Esperanza Cocina de la Playa

On our lists of the best romantic restaurants and special-occasion restaurants in Los Angeles.

Esperanza sits four blocks from the beach behind a curved white facade. The ground floor is done in off-white and green; upstairs turns darker and opens onto a patio. Chef Ray Alvarez works Sonoran recipes into crab enchiladas, halibut tacos and a shrimp-and-pineapple ceviche in a mango-tajin broth. The bar carries the largest tequila and mezcal list in the South Bay, in a space architect Gulla Jónsdóttir designed when it opened in 2021.