L.A. keeps steadily climbing the global food scene, from upscale Michelin-starred restaurants to edgy pizza joints reinventing a timeless classic. The city of angels is slowly becoming a hub for top-level cuisine and rising to the level of heavy hitters like London or New York. A testament to that is the recently published Yelp’s 2026 Top 100 Places to Eat in the U.S. list, which places this Gardena classic on the podium, in a very well-deserved third place.
A fusion favorite
NAM Kitchen first opened its doors in 2024, blending Vietnamese and Peruvian cuisine. With more than 1,600 five-star reviews and constant lines, Chef Nam Lam’s restaurant has become one of SoCal’s most talked-about fusion spots.
The menu connects Saigon and Lima through slow-simmered pho, with unlimited noodle refills for dine-in guests, bold lomo saltado, and crowd favorites like oxtail fried rice and tiger prawn garlic noodles. Born in Vietnam and raised in a multi-cultural culinary family, Chef Nam created the restaurant to showcase deeply authentic flavors.
The best places to eat in the U.S.
Yelp’s annual Top 100 list is based on millions of real diner reviews, ranking restaurants using factors like overall ratings and total review volume. To make the cut, spots also need a passing health score, when available, as of November 6, 2025.
Among local favorites, Broken Mouth stands out, a Korean-Hawaiian spot where Chef-owner Tim Lee brings flavors from his Oahu childhood into dishes like the 24-hour-marinated Meat Jun and garlic-butter shell-on shrimp, all served with his signature aloha-style hospitality.
Check out the Top 10 list below, and see the full ranking here.
- Ci Siamo — New York, New York
- Taste of Texas — Houston, Texas
- NAM Kitchen — Gardena, California
- Waffle and Berry — Honolulu, Hawaii
- Comfort Cafe — San Antonio, Texas
- Adela’s Country Eatery — Kaneohe, Hawaii
- Broken Mouth — Los Angeles, California
- GW Fins — New Orleans, Louisiana
- Slackwater — Salt Lake City, Utah
- Pepp & Dolores — Cincinnati, Ohio