Listed here are the Los Angeles restaurants that are consistently highly rated among local and national critics. Given the popularity and/or fine dining nature of these locations, expect pricey menus.

For more information, see the Mahalo guides to Los Angeles Restaurants, Los Angeles Vacation, Los Angeles Tours and Los Angeles Hotels.

• Spago, Beverly Hills (Contemporary, $18-$135) Phone: 310-385-0880 Google Map
  • Frommer's Exceptional Rating: "Despite all the hoopla -- and 24 years of stiff competition -- Spago remains one of L.A.'s top-rated restaurants and continues to live up to the hype."

• • Fodor's Choice: "The daily-changing menu could offer a tasting of five foie gras preparations, cote de boeuf with Armagnac-peppercorn sauce, Cantonese-style duck, and some traditional Austrian specialties."

• • Lonely Planet Selection: "Is an LA travel guide definitive without a nod to Wolfgang Puck's paean to extravagant dining? Not today. But soon."

• • Concierge.com Recommendation: "Even after all these years, Wolfgang Puck's home base is still an amazing experience."

• • Zagat Highly Rated: "'Forget Gibraltar, this place is the rock of Los Angeles' sum up surveyors who award the Most Popular title to this 'flashy', 'irresistible' 'legend' that's 'well worth' the 'big-ticket prices' for its 'flawless' Californian cuisine..."

• • Los Angeles Times 3.5-Star Rating: "Spago is still California at its best. Sure, it's famous, filled with VIPs, tourists and foodies. And yes, it's trendy too. But make no mistake: Spago is better than ever."

• • Travel + Leisure Best: "Dishes from the inventive Wolfgang Puck include Cantonese duck with blood oranges and lamb daube with Parmesan gnocchi."

• Patina, Downtown (French, $17-$120) Phone: 213-972-3331 Google Map
  • Frommer's Exceptional Rating: "Billowing walls of laser-cut walnut and floor-to-ceiling glass panels only augment the hubbub as droves of smartly clad fans of the performing arts dine on Splichal's signature dishes of wild game and the de rigueur ahi tuna appetizer."

• • Fodor's Choice: "Specialties include seared foie gras with Pear William ice cream, wild pheasant breast with juniper berry sauce, and a formidable cote de boeuf for two, carved tableside."

• • Concierge.com Recommendation: "Soaring ceilings provide the elegant backdrop for chef Joachim Splichal's signature California-French creations - olive-oil-poached squab with radicchio risotto and Madeira foam is one standout."

• • Zagat Highly Rated: "'[F]lawlessly prepared' Cal - New American cuisine is presented as 'edible art' by 'professional, knowledgeable waiters' in a 'formal, minimalist' space, creating an 'extraordinary dining experience'..."

• • Los Angeles Times 3-Star Rating: "Vibrant, sexy and relaxed, Patina at Disney Hall attracts a lively crowd before and after concerts."

• • Travel + Leisure Best: "At the new Patina, [Chef] Splichal still serves his famous tasting menus - six courses of wild game, for example. But the ambience, which was serene in the old location, is now positively high-voltage."

• Campanile, Miracle Mile (Mediterranean, $21-$52) Phone: 323-938-1447 Google Map
  • Frommer's Exceptional Rating: "Consistently ranked as one of L.A.'s finest restaurants, a meal here might begin with fried zucchini flowers drizzled with melted mozzarella or lamb carpaccio surrounded by artichoke leaves -- a dish that arrives looking like one of van Gogh's sunflowers."

• • Lonely Planet Selection: "Occupying a spot in the city's culinary pantheon for over 15 years, chef owner Mark Peel knows how to turn market-fresh ingredients into beautiful dishes."

• • Concierge.com Recommendation: "A perennial lunch favorite is the crisp baked chicken paillard flavored with lemon and garlic... a dinner standout is the prime rib, which comes with an olive tapenade, bitter greens, and flageolet beans."

• • Zagat Highly Rated: "At this La Brea 'must for LA dining', chef-owner Mark Peel delivers Cal-Med cuisine that's 'sumptuous', 'elegant' and 'impervious to fashion'..."

