Fun Places to Eat in Los Angeles, California

Jim Orrill, Leaf Group Updated January 26, 2018

When your appetite peaks as you explore Los Angeles, California and the notion of dining at a typical restaurant strikes you as too mundane, you'll find establishments throughout the city that offer live entertainment and unique surroundings for a decidedly different dining experience. This SoCal city's offbeat restaurants range from eateries catering to children with play spaces and activities, to high-concept restaurants where the ambiance is as much a draw as the cuisine. Many of Los Angeles' unusual restaurants are booked far in advance, so vacationers should reserve their tables at least two weeks before visiting the city.


Giggles N' Hugs specializes in cooking healthy meals for picky eaters. Kids are encouraged to play freely within the dining room, and staff certified in first aid and CPR monitor the children's activity in the restaurant. For an additional charge, children can enter the restaurant's play area, which features a toddler-sized pirate ship and castle. Giggles N' Hugs also offers a drop-off service, allowing parents to leave their children at the restaurant for supervised activities, and the restaurant includes a meal with a stay of two hours or longer.

Live Music

"LA Weekly" lauds the cuisine at Palms' Thai Restaurant, highly recommending the Thai sour sausages and barbecued beef, and the restaurant also offers a selection of soups and salads. An Elvis impersonator takes to the restaurant's stage every weekend to perform a selection of rock and roll classics, and "LA Weekly" notes the volume during performances can become deafening. Palms' Thai provides take-out service and offers delivery to locations within three miles of the restaurant. Jazz musician Herb Albert co-owns the Vibrato Grill, which decorates its interior with Albert's paintings. The restaurant is usually closed on Monday, but hosts live jazz every other night and arranges its tables to ensure that every seat has an unobstructed view of the stage. The restaurant specializes in serving steaks, chops and seafood, and "Wine Spectator" presented its Award of Excellence to Vibrato in recognition of the restaurant's extensive wine list.

Themed Restaurants

Craig Marten, co-owner of Cafe 50s designed the restaurant's interior to resemble that of a 1950s-era diner, with vintage furnishings and decor ranging from movie posters to newspapers of the era. Cafe 50s offers two Los Angeles locations and specializes in traditional diner fare such as soups, sandwiches and hamburgers. The restaurants furnish every table with a jukebox, and kids eat free on the last Wednesday of each month if they dine in their pajamas. Encounter Restaurant is located within a mock flying saucer at the Los Angeles International Airport and maintains a science fiction theme, decorating its interior with futuristic furnishings and fixtures. The restaurant is perched above the airport's Theme Building, providing a 360-degree view of the airport's terminals and landing strips. Encounter's menu offers a variety of steaks, poultry and seafood dishes, and diners don't have to pass through security to visit the restaurant.

Unusual Concept

Opaque serves its cuisine in a pitch dark dining room, which the restaurant claims heightens diners' remaining senses. Opaque's waitstaff are all legally blind, dressing in black apparel, and tell diners where they're placing dishes, glasses and utensils to help patrons orient themselves at their tables. Guests peruse the menu in the restaurant's lighted lounge, making their selections before their server leads them to a table. All meals are prix fixe and include an appetizer, entree and dessert.