The Biggest Los Angeles Restaurant Openings in April 2025

88 Club. | Wonho Frank Lee Top Chef Mei Lin’s latest, a margarita bar in Sherman Oaks, and more Los Angeles is no stranger to restaurant openings, whether splashy openings in iconic buildings helmed by big-name chefs, a humble neighborhood spot, or a pop-up leaping into a permanent space. Consider this monthly rundown a go-to guide for the newest and boldest debuts across the Southland.

Casa Ipanema. Casa IpanemaH&H Brazilian Steakhouse owner Henrique Huyer, with his wife Herica, opened their newest restaurant, Casa Ipanema, inside the historic Millennium Biltmore Hotel in February 2025. It’s a departure from the steakhouse format with a Rio de Janeiro-style “fusion” menu.



On the menu, find a truffle fondue, pão de queijo, Brazilian-style sushi, filet mignon blended with four cheeses, and grilled branzino with shrimp enchiladas. The interior makes diners feel like they’re on a Brazilian beach, with laidback vibes, cabana-like booths, and a ring of rattan poolside modular sofas and chairs at the center of the room. Round out evenings here with a bottle from the international wine and beer list, plus caipirinha cocktails.

Wonho Frank Lee Cosetta. Cosetta - Santa MonicaZach Pollack, the restaurateur behind now-closed restaurants Alimento and Cosa Buona, has opened his latest project in Santa Monica. Cosetta, Pollack’s new California Italian restaurant, is serving puffy-crusted wood-fired pizzas topped with soppressata and peppers, smoked coppa with pineapple, and mushroom fontina.

Smaller bites include a tin of Fishwives Cantabrian anchovies, smoked mozzarella sticks, and shrimp scampi over toasted focaccia. Pollack emphasizes that Cosetta is a family-friendly restaurant that’s happy to accommodate dietary needs, offering a flexible menu with gluten-free Milanese and plenty of vegan options. Wonho Frank Lee 88 Club.

88 Club - Beverly HillsOne of Los Angeles’s most talented chefs, Mei Lin, opened 88 Club in Beverly Hills on April 4. The opening marks Lin’s return to fine dining after the 2020 closure of Nightshade, her award-winning Arts District restaurant. Since 2021, Lin has been operating Daybird, a casual fried chicken sandwich spot in Silver Lake.

At 88 Club, the menu is inspired by Lin’s experiences in Hong Kong, Vancouver, and other travels. Find dishes like sesame prawn toast topped with dollops of sweet and sour sauce and hot mustard aioli, Singaporean chow mein, kung pao scallops, and more. Matthew Kang Cafe Knotted.

Cafe Knotted - Century CityOne of South Korea’s most popular dessert cafes, Cafe Knotted, landed in the U.S. for the first time with a location at the Westfield Century City.

The cafe is best known for its cream doughnuts, which are available in flavors like fresh strawberry, tiramisu, milk chocolate, lemon curd, and more. At the Century City outpost, find a full lineup of the popular doughnuts alongside croissants, cookies, and cream-topped lattes in flavors like chestnut tiramisu, corn cream, and banana. Matu Kai Matu Kai.

Matu Kai - BrentwoodThe team behind Beverly Hills wagyu restaurant Matu (stylized as matū) opened its sister restaurant Matu Kati on April 6 in Brentwood. Like the original location, all of the meat at Matu Kai comes from New Zealand’s First Light Farms. Much of the menu at Matu Kai is similar to Matu, including its focus on set meals that start with a rich 24-hour bone broth.

Dishes that are exclusive to the new restaurant include steak brochettes brushed with harissa spice, wagyu meatballs that could compete with any Italian restaurant in town, maltagliati pasta in a rib-eye ragu, and a Caesar tahini. Fiona Chandra Kettl. Kettl - Los FelizNew York matcha specialist Kettl has made its West Coast debut with a location in Los Feliz.

