Mama Shelter LA
Perching six-stories over Hollywood Boulevard with a chic rooftop bar, Mama Shelter LA is a boutique hotel with stylish accommodations and an elegant restaurant serving New American cuisine. Designed by Thierry Gaugain, Mama Shelter LA’s rooftop bar serves lunch and dinner against a backdrop of spectacular views over Hollywood.
6500 Selma Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90028, Phone: 323-785-6600
Marino Ristorante
Dating back to the 1950s and the heyday of Hollywood, Marino Ristorante is a family-owned and operated old school dining establishment that promises an unforgettable dining experience. The restaurant features classic old school décor, original oil paintings, and eclectic memorabilia collected over 60 years in the hospitality business. The menu features traditional Italian cuisine prepared with high quality, locally sourced and organic ingredients, along with imported specialties such as cured meats and cheeses, antipasto, olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and Tuscan herbs. The cuisine is accompanied by a list of fine wines from Italy and around the world, craft beers, and signature cocktails.
6001 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038, Phone: 323-466-8812
Miceli’s Italian Restaurant
If it’s an intimate and romantic evening out to celebrate love you are looking for, then Miceli’s Italian Restaurant is the place to go. Located on Las Palmas Avenue, the restaurant serves a menu of authentic Italian fare in an elegant setting against a backdrop of serenading Italian arias from singing waiters and waitresses. The menu features an array of appetizers and platters of antipasto, fresh salads, hearty entrées of veal, beef, chicken, and fresh seafood, homemade pasta and sauces, wood-fired pizzas, and decadent desserts. Casual wines and craft beers are on offer to enjoy with the food, along with classic cocktails, and specialty coffees.
1646 N Las Palmas Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90028, Phone: 323-466-3438
Norah
Norah is a sleek and stylish neighborhood spot in the heart of West Hollywood that boasts lofty ceilings, a white marble bar, stark graphic art on the walls, and moody lighting that serves New American cuisine. Owned by international restaurateur Rohan Talwar and chef Mike Williams, the Thomas Schoos-designed space is airy and warm with wood accents, a raftered ceiling, and a black and white marble bar. Diners share long, communal tables with mismatched tops and cushy couches and chairs invite guests to linger. The menu features a blend of rustic New American flavors with innovative dishes such as daily market crudo, a selection of freshly shucked oysters, heritage pork glazed with cider, and a lobster bolognese gnocchi. The cuisine is accompanied by a hand-curated selection of fine wines and rare labels, along with signature cocktails.
8279 Santa Monica Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90046, Phone: 310-643-5853
Pace
Pace is a cozy, romantic Italian eatery renowned for its melt-in-your-mouth wood-fired pizzas and handmade pasta with hearty sauces. Once the unofficial landmark of the old Laurel Canyon, the legendary restaurant is based in an old, rustic building akin to those found in Tuscany and surrounded by dense woodlands and forests. The charming eatery boasts a menu to boot with classic dishes such as cedarwood grilled salmon, soul-curing tortellini and rigatoni, and their famous brown rye chips and seasoned pretzels. Don’t miss the Zeus’ pizza, which is topped with enough home-cured prosciutto to leave a lasting mark.
2100 Laurel Canyon Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90046, Phone: 323-654-8583
Providence
Providence is a softly-lit, romantic restaurant that offers an exclusive fine-dining experience in a tranquil setting. Helmed by Chef Michael Cimarusti, Providence prides itself on being LA’s statement piece when it comes to world-class dining with dark interiors, elegant chandeliers, and a warm and unpretentious ambiance. Set on Melrose Avenue, the absurdly expensive pre-fixe seafood restaurant serves a choice of three set menus, including a Chef’s Menu that features 11 main courses ranging from wagyu beef with a truffle-injected potato to pepper-wrapped squid and spicy Thai-inspired prawns. Treat yourself with selections from the roaming dessert and cheese cart and sip rare vintages suggested by the professional sommelier with each dish.
5955 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038, Phone: 323-460-4170
Rao's
Rao's in Hollywood is a classic Italian restaurant and replica of the venerable New York eatery that serves hearty, home-style Italian fare and casual wines in an intimate, romantic setting. The Rat Pack outpost features cozy red leather booths, dark wood accents, and twinkling year-round Christmas lights, and it has built its reputation on being impossible to get into with velvet-rope exclusivity. The menu reflects the tastes of New York with old-fashioned southern Italian fare with dishes of handmade pasta, paper-thin pizzas, fresh salads, platters antipasto, and ocean-fresh seafood. The exceptional wine list boasts both Italian and global wines with well-known and rare vintages, as well as signature cocktails and imported liqueurs.
1006 Seward St, Los Angeles, CA 90038, Phone: 323-962-7267
Tao
Located next to the Dream Hotel, Tao is an elegant restaurant that follows in the footsteps of the Las Vegas version and draws a fashionable crowd to its enormous space for dinner and cocktails every evening. Boasting dark, faux-Asian motifs and a 20-foot tall Quan Yin statue floating above a koi pond, the restaurant displays subtle animations that bring the sculpture to life during dinner service. The menu is created by Chef Ralph Scamardella and features Asian-style fare, with classic bites like barbecue pork buns, Peking duck, Chilean seabass satay skewers, lobster fried rice, and an array of fresh, handmade sushi.
6421 Selma Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90028, Phone: 323-593-7888
The Edmon
Tucked inside the iconic Hollywood Historic Hotel on the stretch between Wilton and Western, The Edmon is a swanky, art deco–inspired spot on Melrose that serves contemporary cuisine and classic cocktails in a quiet, romantic setting. Harking back to the gilded age of Hollywood, the drinking and music-listening den is the perfect spot for a quiet dinner for two with elegant chandeliers, dark wood accents, and a tall back bar. The restaurant serves a menu of contemporary cuisine with classic dishes such as fresh Caesar salads, succulent prime cut steaks, sticky braised short ribs, and an extensive list of colorful cocktails, fine wines, and craft beers.
5168 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038, Phone: 323-645-5225
Beauty & Essex
Beauty & Essex is a sophisticated, jewel-toned eatery in the heart of Hollywood with vintage décor and a sophisticated ambiance. Part of the TAO group, the glorious new dining hall is set within a 10,000 square foot complex that features a real-live collector’s shop with exquisite jewelry and musical instruments that creates an almost trompe l’oeil-like entrance for the several dining rooms and lounges that make up the restaurant. The eatery serves a menu of New American plates, including snackable bites like tomato tartare, tuna poke wonton tacos, grilled cheese, and tomato soup dumplings, and oven-braised meatballs, accompanied by a variety of signature cocktails and vintage wines.
1615 N Cahuenga Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028, Phone: 323-676-8880
