RFK Cuisine · French · Los Angeles
Best French Restaurants in Los Angeles 2026
French · Los Angeles · 7 rooms ranked · Updated June 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published June 20, 2026 · Updated June 20, 2026
There is exactly one duck press in Los Angeles, and it sits in a Santa Monica bistro called Pasjoli, where Dave Beran pulls a whole rouennais duck apart tableside ten times a night. That single machine says more about French food in this city than any star count: LA does not do grand, gilded French dining rooms — it does the Westside bistro and the brasserie, cooking that takes French technique and runs it through California produce and a relaxed local register. The serious kitchens cluster in Santa Monica and on La Brea, not downtown, and the best of them are run by chefs who could plate in Paris and choose not to. Ranked on the cooking, the room, and what the bill buys, with the dish to order at each.
1.Mélisse
LA's only two-star French room, now a 14-seat counter; book the tasting for a special night you want to remember.
Josiah Citrin reinvented his Santa Monica institution as a 14-seat counter at 1104 Wilshire Boulevard, and Mélisse holds two Michelin stars for the result — an eight-course Californian-French tasting menu that runs roughly two and a half hours. Citrin and chef-partner Ken Takayama source from farmers between San Diego and Napa, weaving truffle, uni and wagyu through the canapés before closing on the dry-aged duck "Rouennaise," the signature finale. It is the most refined French cooking in the city and one of its hardest small rooms to book. Reserve well ahead through Tock and take the full tasting with the pairing.
Book on Tock weeks out; the eight-course tasting, the dry-aged duck Rouennaise to finish.
2.République
The most beloved French room in LA, in a Chaplin-built landmark; go for Margarita Manzke's pastries and a long lunch.
Walter and Margarita Manzke run République inside the 1929 Charlie Chaplin building on South La Brea that once held Campanile, and it is the French room Angelenos default to — a bustling bakery and café up front, a more formal brasserie behind. Margarita won the 2023 James Beard Award for Outstanding Pastry Chef, and her kouign-amann and croissants are the city's benchmark; the dinner kitchen turns out classic brasserie cooking and a serious wine list. It works for a pastry-and-coffee morning or a full French dinner equally well. Walk in for breakfast; book ahead for dinner and order the rotisserie.
Walk in by day, reserve for dinner; the kouign-amann, then a roast at night.
3.Camphor
Downtown's one-star French bistro; book for steak au poivre and a sea-bream crudo in the Arts District.
Camphor, at 923 East 3rd Street in the Arts District, is the main downtown counterweight to the Westside's French cluster — a one-Michelin-star modern bistro from owners Sarah Lam and Cyrus Batchan, with executive chef Max Boonthanakit cooking a menu shaped by his classical French training and global upbringing. The steak au poivre in cognac-peppercorn cream and the sea-bream crudo with green-apple ice are the dishes to order, and the burger has a quiet cult following. It is the most stylish French room east of La Brea. Book through Resy and read the full Los Angeles dining guide for the wider Arts District scene.
Reserve on Resy; the steak au poivre, the sea-bream crudo to start.
4.Pasjoli
The only duck press in the city; book the canard à la presse for a French dinner with genuine theater.
Dave Beran — a James Beard winner who also runs the tasting room Dialogue — opened Pasjoli on Santa Monica's Main Street in 2019 as an elevated French bistro, and it holds one Michelin star. Its defining dish is the canard rouennais à la presse: a whole duck pressed tableside on the city's only duck press, served for two, capped at roughly ten orders a night and bookable only with a deposit. Around it sits a market-driven bistro menu split between Paris and Southern California. This is the most theatrical French meal in LA. Reserve the pressed duck specifically, in advance, when you book the table.
Book ahead and pre-order the duck press; canard à la presse for two.
5.Petit Trois
Ludo Lefebvre's no-reservations bistro; squeeze in for the Boursin omelette and the foie-gras Big Mec.
Ludo Lefebvre runs Petit Trois as a pair of tiny, high-energy bistros — the original counter beside the old Trois Mec in East Hollywood and a larger room in Sherman Oaks — and it carries a Michelin Bib Gourmand for cooking far above its prices. The omelette folded around Boursin is the order everyone copies, and the "Big Mec," a double cheeseburger with foie gras and bordelaise, is the indulgent one. There is no white-tablecloth pretense; it is bistro food cooked with three-star technique. Seats are first-come at the original; go early or off-peak, and order the omelette and the escargot.
Walk in early at the original, book Sherman Oaks; the Boursin omelette and the Big Mec.
6.Citrin
Mélisse's à la carte sibling; book when you want Josiah Citrin's French cooking without the full tasting commitment.
