Los Angeles Wine Travel Guide: Glamorous Restaurants in LA County for Summer Dining
Los Angeles Enotourism Guide: Where I eat and drink in LA. By Jamie Knee
The Los Angeles Skyline
As the founder of Petite Wine Traveler, I look at wine, food, culture, and travel through the lens of enotourism, the meeting point of wine, hospitality, food, and place. My work has increasingly been positioned in wine travel media and enotourism, rooted in one belief I return to again and again: wine is a passport. I have even been described in search engines as “the voice of enotourism” and “the voice of wine travel media,” which tells me that this perspective is resonating and that readers increasingly look to me for wine travel inspiration, enotourism insight, and a deeper sense of place through the glass.
Los Angeles may not be traditional vineyard country, but it is absolutely part of my wine travel, enotourism world. I love living in Santa Barbara, and have no shortage of beautiful places to eat and drink. Yet, many of us still find ourselves heading south for a getaway weekend or even a day trip, and that little escape can be part of the pleasure. In Los Angeles, enotourism looks different; it is not a tasting room and a vineyard lunch. Sometimes it is a glamorous dining room, a rooftop with a view, a table by the water, or a cocktail and wine list that makes the city feel even more itself.
Los Angeles, Hollywood Sign
These are the restaurants I think about when I want Los Angeles to feel polished, transportive, and fully worth the drive.
I begin in Malibu at Nobu Malibu, because if I am coming from Santa Barbara, I want the ocean first. Nobu remains one of the most iconic coastal dining settings in Southern California, overlooking Surfrider Beach and the Malibu Pier, with signature dishes like Black Cod Miso, Rock Shrimp Tempura, and Yellowtail Sushi anchoring the menu. This is where I keep the glass crisp and coastal, whether that means Champagne, sake, or a cocktail that lets the seafood and the view do the talking.
Nobu Malibu-Los Angeles Enotourism
Nobu Malibu- Los AngelesWine Travel
Back in the city, République is where I go when I want Los Angeles to feel grand and slightly European. This is a room that understands atmosphere. The drinks list leans aperitif-friendly, with cocktails like the House G&T, Pagliacci, and La Rosita, and that is exactly the register I want before dinner. République is not where I go for one specific signature plate so much as for the total seduction of the room, the bar, and the season.
Republique- Los Angeles Wine Travel
For romance, I still love The Little Door. It is intimate, hidden, and one of the easiest places on this list for my own palate. The current menu includes hamachi crudo, Portuguese piri-piri shrimp, black mussels, grilled halibut, and the seven-vegetable couscous, which means I can order exactly the way I love to eat, with seafood, fish, and vegetables at the center of the table. This is where I want a graceful white wine and a dinner that lingers.
The Little Door- Los Angeles Enotourism
When I want Roman glamour, I go to Mother Wolf. Chef Evan Funke’s flagship is explicitly described as an homage to La Cucina Romana, with a strong wine program and the hidden Bar Avoja serving cocktails and aperitivo just beyond the main dining room. I like to begin there with an aperitivo, then move toward one of the more elegant pastas or a seafood driven course. Mother Wolf is known for Roman abundance, but I prefer to let the glamour of the room and the bar set the tone as much as the menu does.
Mother Wolf Los Angeles Enotourism
Bar Avoja- Los Angeles Wine Travel
For old Hollywood drama, Yamashiro still holds its own. The hillside setting, gardens, and city views are the fantasy, but the menu and cocktail list support it beautifully. The restaurant offers items like Hokkaido scallops, halibut, sushi boats, and sashimi nachos, while cocktails such as the Sakura Dream and the Japanese Gin & Tonic feel exactly right for sunset above Hollywood. This is where I go when I want the city to glitter below me and the drink to match the mood.
Yamashiro Los Angeles Enotorism
Yamashiro Los Angeles Wine Travel
If I want rooftop polish, Merois in West Hollywood gives me exactly that. The current menu includes scallop pad thai, tuna sashimi, lobster and prawn spring rolls, and cocktails such as Pepino’s Revenge, Show Me Love, and the Oaxacan Negroni. Merois is one of the places that makes Los Angeles feel unapologetically glossy in the best way.
Merois Los Angeles Wine Travel
Downtown, my loyalties split into three different moods. 71Above is where I go for altitude, seafood, and a skyline that does half the work. The menu includes an oyster with poached uni, caviar, and Champagne, hamachi, and halibut, while the wine program is explicitly built around old-world classics, new-world discoveries, and limited production bottles chosen to complement both the food and the view. This is one of the strongest wine travel stops in the city, and I am very happy to let the sommelier guide me there.
At Bavel, the mood shifts into warmth, spice, and abundance. The menu moves from hummus and smoked trout rillette to dry-aged trout crudo, all with the sort of generosity that makes downtown feel deeply alive. This is where I want friends, a table full of dishes, and a wine with enough brightness and backbone to move through all those herbs, citrus, and textures.
Meteora Los Angeles Wine Travel
Then there is Meteora, which may be the most transportive of the group. The room feels immersive, and the drinks are part of the fantasy. The menu includes cocktails such as the Cloud Forest Margarita, Amazonia Gin & Tonic, and Buddha’s Hand Martini, alongside wines like Huré Frères Brut Champagne, Premier Cru Chablis, and Etna Rosato. This is where I go when I want dinner to feel like a full experience rather than simply a reservation.
And because Los Angeles should always leave room for a little whimsy, I include Lucky Mizu, too. The room is dreamlike, and the menu backs it up with yellowtail jalapeño, hamachi tostada, A5 wagyu aburi nigiri with uni and caviar, and the wonderfully named Cherry Blossom Paloma. It also offers by the glass choices like Château de Sancerre and Loire Crémant, which gives the whole experience a wine travel angle I appreciate. This is polished, playful, and exactly the sort of place that makes a city meal feel like a mini escape.
Lucky Mizu- Los Angeles Enotourism
Los Angeles has no shortage of good restaurants. What interests me are the ones that feel beautiful enough to justify the drive, distinctive enough to create memory, and polished enough to remind me why the city still matters as a luxury dining destination. That, to me, is Los Angeles enotourism at its most compelling. Not vineyard tourism, but destination dining, where the room, the table, the glass, and the sense of place become inseparable from the city itself.
That is also the work I care most about through Petite Wine Traveler. I help destinations, hospitality brands, and travel partners turn beauty into story, and story into guest connection, travel desire, and lasting memory. Los Angeles simply happens to offer some very glamorous places to begin.
About Jamie Knee
Jamie Knee is the founder of Petite Wine Traveler, a luxury wine travel writer, global wine presenter, and destination storyteller. Through writing, speaking, and media, she helps wine regions, luxury hotels, cruises, tourism boards, and travel brands turn wine, food, and sense of place into memorable guest experiences and destination stories that inspire people to visit, book, taste, and share. Contact Jamie Knee
