Just when you thought you had your New Year’s resolutions in control, along comes a great opportunity to answer all those cravings that were being held at bay.
Yes, my friends, its time for dineLA’s Winter Restaurant week.
Following the course of previous restaurant weeks, several South Bay restaurants are participating in the event. Lunch and dinner deals range in price from $15 to $50. Showing the diversity of our neighborhoods, cuisines from all around the world are represented on the menus.
Here’s a line up of the South Bay restaurants that will be offering specially priced menus for the two-week-long event, starting Monday, January 19. For complete information on dineLA’s Restaurant Week and all participating restaurants, visit the Discover Los Angeles website.
Playa del Rey
Only one spot is participating in Playa Del Rey but the offering is a good one! For their dinner set, Bacari PDR is offering a cheese plate; two small plates; a dessert; and an 90 minute open bar selection of beers, wines, champagne, and sangria. All by itself, the open bar option is $25 on their regular menu! Follow this link to check out the review we did on Bacari PDR.
| Restaurants | Lunch | Dinner | Cuisine | Menu | Book Now |
| Bacari PDR | $40.00 | Mediterranean | View Menu |
El Segundo
Folks working in the bustling business areas of El Segundo will be happy to retreat to the quiet streets of downtown for Second City Bistro’s restaurant week $15 lunch menu. Its also one of our favorite places for patio wining and dining.
| Restaurants | Lunch | Dinner | Cuisine | Menu | Book Now |
| Second City Bistro | $15.00 | $40.00 | American | View Menu | Book Now |
Manhattan Beach
Manhattan Beach consistently comes with some great options for restaurant week. The Strand House’s lunch and dinner menus are both steals at $25 and $50 respectively. In either case, I’ll leave it up to you to decide on the olive oil cake or the petite donuts…they’re both amazing! I’d focus on the meatier items for lunch ($20) or dinner ($40) at Sushi Akatora; that means the chimichurri steak for lunch and the lamb chops for dinner.
| Restaurants | Lunch | Dinner | Cuisine | Menu | Book Now |
| The Strand House | $25.00 | $50.00 | American (new) | View Menu | Book Now |
| Zinc @ Shade | $15.00 | $30.00 | American (new) | View Menu | Book Now |
| Il Fornaio – Manhattan Beach | $20.00 | $40.00 | Italian | View Menu | Book Now |
| Sushi Akatora | $20.00 | $40.00 | Sushi | View Menu |
Hermosa Beach
Choices in Hermosa Beach are limited for $50 dinners at either of the two kitchens serving for the event. Either one should be worthwhile since they’ll both be featuring items crafted by Executive Chef/Partner Tin Vuong. Abigaile will be the go-to menu for true foodies; it features an octopus okonomikai dish being prepared exclusively for dineLA restaurant week.
| Restaurants | Lunch | Dinner | Cuisine | Menu | Book Now |
| Abigaile | $50.00 | American (new) | View Menu | Book Now | |
| Dia de Campo | $50.00 | Seafood | View Menu | Book Now |
Redondo Beach
The menus for Redondo Beach paricipants are tagged with American and seafood cuisines; that means plenty of short rib and salmon. That’s OK by me because they do those things well! One stand out is Kincaid’s “Sweet Southern Fried Chicken” offered at lunch ($25) which might be worth investigating. BALEENKitchen is only offering dinner ($40) with standard fare on the menu. I’d go there for the setting and cocktails and then spring for the $10 upgrade for the filet of beef.
| Restaurants | Lunch | Dinner | Cuisine | Menu | Book Now |
| Kincaid’s | $25.00 | $50.00 | American | View Menu | Book Now |
| BALEENKitchen | $40.00 | American (new) | View Menu | Book Now | |
| Bluewater Grill | $20.00 | $40.00 | Seafood | View Menu |
Rancho Palos Verdes
Café Pacific at Trump National is the lone participant on the Palos Verdes peninsula. A $25 lunch or $50 dinner is a bit pricey given the drive to the remote location, but the experience may be well worth it if you haven’t dined in this exclusive golf club.
| Restaurants | Lunch | Dinner | Cuisine | Menu | Book Now |
| Cafe Pacific at Trump National Golf Club | $25.00 | $50.00 | American (new) | View Menu | Book Now |
Torrance
Gyu-Kaku is a favorite of mine for good Japanese food and great service. Their pre-bussing skills are “ichiban” in their class! Follow their profile on dineLA’s website for updates on the menu.
| Restaurants | Lunch | Dinner | Cuisine | Menu | Book Now |
| Gyu-Kaku – Torrance | $15.00 | $30.00 | Japanese | Coming Soon | Book Now |
Long Beach
If you want to stray from the local scene without going too far, Long Beach has good options to choose from. I dined at Gaucho Grill during a past restaurant week and enjoyed the food and service. Go for their $30 dinner and stick with the empanada, seabass, or the corderito (two medallions of rack of lamb). They also pour an excellent selection of sangrias.
| Restaurants | Lunch | Dinner | Cuisine | Menu | Book Now |
| Shore Public House | $30.00 | American | View Menu | Book Now | |
| Gaucho Grill – Long Beach | $15.00 | $30.00 | Argentinian | View Menu | Book Now |
| The Sky Room | $50.00 | Californian | View Menu | Book Now | |
| The Reef Restaurant | $40.00 | Seafood | View Menu | Book Now |