RFK Rankings · Los Angeles
Best View Restaurants in Los Angeles 2026
View dining · Los Angeles · 5 tables ranked · Updated June 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published June 3, 2026 · Updated June 3, 2026
The miso black cod arrives at Nobu Malibu with the Pacific filling the window, and that pairing of plate and view is exactly what most of Los Angeles gets wrong. This is a city that will sell you a skyline and feed you an afterthought. A great view restaurant has to clear a higher bar: the room over the ocean or the downtown grid has to send out food worth the markup, not just a backdrop for a photograph. We scored these five on view and kitchen together, and dropped the famous rooms where the panorama is the only reason to go. These are the Los Angeles tables where both the view and the meal earn the evening.
1.Nobu Malibu
Miso black cod over Carbon Beach at the city's best ocean table, sushi as good as the view; reserve weeks ahead.
Nobu Malibu sits on Carbon Beach with the dining room and deck opening straight onto the Pacific, and it is the rare Los Angeles view restaurant where the kitchen matches the setting. Nobu Matsuhisa's signature miso-marinated black cod and the yellowtail sashimi with jalapeño are as precise here as at any room in the group, and the sushi counter holds its own against the sunset. A dinner runs about $150 to $250 a head before sake. It is also one of the hardest oceanfront reservations in the city, especially for a sunset table on the deck. Reserve weeks ahead, ask for the patio at golden hour, and arrive early for a drink down on the sand.
Book on OpenTable, weeks ahead for sunset.
2.71Above
Javier Lopez's modern-American prix-fixe seventy-one floors up, a 360-degree LA panorama and food that earns it; book it.
71Above occupies the 71st floor of the US Bank Tower downtown, the highest dining room in Los Angeles, with a 360-degree view that runs from the Pacific to the San Gabriels. Unlike most rooms that trade on altitude, it cooks seriously: executive chef Javier Lopez runs a seasonal modern-American prix-fixe at about $103 a head, with a grilled octopus, smoked paprika and fingerling potatoes among the dishes worth ordering. The room is built so every table faces glass, which makes it a reliable special-occasion booking rather than a tourist trap. Book a table about forty-five minutes before sunset to watch the city light up, and ask for a window seat on the west side.
Reserve on the 71Above site.
3.Cara Cara
Suzanne Goin's seasonal cooking on a downtown rooftop, the rare view restaurant where the kitchen has real pedigree; try it once.
Cara Cara crowns the Downtown LA Proper Hotel on the 15th floor, an indoor-outdoor rooftop with an open view across the downtown grid. What sets it apart from the rooftop pack is the kitchen: it serves the cooking of Suzanne Goin and Caroline Styne, the AOC and Lucques team, which means the za'atar lamb chops and harissa-grilled scallops are made with real seasonal intent rather than as an afterthought to the bar. A dinner runs about $60 to $90 a head. Eater LA has named it among the best rooftop rooms in the city, and it took Angeleno's Best Hotel Rooftop in 2022. Try it once at golden hour and order the lamb chops to share.
Book on Resy or OpenTable.
4.Élephante
Coastal-Italian plates and vodka pasta on a Santa Monica rooftop over the Pacific, a Michelin Guide room; pencil it in for sunset.
Élephante runs along a Santa Monica rooftop two blocks from the beach, an ocean-facing terrace that the MICHELIN Guide lists for its coastal-Italian cooking. The whipped eggplant, the vodka pasta and the cacio e pepe pizza are the dishes regulars build a meal around, and the Sunset Room patio is the seat to request for the best of the Pacific light. A dinner runs about $50 to $80 a head, with a three-course lunch closer to $40. The room tips toward a scene after dark, so it is best earlier in the evening when the view does the work. Pencil it in for a sunset dinner and book the patio rather than the interior.
Reserve on OpenTable for the patio.
5.Geoffrey's Malibu
Corn chowder and crab cake on a string-lit Malibu clifftop, the Pacific filling the rail at dusk; go once for the sunset.