Founded by Zach Mangan in 2020, Kettl imports its own teas from Japan, serving its multiple types of matcha alongside hojicha, mugicha (barley tea), and more. For the Los Feliz location, Mangan tapped ice creamery August Novelties (started by former Noma pastry chef Malcolm Livingston II) to serve plant-based ice cream bars. While this may be Kettl’s first location in Los Angeles, its teas have been served in the city for years at restaurants and coffee shops, including Tsubaki and Mandarin Coffee Shop.

Doto Doto’s dining room. Doto - Silver LakeAt Doto, Jared Dowling, also the chef of the stylish Edgemar in Santa Monica, introduced California izakaya fare in the former Jewel space as of April 11. The restaurant is an all-day affair with miso arctic char bento boxes, halibut crudo, and breakfast burritos from morning to evening.

Dowling leans on his three-and-a-half years spent with Yess chef Junya Yamasaki at London’s Koya Noodle Bar to employ Japanese flavors and techniques on peak-season produce. Edgemar architect and investor Thomas Greek is Dowling’s partner at the restaurant. Mona Holmes Angel’s Tijuana Tacos.

Angel’s Tijuana Tacos - AnaheimOn April 12, one of Los Angeles’s most popular street taco stands opened its first permanent location in Anaheim. Angel’s Tijuana Tacos maintains a ubiquitous presence throughout Southern California. It’s an operation by Taquero Angel, who opened the first location of the taco stand outside of North Hollywood’s John’s Market in 2018, with locations in Van Nuys, Echo Park, Eagle Rock, and more.

Angel’s traditional taqueria menu bears all of the favorites with aguas frescas, cheese-grilled quesatacos, mulitas, burritos, and vampiros, all packed with the diner’s choice of proteins like pollo, asada, cabeza, and chorizo. And it’s less than 10 miles away from Disneyland. Matt Egan Daisy Margarita Bar.

Daisy Margarita Bar - Sherman OaksAs beverage director, Max Reis captured a slot for Mirate on North America’s 50 Best Bars list, but he had another longtime idea up his sleeve: a cocktail bar where he could experiment with margaritas with his former coworker, chef Alan Sanz. With Mirate co-founder Matt Egan, they introduced Daisy Margarita Bar to Sherman Oaks on April 17, in the former dive bar, the Sherman. Sanz took inspiration from Mexican Norteño cantinas for his menu with aguachiles and oysters, duck carnitas tamal, chile relleno, and branzino.

Reis developed classic margaritas, plus a unique salsa bar where a compelling savory cocktail variety (order the Salsa Verde) could earn another nod on the coveted Best Bar list. Mike Laan Mothers Tacos. Mothers Tacos - VenturaNapa taqueria Mothers Tacos has expanded south with a new location in Ventura that opened on April 22.

The restaurant’s name is a tribute to the doñas of Mexico City, who inspired founders Charles Whittaker, Benedict “Ben” Koenig, and Ali Koenig to open the restaurant. At Mothers, find al pastor shaved off the trompo and carne asada cooked over mesquite. Oxnard-born chef Gabe Garcia also prepares family-style dishes that serve three to four people with meats like slow-roasted pork belly “lechon” and mesquite-grilled tomahawk.

The restaurant also operates a churreria on site, serving freshly fried churros inspired by Mexico City’s legendary El Moro. Rebecca Roland Chagee. Chagee - Century CityOne of China’s most popular tea shop chains, Chagee, has opened its first U.

S. location at Westfield Century City. Chagee was founded in 2017 in China’s Yunnan Province and has since expanded to over 6,400 locations worldwide, including across China, Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia.

The chain is best known for its fresh-brewed and milk teas, served in ornate cups that would look at home in a Dior fine china collection. At the Century City location, find a menu of signature teas served hot, iced, or as a latte, alongside pastries like a jasmine tea-infused cruffin. The tea at Chagee is prepared by team members using special AI-powered machinery to ensure a consistent brew every time.

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