New on Resy: Eszett, Citrin, Sibling Rival, Yapa and More

Would you be surprised if we told you that Silver Lake’s most buzzed-about new restaurant is in a strip mall? A flickering pink neon sign points you in the direction of Eszett, a husband-and-wife operation that focuses on the sort of spruced-up plates locals love. Get ready for fries dipped in nori butter, grilled chicken wings slathered in salsa macha, pork chops dripping in onion jus, and a tight (and excellent) selection of natural wines for good measure.

Angelini has become synonymous with all things delicious, from its infinitely twirlable pasta to its creamy gelato. And though more casual than its Osteria counterpart, Angelini Alimentari has it all: the pasta (get the lasagna verde), the pesce (branzino, please), the pane (try the square-cut pizza al taglio), the dolci, and the cozy patio — all tied up in a boisterous corner spot with pale, rosy walls.

LA collectively gasped when this Echo Park favorite shut down earlier this year. Thankfully, it was to make way for a bigger, better, and more beautiful Red Herring. As the love child of two people obsessed with eating out, RedHerring stuns on many fronts: The interior is dazzling (lush plants, brass accents, eye-catching mural), the cocktails are shaken with care, and the kitchen doles out comfort food at its very best. You’d be remiss not to make a Resy before the year ends.

What happens when one of Williamsburg’s OG gems joins forces with the coolest of boutique hotels? You get Sibling Rival. The West Coast sister to Sunday in Brooklyn is nestled inside Downtown LA’s Hoxton Hotel, dishing diner food for the modern palate. That means a spruced-up, seasonal menu that runs the gamut from Sunday pancakes (thick like cake and doused in hazelnut-maple praline and brown butter) to a fried chicken sandwich with a Japanese twist (togarashi, daikon pickles, and miso).

What does a place that bills itself as a not-too-serious neo-bistro seen through a Euro-Cali lens look like? It looks like marble-topped tables, handwritten menus and and a dining room where the skin-contact wine and shimmering tartare flow. It looks like Bar Restaurant, Silver Lake’s latest dining addition, where a team of industry vets aims to please.

If you mourned the closing of Mélisse, you can now rejoice: the chef behind it all has unleashed a bistro in its place. At Citrin (the restaurant), Citrin (the chef, Josiah) is having fun: think fried chicken balls that reveal an unctuous Mornay sauce when bitten, a whole dover sole sauced in green tomato-laced butter, and other old Mélisse standbys that’ll make old regulars smile. For chef Citrin, the restaurant is an evolution of fine dining via à la carte plates, and trust us: It’s worth a visit.

In a stylish wood-clad den in Little Tokyo, chef Richie Lopez slings vibrant Nikkei plates. The cuisine, the bi-cultural product of Japanese immigration to Peru, adds “a little something extra,” or “yapa” in Quechua. Get the soft milk break sando studded with pork belly and sweet potato; or lose yourself in the pappardelle, slick with fish ragu and seaweed. Whatever you chose, Yapa’s cocktails are not to be missed.

The Tasting Kitchen brings Italy by way of Venice. Inside the sun-drenched, brick-walled space — also home to sinewy olive trees — a procession of seasonal plates unravels in the blink of an eye. All you need to know is that the pastas are handmade, the charcuterie is cured in-house, and almost everything else comes from the farmers’ market next door.

The late Jonathan Gold once called the pork chop at this Hollywood standby the best in the city. The imposing specimen is still on the menu, arriving perfectly charred and juicy, with a dollop of apple sauce. Salt’s Cure has a lot to offer beyond this delectable dish, from oatmeal griddle cakes in the morning to a fluffy grapefruit pie in the evening. Pro tip: Brunch promises a buzzing, people-watching crowd; dinner is a more intimate affair.

Don’t expect your run-of-the-mill cantina ambiance here. Petite Taqueria was dreamt up by the h.wood Group, which has imbued the West Hollywood spot with as much swank and glitz as the rest of its portfolio (Blind Dragon, Delilah, The Nice Guy). Amid purple, tufted banquettes and the rattle of ice-shaken margaritas, Mexican cuisine is showcased,  like baskets of homemade corn tortillas and glistening barbacoa lamb ribs.

If a Parisian bistro and a Californian all-day café reproduced, their offspring would look a lot like FIG. Subway-tiled walls; mosaic floors; lush, hanging plants; and dangling geometrical lights set the stage for chef Jason Prendergast’s very personal menu. The chef’s Midwestern roots brush up against Italian classics: Maine lobster rigatoni, honeynut squash agnoletti, and foraged mushroom pizza. Pro tip: Drop by Fig on Five (5-6 p.m. daily) for half-off deals on food and drinks.

See or be seen is the name of the game at this cavernous Hollywood haunt, where low-hanging lanterns lend an amber glow to the scene below. Think “Goodfellas” meets the Hollywood jetset, with well-heeled patrons crowded around a vintage marble-and-brass bar, where they imbibe cocktails and bubbles, with a heaping side of red sauce. We’re talking blue crab arancini, fried calamari, and chicken parm.

Find Pan-Asian comfort food on the table and the Golden Age of arcade games around you. Welcome to Button Mash, a cool, minimalist space where Street Fighter II, Miss Pac-Man, and Donkey Kong line the walls.  Between games of pinball, token-laden patrons on a nostalgic 80’s bent can dive into the very good food, courtesy of Chinatown’s Starry Kitchen team. Get the crispy tofu balls: game on.

You’ll wonder if you’ve come to the right address: 6th & La Brea Brewery looks nothing like its beer hall counterparts, favoring a more stylized and polished look. But look to the bar and you’ll see 15 taps spouting housemade brews — from the warming, wintry Tipsy Elves (barrel-aged and loaded with spice) to a dry Irish stout. Snack on the usual suspects (burger, wings, nachos) alongside a bevy of vegan options.

The brilliant chef behind Jaffa and Sausal is making a homecoming of sorts. With Mosa Coastal, chef Anne Conness returns to her South Bay roots, dishing seafood and pasta for the Hermosa Beach crowd. The menu sings of Italy, the Mediterranean, and California, with dishes like pumpkin ravioli, cioppino, and mussels in a fennel-mascarpone broth.