RFK Cuisine · Greek · Los Angeles
Best Greek Restaurants in Los Angeles 2026
Whole fish & tavernas · Los Angeles · 7 rooms ranked · Updated June 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published June 27, 2026 · Updated June 27, 2026
Papa Cristo's served its last plate of lamb in May 2025, closing after seventy-seven years and taking the soul of LA's old Pico-Union Greektown with it. The loss says a lot about where Greek food in Los Angeles now lives, not in the historic urban core but out in the suburbs and along the coast. At the glossy end, Beverly Hills branzino-and-scene rooms like Avra fly whole fish in daily from the Mediterranean and sell it by the pound to an industry crowd. At the other, family tavernas in Manhattan Beach, Sherman Oaks, Glendale and Malibu have grilled lamb and flamed saganaki for forty years. No LA Greek restaurant holds a Michelin star, though Avra sits in the California guide. These are the seven worth booking in 2026, ranked on the cooking, the room and the value, with the dish to order and how to book.
1.Avra Beverly Hills
Chef Christos Phillipou grills Mediterranean lavraki by the pound for a Beverly Hills industry crowd; book Avra for the city's marquee Greek fish.
Avra, on North Beverly Drive in Beverly Hills, is the marquee Greek room in Los Angeles and the only one in the California Michelin Guide. Chef Christos Phillipou, with co-founder Nick Tsoulos, born in Nafpaktos, runs a whole-fish program built on lavraki, Mediterranean sea bass flown in daily from Greece and beyond, charcoal-grilled with olive oil, lemon and sea salt and sold by the pound, around a pound a person. It is a scene as much as a restaurant, drawing an industry crowd, and dinner commonly runs USD 100 to 150 and up a head at market price. It books on Resy or by phone. For the city's most polished Greek fish, in its most-watched room, this is the address.
Book on Resy; the whole grilled lavraki, the spreads, the grilled octopus, the baklava.
2.Estiatorio Louka
A Beverly Hills room of lamb, whole branzino and charred octopus from Hellenic farms; book Louka for upscale Greek without the Avra scene.
Estiatorio Louka, on North Canon Drive in Beverly Hills, is the Kotsiovos Hospitality Group's polished Greek room, established in 2010 and named for a village in the central Peloponnese. The cooking leans rustic-luxury: lamb, whole branzino and charred octopus, with ingredients sourced from Hellenic farms and recipes the group describes as passed down through generations. Plan on roughly USD 80 to 120 a head. It books on Tock and OpenTable or by phone. For diners who want a serious, white-tablecloth Greek dinner in Beverly Hills without the see-and-be-seen energy of Avra a few blocks away, Louka is the quieter, equally upscale alternative.
Book on Tock or OpenTable; the lamb, the whole branzino, the charred octopus, the Greek wine list.
3.Petros
Petros Benekos has grilled branzino and peasant-style lamb in Manhattan Beach since 2007; book Petros for South Bay Greek at its most polished.
Petros, on Manhattan Beach Boulevard, is the South Bay's most polished Greek room, opened in 2007 by chef-owner Petros Benekos, born in Ioannina and French-trained. The signatures are the whole branzino in a tomato-olive au jus with sauteed garlic broccolini, and the grilled Greek peasant-style baby lamb rack dressed in latholemono; the pan-sauteed branzino plate runs around USD 36, with dinner roughly USD 70 to 100 a head. He imports wine, honey and olive oil from Greece and grows produce in Los Olivos. It is closed Mondays and books on OpenTable. For coastal Greek cooking with real technique behind it, this is the South Bay benchmark.
Book on OpenTable; the whole branzino, the peasant-style lamb rack, the spreads, the Greek wine.
4.Taverna Tony
Flaming saganaki, a live band and a Malibu patio; go to Taverna Tony for the full Greek-taverna spectacle, recently remodeled.
