Best Instagram Worthy Restaurants in Chinatown
4 hand-picked restaurants, critic-reviewed and ranked
Last Updated: February 2026
Our Top Pick
Majordomo
David Chang's LA flagship brings his bold Korean-American cooking to a Chinatown warehouse with whole-animal feasts and wood-fired dishes
Notable Picks
#1
Majordomo
8
Vibes:
Group Dining Gatherings
Birthday & Celebration Central
Outdoor Dining Oasis
Instagram Worthy Wonders
David Chang's LA flagship runs on large-format showpieces—the two-day smoked short rib sliced tableside, then repurposed into beef rice—built for groups who want to pass platters and share. The warehouse energy runs loud and industrial by design, so this works best when you're leaning into the communal table rhythm rather than looking for quiet conversation.
Must-Try Dishes:
Bing, Bossam, Stuffed Peppers
What Makes it Special: David Chang's LA flagship brings his bold Korean-American cooking to a Chinatown warehouse with whole-animal feasts and wood-fired dishes
Worthy Picks
#2
Café Tondo
7.8
A Mediterranean-Latin café-bar in Chinatown that functions as much as a cultural venue as a restaurant, with weekly jazz and bolero nights spilling into an outdoor parking-lot stage. The kitchen runs a Latin-leaning menu anchored by milanesa de pollo and ceviche de camarón, served in a space where metro trains overhead and salsa dancers on the patio set the tempo. It draws date-night couples and creatives who want dinner and a show in the same seat.
Must-Try Dishes:
Milanesa de Pollo, Pan de Elote, Tuna Tostada
What Makes it Special: Mediterranean-Latin café-bar in Chinatown doubling as a cultural venue with weekly jazz and bolero nights
#3
Firstborn
7.8
Chef Anthony Wang's French bistronomy lens on Chinese American cooking produces technically ambitious plates—chili-crisp fried chicken, mapo-inflected steak tartare—inside a green-tiled Chinatown dining room at Mandarin Plaza. The polarized review pattern suggests diners who connect with the boundary-crossing approach leave thrilled, while others find the fusion concept uneven. Best on a quieter midweek evening when the noise drops and you can focus on the food.
Must-Try Dishes:
Fried Chicken Legs with Morita Chili Crisp, Steak Tartare with Broad Bean Paste and Silken Tofu, BBQ Cabbage with Aged Pork and Leeks Vinaigrette
What Makes it Special: Chef Anthony Wang applies French bistronomy techniques to Chinese American cooking, finishing dishes like chili-crisp fried chicken and mapo-style steak tartare in a green-tiled Chinatown dining room.
7.8
A Japanese kissaten that splits its identity between a quiet, antique-filled daytime café built for solo work sessions and an evening speakeasy pouring wine and sake to soft live jazz. The menu leans into shokupan-based sandwiches and specialty matcha and fruit lattes—tight and intentional rather than sprawling. With only 48 reviews and a niche Chinatown location, it rewards those who already know the format more than casual drop-ins looking for a standard coffee shop.
Must-Try Dishes:
Egg Sando, Strawberry Sesame Iced Latte, Matcha Coconut Latte
What Makes it Special: Antique-filled Japanese kissaten by day that transforms into a speakeasy with wine, sake, and live jazz by night