What would you do if confronted with choices such as these on a menu:

(1) Desire: velvety Manjari chocolate mousse with vanilla crème brulee, crunchy feuilletine and French griottine cherries on a chocolate sponge.

(2) Mysterious: passion fruit with hazelnut cream filled with spiced diced pineapple.

Jin Patisserie in Venice Beach has even more tempting delicacies. Hidden in a quiet Zen-inspired garden, you can have high tea or lunch, which if you are very naughty, will include one or more of the pastries on the menu.

• Vibe: quiet garden with bamboo trees and little tables, perfect for lunch or afternoon tea.

• Pros: the most tempting, unusual pastries this side of Los Angeles, good sandwiches (prosciutto, smoked salmon, cucumber-gruyere); a quiet civilized place in the midst of the Abbott Kinney neighborhood.

• Cons: the worst place to discuss health issues, such as cholesterol levels and the epidemic of obesity around the world.

Jin Patisserie
1202 Abbot Kinney Blvd
Venice Beach, California
+1 310 399 8801
Creative, unusual pastries
www.jinpatisserie.com

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Check out my list of favorite restaurants in Los Angeles.

Going to a new restaurant is always an adventure. Will it be a disappointment or a pleasant surprise? I went to Fraiche in Culver City (Los Angeles) recently and wondered which one it would be. When I opened the menu and saw that they served finocchiona, a Tuscan salami made with fennel seeds, I felt more at ease. One rarely comes across a restaurant in California that serves finocchiona. The food turned out to be very delicious: piquant farro salad with blood oranges, savoury pappardelle with oxtail ragout, succulent duck leg confit. I could have tried one of the desserts but alas, I had already eaten so much. Fraiche is now one of my favorite places to eat in LA.

• Vibe: airy open restaurant with outdoor seating, tables spaced apart for civilized conversations, elegant but unpretentious decor

• Pros: delicious French, Italian and Mediterranean dishes cooked to perfection, excellent wine list; valet parking.

• Cons: the neighborhood (Culver Boulevard) is dead at night so you will need to drive elsewhere for a nightcap.

Fraiche
9411 Culver Boulevard
Culver City, CA
+1 310 839 6800
www.fraicherestaurantla.com

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Click to see my other favorite restaurants in Los Angeles.

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If you are looking for a restaurant in Los Angeles with sweeping views over the Pacific, go to Catch, a seafood and sushi restaurant in the newly renovated Casa del Mar hotel located right on the beach. From one side of the dining room, you can see the Santa Monica pier and its ferris wheel, and from the other, the boardwalk that extends to Venice Beach. Try the amazing dungeness crab fondue (with English pea puree and uni), the octopus salad, the John Dory with nicoise olives, or any of the sushi and sashimi. The desserts are just as sinful.

• Vibe: chic elegant restaurant with fabulous ocean views; slightly older crowd except at the bar where the (younger) locals getting together over drinks at the end of the day
• Pros: fresh, delicious seafood including sushi and sashimi prepared in innovative ways; excellent service; noise level is low so you can have conversations without screaming
• Cons: nothing really

Catch
Casa del Mar Hotel
1910 Ocean Way
Santa Monica
+1 (310) 581 7714
Seafood
www.catchsantamonica.com

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Go to Mapplr’s list of favorite restaurants in Los Angeles to find out where else I like to eat out in the city.

Los Angeles is a wonderful place for dining out because of the ethnic diversity of the city and the presence of a lively arts and entertainment community. Here are my favorites (for now). I will update the list over time.

• Bastide
  8475 Melrose Pl.
  West Hollywood
  +1 (323) 651 5950
  French

• Catch
  Casa del Mar
  1910 Ocean Way
  Santa Monica
  +1 (310) 581 7714
  Seafood
  www.catchsantamonica.com

• Comme Ça
  8479 Melrose Ave.
  West Hollywood
  +1 (323) 782 1178
  Brasserie
  www.commecarestaurant.com

• Fraîche
  9411 Culver Blvd.,
  Culver City
  +1 (310) 839 6800
  Mediterranean
  www.fraicherestaurantla.com

• Jin Patisserie
  1202 Abbot Kinney Blvd
  Venice
  +1 (310) 399-8801
  Creative, unusual pastries
  www.jinpatisserie.com

• Osteria Mozza
  6602 Melrose Ave.
  +1 (323) 297 0100
  Italian
  www.mozza-la.com

• Paperfish
  345 N. Maple Dr.,
  Beverly Hills
  +1 (310) 858 6030
  Seafood
  www.patinagroup.com

• R-23
  923 E. Second St.
  +1 (213) 687 7178
  Japanese
  www.r23.com

• Rose Cafe
  220 Rose Ave.
  Los Angeles
  +1 (310) 399 0711
  www.rosecafe.com

Below is a Google map of my favorites in Los Angeles.

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