Taverna Tony, on Civic Center Way in Malibu, is the full-spectacle Greek taverna, a roughly 35-year institution recently remodeled under owners Zane and Elisa Koss. The signature is the saganaki, flaming cheese set alight tableside with an Opa, alongside spanakopita, charred octopus and pastitsio, with a live band Thursday to Sunday. Plan on roughly USD 50 to 75 a head, with a full bar and a long wine list. It books on Resy and OpenTable or by phone. For a celebratory, music-and-flame Greek night out, with the Malibu hills outside, this is the room people drive across the county for.
Book on Resy or OpenTable; the flaming saganaki, the spanakopita, the charred octopus, the lamb chops.
5.The Great Greek
Live Greek music seven nights and family-style moussaka in the Valley; go to The Great Greek for a 30-dollar feast and a loud, happy room.
The Great Greek, on Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks, has been a San Fernando Valley taverna since the mid-1980s, the kind of room where the staff break into Greek music every night of the week. The signature is the moussaka, layered eggplant, ground beef and bechamel, alongside spanakopita and grilled pita with skordalia and tzatziki, with a family-style feast at USD 30 a person and kebab plates around USD 15. It books on OpenTable. For a warm, loud, value-driven taverna with live music and a crowd that has come back for forty years, this is the Valley institution, more party than fine dining and all the better for it.
Book on OpenTable; the moussaka, the spanakopita, the family-style feast, the live-music night.
6.Elena's Greek Armenian
A half-century Glendale landmark of Greek-Armenian kebabs; go to Elena's for the combo kebab plate and old-neighbourhood prices.
Elena's Greek Armenian Restaurant, on South Glendale Avenue in Glendale, has been a family-run landmark since 1976, a half-century of Greek and Armenian cooking served side by side. The signatures are the combo kebab plates, Elena's Combo and the chicken shish kebab, alongside handmade Mediterranean classics, at a budget USD 20 to 35 a head. It is open daily 10:30am to 9pm, takes bookings on OpenTable and welcomes walk-ins, with takeout and delivery too. For honest, affordable Greek-Armenian home cooking in one of LA's most Armenian neighborhoods, this is the old-neighborhood pick, a reminder of the immigrant tavernas the city's flashier rooms grew out of.
Book on OpenTable or walk in; the combo kebab plate, the chicken shish, the lula kebab, the baklava.
7.Aliki's Greek Taverna
A Westchester taverna near LAX making moussaka fresh daily, with vegan versions; go to Aliki's for honest Greek home cooking in the city itself.
Aliki's Greek Taverna, on Arbor Vitae Street in Westchester near LAX, is one of the few genuine Greek tavernas inside the city of Los Angeles proper rather than out in the suburbs. The kitchen makes its moussaka fresh daily, with vegetarian and vegan versions, alongside pastitsio, lamb shanks, lamb chops and whole tsipoura, the sea bream, importing feta, olive oil, olives and honey direct from Greece. Plan on roughly USD 25 to 40 a head. It runs Tuesday to Saturday, 11am to 8pm, taking bookings and walk-ins, with takeout. For neighborhood Greek cooking in the city itself, handy to the airport, this is the honest local choice.
Book or walk in; the fresh moussaka, the lamb shanks, the whole tsipoura, the vegan plates.
How Los Angeles eats Greek
LA's Greek dining splits into two worlds. At the high end, glossy Beverly Hills branzino-and-scene rooms like Avra, the only LA Greek room in the Michelin Guide, and Estiatorio Louka sell whole charcoal-grilled fish by the pound to an industry crowd. At the other end, the soul of the cuisine lives in decades-old family tavernas scattered across the suburbs: Petros in Manhattan Beach since 2007, The Great Greek in Sherman Oaks since the 1980s, Elena's Greek-Armenian in Glendale since 1976, and Taverna Tony's flaming-saganaki spectacle in Malibu. The whole-fish-by-the-pound model is the city's defining Greek format, learned from the great estiatorios of Athens and the islands.
