Tons of Out-of-Town Chefs Are Opening L.A. Restaurants (and We're Not Mad About It)

Gastropub queen of lower Manhattan April Bloomfield brings Middle Eastern-inflected food to this roomy hunt club by way of Sunset Boulevard. Don't miss the steak tartare with harissa or the wedge of steamed pickled cabbage with beef drippings, a riff on old-school Wilted lettuce. And, since this is Cali, you've got to taste the charred chicories with citrus and fromage blanc.

6530 Sunset Blvd.; 323-320-4022 or thehearthandhound.com

Chef David Chang of the Momofuku chain, which started in New York as a ramen bar and has now spread globally with iterations from noodle bars to fine-dining restaurants, has come to Los Angeles, specifically to a hangar-like space north of Chinatown. Crispy-skinned pork belly, a West Coast seafood-specific raw bar and a crazy-rick truffle-dotted macaroni and cheese are some of the standouts.

1725 Naud St.; 323-545-4880 or majordomo.la

Behind an unmarked door in an anonymous building next to a parking structure, chef Dave Beran (of Chicago's molecular gastronomy legend Alinea) has opened a tasting-menu-only restaurant where 18 diners a seating get the chance to enjoy seasonal plates of things like golden osetra caviar, mint-scented cucumber and smoked sturgeon with horseradish and crème fraîche. Even with its ticket-only set-up and steep price tag ($220 without wine), the place is packed.

Gallery Food Hall, Second Fl., 1315 Third St. Promenade, Santa Monica; dialoguerestaurant.com

Dinner at the new NoMad Hotel downtown is elegant yet unfussy, just like the soaring architecture of the hotel itself. Swiss-born chef Daniel Humm is the co-owner of Eleven Madison Park in Manhattan, where his clean, bright flavors continue to attract international pilgrimages. Here, try the hamachi marinated with citrus and daikon followed by a suckling pig confit.

649 S. Olive St.; 213-358-0000 or thenomadhotel.com

Now open at the Grove, this bakery (with a restaurant that serves dinner and brunch upstairs) is where the New York-based chef proffers the original Cronut®, the oft-imitated, never-paralleled doughnut with pastry cream between its flaky layers. Get there early for April's flavor, mandarin orange and cocoa nib (or psst, preorder to skip the line).

189 The Grove Dr.; 323-601-1167 or dominiqueansella.com