The Resy Guide to Where Chefs Get Takeout in Los Angeles

When Jesus “Chuy” Cervantes, chef de cuisine at Damian and Ditroit and a self-described pizza fanatic, isn’t getting pies from Hail Mary in Atwater Village or La Morra Pizzeria, he’s eating tacos around Los Angeles. El Ruso, a trailer that sets up behind a CVS in Boyle Heights, is one of his favorites. One look at the IG photos and you’ll understand why. “I love this mole one, and the chicken tinga is really good,” Cervantes says.

Post & Beam owner and chef John Cleveland says he and his family don’t get much takeout, but when they do, it’s coming from one of L.A.’s best soul food restaurants. “We’re definitely getting fried chicken, and the mashed potatoes, and collard greens,” he says, adding more of the menu as he thinks on it. “It’s just one of our favorite places in general.”

Union executive chef Chris Keyser obviously spends a lot of time at his Old Town restaurant, so his go-tos are right around the corner. The shrimp dumplings from ShanDong Dumplings fuel his days and nights. He’s also a fan of the samosas at All India Cafe.

“It’s very transparent where I eat,” says Anajak Thai’s Justin Pichetrungsi. “My go-to is Johnny Lee’s spot in Chinatown. It’s his love letter to Hong Kong and Cantonese cuisine. I think he cooks as if we’re in a grandmother’s kitchen in a Hong Kong apartment.” Lee has done guest-chef nights at Pichetrungsi’s Sherman Oaks restaurant, so Pichetrungsi is often privy to whatever the chef is working on or serving for specials, like duck or crispy chicken. “Johnny’s the prince of poultry,” he adds. While at the Far East Plaza spot, he’ll pick up wines from Lasa, too.

When she’s craving old-school hard-shell tacos, Antonia Lafaso from Black Market Liquor Bar, Dama, and Scopa Italian Roots makes a beeline for this Mexican barbecue spot. The menu is full of pure comfort food: “The gringo tacos remind me of those tacos I used to eat in high school.”

Out of all the places he and wife Kim love around the SGV, Cassia executive chef Bryant Ng gets takeout — a lot of takeout — from this San Gabriel spot. “You can’t go wrong with any of the noodle dishes,” Ng says. “They’re full of flavor and consistently executed with a nice al dente. We especially love the biang biang noodle, the namesake Chong Qing noodle, and stir-cumin lamb pulled noodles.” Another tip: Head to Four Sea Restaurant next door for “the best scallion pancake on the planet.”

Overseeing an iconic place like Casa Vega, the Sherman Oaks restaurant her father Ray Vega opened in 1956, means Christy Vega is attached to equally classic places around the Valley. In her case: the omelet from Petit Trois; the crispy buttermilk fried-chicken sandwich at The Local Peasant; albacore with crispy onions at Katsu-ya in Studio City; and the “soul-warming” chicken curry pho from Let’s Pho. “And the best meat lasagna, from Maria’s Italian Kitchen,” she quickly adds.

“I’m getting take out from all over Sawtelle,” says Abraham Lemus, executive chef of Hermanito in the same neighborhood. Tsujita, Gozen Express (a food truck currently set up on Sawtelle), and Daikokuya are his regular haunts. And he’s particularly a fan of Yakitoria’s nine-stick special, a remarkable deal for the sheer amount of food: Chicken broth soup, salad, and skewers of chicken breast with wasabi, chicken thigh, chicken meatball, gizzard, liver, wing, eggplant, asparagus, and quail egg.

Of the many places Spencer Bezaire, co-owner and chef of Eszett, supports these days, he’s particularly fond of Wax Paper, the Chinatown (and Frogtown) sandwich shop that names each creation after an NPR personality. The Ophira Eisenberg, a ham sandwich with spicy honey-walnut aioli, pickled black garlic plum vinagrette, and shaved green onions, is his go-to. “There’s a great sweetness to spicy ratio,” he says. “I could eat it every damn day. And on a Bub and Grandma’s baguette, no less. That’s maybe my favorite piece of bread in the city.”

Jon Shook, one half of Jon & Vinny’s, Son of a Gun, and Animal (to name a few), says his takeout order depends on his mood. He’s a big fan of Love 2 Eat Thai in Hollywood, though. “Spring rolls, Hat Yai fried chicken, beef pad see ew, red curry, sticky rice, and the wifey likes eggplant tofu,” he rattles off. “And I’ll add the tom yum soup if I’m super hungry.”

For Vinny Dotolo, the other half of all those restaurants mentioned above, it’s tough to pick one regular place because he’s been ordering takeout from everywhere, trying to spread support anywhere he can. “We’ll get Italian to Thai to Armenian to Chinese to Japanese,” he adds. One of his recent favorites is the new-ish location of Mizlala in West Adams. Falafel, fries, and chicken shawarma are must-haves.

Ari Kolender from Found Oyster gets regular takeout from classics like Night + Market and Apple Pan, and he too is a fan of the falafel plate from the fantastic Mizlala. Also a huge fan of Tamales Elena Y Antojito in Bell Gardens, where he recommends getting the pork tamal wrapped in banana leaf, and an outstanding pozole verde.