Geoffrey's has held its clifftop terrace on the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu for decades, a string-lit deck set directly above the ocean that draws a steady crowd for lunch and sunset. The kitchen is California-coastal: the corn chowder with a crab cake is the dish the regulars order, alongside grilled fish and a raw bar built for the setting. Dinner for two with a drink runs around $150, and the room has long been a Food Network and travel-guide fixture for the view. It is more about the place than the plate, but the cooking is solid enough to justify the trip. Go once for the sunset, request a table on the rail, and book ahead at the weekend.
Book on OpenTable for a sunset table.
Avoid for the view alone
The view sells the table; the kitchen doesn't earn it
Yamashiro. The hilltop room above Hollywood has one of the best city views in Los Angeles, but the food trails well behind the panorama. Go up for a drink on the terrace at sunset, then eat dinner somewhere serious below.
Perch. The downtown rooftop has a fine skyline view and a French-leaning menu that exists mainly to keep the bar crowd fed. Come for a cocktail and the lights, not for a meal you will remember.
How to book a view table in Los Angeles
The single rule for a view dinner in Los Angeles is timing: book a table about thirty to forty-five minutes before sunset, when the light does the heavy lifting and the room is at its best. Nobu Malibu and 71Above release prime sunset slots well in advance and lose them fast, so reserve weeks out and ask explicitly for a window or deck seat. The rooftops, Cara Cara and Élephante, are best earlier in the evening before they tip into a late-night scene.
Check the sunset time for your date and aim your reservation just before it. For more rooms with a skyline, see the best rooftop restaurants in Los Angeles, compare Dubai's skyline tables in the best view restaurants in Dubai, and browse the global picks in the worldwide ranking of restaurants with a view.
Frequently asked
What is the best view restaurant in Los Angeles?
Nobu Malibu is our top view table. The dining room and deck open straight onto the Pacific at Carbon Beach, and the kitchen, led by Nobu Matsuhisa's miso black cod and yellowtail with jalapeño, is as good as the setting. A dinner runs about $150 to $250 a head, and it is one of the hardest sunset reservations in the city. For a downtown panorama instead, 71Above tops the US Bank Tower with serious food seventy-one floors up.
What is the best ocean-view restaurant in LA?
For the ocean, Nobu Malibu sets the standard, with tables directly over Carbon Beach and sushi that earns the markup. Élephante in Santa Monica offers a coastal-Italian rooftop two blocks from the sand, and Geoffrey's holds a clifftop terrace on the Malibu coast highway. All three put the Pacific in the frame; Nobu is the one where the kitchen most clearly matches the view.
Which LA rooftop has the best food?
Cara Cara, on the Downtown LA Proper Hotel, is the rooftop where the kitchen has real pedigree: it serves the seasonal cooking of Suzanne Goin and Caroline Styne, the AOC team, with za'atar lamb chops and harissa scallops worth ordering. Most LA rooftops trade on the view alone, which is what makes this one stand out. Book it for golden hour and order the lamb chops.
How do I get a sunset table at Nobu Malibu?
Book weeks ahead and be specific. Nobu Malibu releases its prime deck and patio tables well in advance, and sunset slots go first, especially in summer. Reserve on OpenTable as early as your date allows, request the patio at golden hour, and arrive early for a drink on the sand. Weekday evenings are easier to land than weekends.
How much does a view dinner in LA cost?
It spans a wide range. Geoffrey's and Élephante run about $50 to $80 a head, Cara Cara lands around $60 to $90, and 71Above's prix-fixe is about $103 before supplements. Nobu Malibu is the splurge at $150 to $250 a head with sake. Set your budget by the room first, then book the tier and the sunset slot that fit.
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Browse the full Los Angeles dining guide, read about Nobu Malibu on Carbon Beach, see the best rooftop restaurants in Los Angeles, compare the world's best view restaurants, or open the full RFK rankings index.
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