The Second Owl Thai Kitchen and Bar

On our lists of the best romantic restaurants and cozy restaurants in Los Angeles.

Chef Regan Chantrirak and his wife Pason opened this Belmont Shore restaurant as the full-service second location of their Signal Hill takeout spot, Owl Owl, which started during the pandemic in 2021. The menu runs to dishes Chantrirak says he had been planning for over a decade: short rib massaman with mashed potatoes, nam kao tod (a fermented pork sausage salad with fried rice balls), kao soi duck, and a tom kha crème brûlée for dessert. A plate called the Belmont pairs chicken wings with papaya salad and sticky rice.