The scene took a hard hit recently. The 2025 closure of Pico-Union's 77-year-old Papa Cristo's, the Byzantine-Latino market-taverna that anchored the old Greektown, and the earlier loss of Larchmont's Le Petit Greek, have left LA's Greek identity increasingly concentrated in the Valley, the South Bay and the white-tablecloth blocks of Beverly Hills rather than its historic urban core. Aliki's in Westchester is one of the few keeping a neighborhood taverna alive inside the city itself. For the rest of LA's dining, see the full Los Angeles dining guide and our best Greek restaurants worldwide pillar.
Where not to look for it
Skip these for real LA Greek
Papa Cristo's and Le Petit Greek. The two beloved names many people still search for are gone: Papa Cristo's, the 77-year-old Pico-Union institution, closed permanently in May 2025, and Larchmont's Le Petit Greek shut at the end of 2023, its owners moving to a fast-casual Greek Eats in Mid-City. For old-school taverna cooking now, book Petros or Taverna Tony instead.
Frozen-gyro mall counters and build-a-bowl Mediterranean chains. A heat-lamp gyro or a make-your-own grain bowl labelled Mediterranean is not Greek cooking. For the real thing, drive to Glendale for Elena's, to Manhattan Beach for Petros, or to Westchester for Aliki's fresh daily moussaka.
Frequently asked
What is the best Greek restaurant in Los Angeles?
At the high end, Avra Beverly Hills is the marquee room, the only LA Greek restaurant in the California Michelin Guide, known for whole grilled fish sold by the pound. Petros in Manhattan Beach is the most polished taverna, and Taverna Tony in Malibu is the spectacle. For value and neighborhood character, The Great Greek in Sherman Oaks and Elena's in Glendale are the institutions. The best choice depends on whether you want a Beverly Hills scene, a coastal taverna or an affordable family room.
Does any LA Greek restaurant have a Michelin star?
No. No Greek restaurant in the Los Angeles area holds a Michelin star or a Bib Gourmand. Avra Beverly Hills is the only one recognized in the California Michelin Guide at all, listed as a guide restaurant rather than a starred one. That reflects the shape of the city's Greek scene, which runs on glossy whole-fish rooms and decades-old family tavernas rather than tasting-menu fine dining, more than any ceiling on the cooking itself.
Did Papa Cristo's close?
Yes. Papa Cristo's, the 77-year-old Greek restaurant and market in Pico-Union that anchored LA's historic Greektown, closed permanently in May 2025, and the site has been proposed for redevelopment. It was part of the C and K Importing operation founded in 1948. Its loss, along with the earlier 2023 closure of Larchmont's Le Petit Greek, has shifted the city's Greek dining out toward the suburbs, the South Bay and Beverly Hills, leaving few Greek rooms in the old urban core.
Where is the best grilled whole fish in LA Greek restaurants?
Avra Beverly Hills is the benchmark, flying Mediterranean lavraki and other whole fish in daily and charcoal-grilling them to order, sold by the pound. Estiatorio Louka, also in Beverly Hills, grills whole branzino in the same Hellenic style, and Petros in Manhattan Beach is the South Bay's whole-branzino specialist. Aliki's in Westchester does a whole tsipoura, the sea bream. Whole fish by the pound is the defining format of serious LA Greek cooking, learned from the estiatorios of Athens.
How much does a Greek meal in LA cost?
It splits sharply. The suburban family tavernas, The Great Greek, Elena's and Aliki's, run roughly USD 20 to 50 a head, with The Great Greek's family-style feast at USD 30 a person. Petros in Manhattan Beach lands around USD 70 to 100. The Beverly Hills rooms are the priciest: Estiatorio Louka roughly USD 80 to 120, and Avra commonly USD 100 to 150 and up, because the whole fish is sold at market price by the pound, around a pound a person.
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Browse the full Los Angeles dining guide, compare the global picks in the best Greek restaurants worldwide, eat it at the source in Athens, book a whole-fish dinner to impress clients, plan a celebratory taverna night for a first date, or open the full RFK cuisine index.
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