The Best Restaurants & Coffee Shops in Los Angeles (Plant-Forward Edition)

I lived in Los Angeles for the better part of a decade — USC, the Hollywood assistant years, the TV writing rooms, the era when I ranked coffeeshops by screenplay-writing potential. I left the industry; I never stopped eating like a local.

This is my list of the best restaurants and coffee shops in Los Angeles, with a plant-forward, gluten-free-friendly lens — because there is a LOT of really good food in LA if you eat the way I do (mostly plant-based, sometimes pescetarian, usually gluten-free, always longevity-minded), and almost nobody curates for it without going full health-food monastery. Same rules as my San Francisco list: actually good beats expensive, and every place here is somewhere we’ve actually eaten, receipts on file. Updated regularly.

1. Layla Bagels — the Bagels Worth the Beverly Hills Parking

Incredible bagels, a newer Beverly Hills location, and a cashew cream cheese that makes the plant-based order feel like the smart one. Order halves and build a flight. Read my full Layla Bagels review. (Google Maps)

2. Bricks & Scones — the Best Outdoor Work Cafe in LA

The Larchmont patio where we hosted our Make Writing Your Job subscriber co-working events — and kept returning on our own dime five receipts deep. Tea people (hi) get real options: London Fog, English Rose, soy welcome. Read my full Bricks & Scones review. (Google Maps)

3. Paper or Plastik — My Longest-Running LA Coffee Loyalty

Part ballet studio, part coffeeshop, all inspiration — my favorite room in Mid-City since my screenwriting days, and still it. Free parking on Ogden, which in LA counts as a dowry. Read my full Paper or Plastik review. (Google Maps)

4. Rosemary and Thyme — Order the Potatoes

Quite good across the board on Pico; the potatoes are excellent and non-negotiable. The Crescent Heights vegan salad carries the plant-based flag with honor. Read my full Rosemary and Thyme review. (Google Maps)

5. M Cafe — Leave Feeling Great, Guaranteed

LA’s clean-eating stalwart, tucked inside a home decor store: gut-friendly macrobiotic cooking, vegan through omnivore, gluten-free depth for days. The review is how you feel an hour later. Read my full M Cafe review. (Google Maps)

6. Bodega Wine Bar — Santa Monica’s Day-to-Night Shapeshifter

Coffee-and-laptops by day, wine-and-candlelight by night, good bites throughout, near the water since 2006. Arrive working, stay for the evening. Read my full Bodega Wine Bar review. (Google Maps)

7. Community Goods — the Overhyped Matcha That Earns It

30–80 minute influencer lines, no seats, priced like the hype — and a vanilla bean matcha that nothing in LA or SF has topped for me. Read my full Community Goods review. (Google Maps)

8. Re/Creation — Mid-City’s Indoor-Outdoor Social Cafe

Loved it: great for a few hours, honest co-working limits, salsa classes on laptop-free weekends. We hosted a subscriber meetup here. Read my full Re/Creation review. (Google Maps)

9. Republic of Pie — NoHo’s Always-Popping Clubhouse

Great to co-work, great to meet people, and yes, pie. Another Make Writing Your Job meetup home. Read my full Republic of Pie review. (Google Maps)

10. Sightglass LA — the Trendy Roastery Off La Brea

Great drinks, good gluten-free pastries, seats you’ll have to hunt for. Read my full Sightglass review. (Google Maps)

11. Blu Jam Cafe — the Scramble That Outlived the Hype

LA’s former trendiest breakfast is calmer now, and the tofu scramble is still really good (a little greasy, still banging). Read my full Blu Jam review. (Google Maps)

12. Shiloh Tea House — the DTLA Late-Night Tea Ritual

Candlelit brick loft, live atmospheric musicians, board games, tea tastings. LA nightlife for people who’d rather remember it. Read my full Shiloh review. (Google Maps)

The Research Continues

This list grows every LA trip — the receipts folder guarantees it. The city now also has a full LA travel guide and its own matcha ranking. For my home turf: the best restaurants in San Francisco, the best matcha in SF, and the best fast casual. Restaurant folks in either city: I’m always eating, and my inbox is open.

For more places worth your appetite: the best restaurants in San Francisco (home turf) and my LA list (old stomping grounds). Subscribe to my newsletter for new reviews as the research continues — I spent five years rating restaurants around the world in my travel guides, and old habits die delicious.