Citrin is the à la carte half of Josiah Citrin's Santa Monica operation at 1104 Wilshire Boulevard, sharing a building with the tasting-only Mélisse next door and holding its own Michelin star. Where Mélisse is a fixed two-and-a-half-hour event, Citrin lets you order a few courses of refined Californian-French cooking — the same kitchen pedigree, a lower commitment and a more flexible bill. It is the smart move for a date or a celebration that wants serious cooking without committing to a long tasting menu. Reserve ahead and let the kitchen steer toward the seasonal dishes; the full menu lives on the Los Angeles guide.
Book on Tock; order three or four courses and a bottle off the French list.
7.Cassia
The grand brasserie where France meets Vietnam; book for the pot-au-feu and the white-pepper crab in one sitting.
Cassia is the loosest French room on this list and one of the best — Bryant Ng and Kim Luu-Ng's grand Santa Monica brasserie at 1314 Seventh Street, where French brasserie format meets Luu-Ng's Vietnamese heritage and Ng's Singaporean cooking. The Vietnamese pot-au-feu — short rib, marrow bone, French bread for dipping — is the dish that bridges the two cuisines, and the whole Singaporean white-pepper crab is the showstopper. It reads like a Parisian brasserie and eats like Southeast Asia, a combination no other room in the city pulls off. Book ahead for a group, order the pot-au-feu and the crab, and share widely.
Reserve for a group; the Vietnamese pot-au-feu and the white-pepper crab.
How Los Angeles eats French
French cooking in LA is not about gilded dining rooms — the city never built many, and the few it had, like Thomas Keller's Bouchon in Beverly Hills, are gone. What thrives instead is the bistro and the brasserie: relaxed, market-driven French cooking run through Southern California produce and a no-jacket-required register. The best kitchens take classic technique seriously — a real duck press, a properly folded omelette, a James Beard pastry program — without the formality that scares Angelenos off. The result is some of the most enjoyable French food in America, even if it rarely looks the part.
Geography is simple here: the Westside owns it. Santa Monica alone holds Mélisse, Citrin, Pasjoli and Cassia within a few square miles; République anchors Mid-City on La Brea; and Camphor is the Arts District outlier downtown. Petit Trois splits the difference with bistros in West Hollywood and the Valley. If you are planning by neighborhood, base a French day around Santa Monica and add one La Brea meal. For the rest of the city beyond French, the Los Angeles dining guide maps every neighborhood by occasion.
Where not to look for it
Skip these for real French cooking
The hotel-lobby "French" on the tourist strips. Plenty of rooms in Beverly Hills and on the Sunset Strip trade on a French accent and a marble bar without a French kitchen behind it. Drive to Santa Monica or La Brea instead, where the cooking matches the name.
Mélisse for a casual weeknight. A two-star, 14-seat, two-and-a-half-hour tasting counter is a planned occasion, not a drop-in. For French cooking on short notice and a smaller bill, point yourself at Petit Trois or a daytime table at République.
Frequently asked
What is the best French restaurant in Los Angeles?
Mélisse in Santa Monica is the city's apex French room — Josiah Citrin's two-Michelin-star, 14-seat tasting counter, where the dry-aged duck Rouennaise closes an eight-course Californian-French menu. For a brasserie rather than a tasting menu, République on La Brea is the most beloved French room in town, with a James Beard-winning pastry program. Choose by whether you want a 2.5-hour event or a long lunch over croissants and a roast.
Which Los Angeles French restaurants have Michelin stars?
In the current California Michelin Guide, Mélisse holds two stars, and Camphor in the Arts District, Pasjoli in Santa Monica and Citrin — Josiah Citrin's à la carte room beside Mélisse — each hold one. République and Petit Trois are not starred but carry a James Beard pastry win and a Bib Gourmand respectively. Most of the city's best French cooking sits on the Westside, not downtown.
Where can you get pressed duck in Los Angeles?
Pasjoli in Santa Monica is the only restaurant in Los Angeles with a duck press. Chef Dave Beran's canard à la presse is a whole rouennais duck pressed tableside, served for two, and limited to about ten preparations a night — it must be reserved in advance with a deposit. It is the single most theatrical French dish in the city. Book the duck specifically when you reserve; the regular à la carte tables do not include it.
Is the best French food in LA downtown or on the Westside?
Mostly the Westside. Mélisse, Citrin, Pasjoli and Cassia all sit in Santa Monica, and République anchors Mid-City on La Brea. Camphor in the Arts District is the main downtown exception, a one-star modern bistro. Petit Trois runs bistros in West Hollywood and Sherman Oaks. If you are choosing by neighborhood, Santa Monica has the densest cluster of serious French cooking in the city.
What should I order at a French restaurant in LA?
At a bistro like Petit Trois, the omelette with Boursin and the Big Mec double cheeseburger are the orders; at République, Margarita Manzke's kouign-amann and the morning pastries. For something grander, take Pasjoli's pressed duck or Mélisse's tasting menu. Camphor's steak au poivre and Citrin's Cal-French à la carte round out the range. Across the board, the duck, the omelette and the pastry are where LA's French kitchens shine.
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