Best Restaurants in LA That Never Have a Wait

It's the weekend in the city of angels, and all you want is a nice dinner to help you forget your weekday woes. But then, you tragically realize you forgot to make restaurant reservations. In Los Angeles, it's next to impossible to get into a popular restaurant without reservations on a Friday or Saturday night. If you want in now, your wait-time probably stands at around two hours. At that point, you might as well head home and heat up a frozen pizza. 

But hope is not lost just yet! Don't waste even more time searching through Google or Yelp for places with no wait. Save your precious thumbs the energy and try one of the restaurants on this list. These are the best restaurants in LA that serve great food and never have a wait.

1. Gjusta

Address: 320 Sunset Ave, Venice, CA 90291

If you're familiar with LA, you might think I'm crazy to put Gjusta at the top of this list. That's because 99.9% of the people who have visited Gjusta have come for brunch. Sure, the restaurant's brunch food is top-notch, but the place gets so crowded that you're guaranteed an elbow to the ribs by at least four strangers, and you can bet that hurts 10x more when hungover. So, I'm gonna let you in on a not-so-secret-anymore secret. Go to Gjusta for dinner. The dinner menu is equally as good as brunch, and you won't have to worry about wrestling someone for a seat. All you have to do is make a little a(GJUST)ment to have one of the best dinners in Venice. 

2. BäcoShop

Address: 9552 Washington Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232

BäcoShop is the casual off-shoot of DTLA restaurant, Bäco Mercat. What's a bäco, you ask? It's basically the Spanish/Latin American sister of a pita sandwich. BäcoShop isn't technically a proper, sit-down restaurant you'd be looking for on a Friday night. You order at the register first, then you take your food to your table from the pick-up counter. Regardless, after one bite of a Chile Shrimp Bäco, the last thing you'll be missing is waiter service.

3. Otus Thai Kitchen

Address: 1253 N La Brea Ave, West Hollywood, CA 90038

Hollywood is hands-down the worst neighborhood in LA. It's crowded with tourists with selfie-sticks and creepy old men dressed as Spiderman. But just a block or two away from that grotesque madness is Otus, a serene Thai oasis. The inside looks more like a modern coffee shop than a Thai restaurant, but that doesn't mean the food is any less legit. Otus might even be one of my top Thai restaurants in LA (which is saying a lot considering LA's Thai food scene). It's honestly a blessing that the haze of Hollywood Blvd keeps this place less busy. 

4. Escuela Taqueria

You're standing on Wilshire Blvd craving tacos and guac. You could go to a taco truck and shovel down carne asada whilst sitting on a not-so-romantic plastic crate. But your heart (and your butt) crave a real table with real chairs. It's at this moment that you head to Escuela Taqueria. With this Mexican go-to in your back pocket, you'll never have to suffer through an a-taco-lypse ever again.

5. Kiku Sushi

If you've come to this list looking for sushi, chances are you just bounced out of Sugarfish after being told there's a 1.5-hour-long wait. Hey, it's okay. You're not alone. Almost every LA resident who's not a Kardashian has been a Sugarfish reject at least once. Kiku is the exact opposite of Sugarfish, and I can guarantee you won't be waiting until Monday to get in. It's homey and quiet, but it promises to satisfy all of your sushi needs. 

6. Desano Pizza

You could probably bring your entire extended family and your soccer team and your knitting club to Desano and everyone will still get seated. That doesn't make this place any less dank. The dining room is just massive, filled with long, wooden communal tables. In addition, four giant, dome-shaped ovens at the back are made to accommodate a large crowd. The place is super casual, but Desano has some of the best wood-fired pizzas in the city. BONUS, they have a massive parking lot out front. What? Easy parking in LA?! Desano might be too good to be true.

7. Nong La

Address: 145 N La Brea Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90036

Pho isn't only for rainy days. When you're happily slurping down a steamy bowl at Nong La, you'll easily want to make pho a weekly thing. The noods they use are slightly wider than your average pho noodle, and the thin slices of filet mignon might be the softest pieces of meat you'll ever find in a broth. Nong La's location on La Brea awkwardly sits between two furniture stores. But that might be a blessing in bedsheet disguise, as Nong La never gets too busy.

8. Bludso's BBQ

Some nights, all you want to do is get down and dirty. Bludso's got you covered. Come here only with friends who have seen you in your most slobbish state. After licking the remains of your first rack of ribs and slab of brisket, you'll definitely be rocking a BBQ sauce-'stache by the end of the night.

9. Ssam

Address: 1040 S Western Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90006

Eating Korean barbeque on a Friday night in Ktown without waiting two hours might be as hard as getting a 2400 on the SAT. Usually, if a KBBQ place isn't packed with people, it means the meat quality is poor. But that's not the case at Ssam. The meat is always marbled to perfection and even the side dishes are excellent. Plus, if you're a KBBQ newbie and your wrists start cramping from grilling your own meat for the first time, the staff will happily do it for you. 

10. Alcove Cafe and Bakery

Address: 1929 Hillhurst Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90027

Alcove is a brunch staple for anyone living on the Eastside of LA. Because of this, most people forget that the place even serves dinner. But at night, you can enjoy the beautiful, ivy-covered patio all to yourself. While you sip your after-dinner coffee, you'll chuckle picturing all the misfortunate people in LA still starving in wait lines.

Most people think it's impossible to eat at a great restaurant in Los Angeles without a reservation. But they are so wrong. Anytime you find yourself wandering the streets of LA looking for a place for dinner, take a peek at this lovely little list and find yourself chowing down in no time.