5 Underrated Los Angeles Restaurants that Are Absolutely Worth Trying

In a city as vast and culinarily saturated as Los Angeles, “underrated” takes on a different meaning. It’s not about finding the unknown, but about highlighting the essential—the places that represent the soul of the city’s neighborhoods, often overshadowed by fleeting trends and celebrity chefs. The best food in L.A. is often found on a street corner, in a historic deli, or a bustling strip mall.

To truly understand the city’s food culture, you must embrace its sprawl and diversity. From the Eastside’s legendary taco trucks to the San Fernando Valley’s Thai food scene, these are the institutions that feed the real Los Angeles. Here are five essential, and in their own way underrated, culinary experiences you must try.

1. Mariscos Jalisco

Operating from a fleet of taco trucks, with its home base in Boyle Heights, Mariscos Jalisco serves one of L.A.’s most iconic dishes: the taco de camarón. This isn’t your standard shrimp taco.

It’s a corn tortilla stuffed with a secret shrimp filling, deep-fried to a perfect golden crisp, and then topped with a fresh tomato salsa and slices of creamy avocado. It’s a textural and flavorful masterpiece that has earned a fanatical local following. Don’t be fooled by its food truck simplicity; this is a world-class culinary experience.

2. Langer’s Delicatessen-Restaurant

While Katz’s has New York, L.A. has Langer’s. Located near MacArthur Park, this historic deli is home to what many believe is the best pastrami sandwich in the world. The secret is the hand-cut, impossibly tender pastrami, steamed to perfection and piled high between slices of double-baked rye bread. The legendary #19—with pastrami, Swiss cheese, coleslaw, and Russian dressing—is a rite of passage for any food lover. It’s a timeless taste of L.A. history that never gets old.

3. Sonoratown

Bringing the style of Northern Mexico’s border towns to Downtown L.A., Sonoratown has perfected the art of the flour tortilla. Made with Sonoran wheat flour and beef lard, their tortillas are thin, pliable, and incredibly flavorful—the perfect vessel for their mesquite-grilled meats. Order the Chivichanga or the simple but perfect Caramelo taco. It’s a fast-casual spot that showcases the beauty of regional specificity and high-quality ingredients.

4. Jitlada

Tucked away in a Thai Town strip mall, Jitlada is a mecca for lovers of fiery, authentic Southern Thai food. The sprawling menu is famously daunting, with hundreds of items ranging from familiar favorites to intensely spicy and complex regional specialties that are hard to find elsewhere. Be brave and try the Crying Tiger Beef or the turmeric-laced Khao Soi. Just be sure to heed the warnings about the spice level; when they say it’s hot, they mean it.

5. Holbox

Located inside the Mercado La Paloma south of Downtown, Holbox is a stunning testament to the quality and elegance of Mexican seafood. Inspired by the coastal regions of the Yucatán Peninsula, Chef Gilberto Cetina Jr. serves pristine raw dishes like scallop aguachile and inventive cooked items like wood-grilled octopus tacos. The quality of the seafood is impeccable, and the execution is worthy of a fine-dining restaurant, all served from a humble food hall counter. It’s a true gem of the L.A. food scene.