• • Los Angeles Times 3-Star Rating: "Campanile has always been a restaurant for people who like to eat, not just contemplate their plates. And the plates here have a lovely, unfussy aesthetic. The menu pledges allegiance to the seasonal."

• A.O.C., West Hollywood (Mediterranean, $10-$25) Phone: 323-653-6359 Google Map
  • Fodor's Choice: "Named for the acronym for Appellation d'Origine Controlee, the regulatory system that ensures the quality of local wines and cheeses in France, A.O.C. upholds the standard of excellence."

• • Lonely Planet Selection: "With over 50 wines by the glass, a three-page list of savory tapas and a welcoming but discreet vibe, AOC easily remains a consistent favorite of couples, friends and groups alike..."

• • Concierge.com Recommendation: "Taste the rustic pates and the lamb skewers with Feta salsa verde, and you'll know that sample sizes suit her just fine."

• • Zagat Highly Rated: "Suzanne Goin's 'small-plates heaven' (and sib to Lucques) presents 'marvelous' Cal-French dishes complemented by 'spectacular wines and cheeses'..."

• • Los Angeles Times 3-Star Rating: "Grazing with the late-night crowd: It's a lively scene at A.O.C., where small is big."

• Urasawa, Beverly Hills (Japanese, $250-$275) Phone: 310-247-8939 Google Map
  • Fodor's Choice: "At a minimum of $250 per person for a strictly omakase (chef's choice) meal, Urasawa is the priciest restaurant in town, but the endless parade of masterfully crafted, exquisitely presented dishes renders few regrets."

• • Zagat Highly Rated: "Hiro Urasawa offers 'personal attention' while creating omakase-only meals of about 30 'exquisite' courses featuring 'some strange delights'..."

• • Los Angeles Times 3-Star Rating: "Hiro Urasawa, once Masa's assistant, masters the art of intricate and exquisite sushi at the former Ginza Sushiko."

• • Travel + Leisure Best: "Chef-owner Hiro Urasawa serves exacting and exquisite dishes including his legendary sushi (baby barracuda over shiso rice, for instance) and grilled Kobe beef with a small pile of homemade salt, made from boiled seaweed."

• Sona, West Hollywood (Contemporary, $95-$169) Phone: 310-659-7708 Google Map
  • Fodor's Choice: "Young, intense David Myers -- one of the city's most exciting and unpredictable chefs -- shoots the works."

• • Concierge.com Recommendation: "In a city where body-consciousness warps into fear of butter, salt, and flavor, Sona is all about no-holds-barred seasonings and unexpected combinations that somehow work..."

• • Zagat Highly Rated: "[I]t's 'a strong contender for one of LA's best restaurants' - just be prepared for some 'major sticker shock.'"

• • Travel + Leisure Best: "It's both delicious and ridiculously fun. Everyone who works there - from hilarious bartender Andrew Douglas to chef David Myers (an F&W Best New Chef 2003) - is obsessed with surfing, food and wine."

• Providence, Hollywood (Seafood, $11-$48) Phone: 323-460-4170 Google Map
  • Concierge.com Recommendation: "At lunch, there's a fabulous, smoky bacon-infused take on that New England staple, lovingly called 'clam chowda.'"

• • Zagat Highly Rated: "'Unstoppable' chef/co-owner Michael Cimarusti creates 'absolutely sublime' New American seafood dishes ('of all stripes, colors and textures') at this 'sensational' Hollywood 'treasure chest'..."

• • Los Angeles Times 3-Star Rating: "Providence takes up Patinas original locale on Melrose Avenue with exciting seafood dishes and an inventive tasting menu that mirror chef Michael Cimarustis creative zeal."

• • Travel + Leisure Best: "Fusing French and Japanese sensibilities with modern Spanish techniques, [Chef] Cimarusti is at his most creative with seafood, embellishing raw kanpachi with wasabi sorbet and a frosting of osetra caviar..."

• Lucques, West Hollywood (Contemporary, $10-$48) Phone: 323-655-6277 Google Map
  • Concierge.com Recommendation: "The reasonably priced prix-fixe menus on Sunday night, which come with recommendations for wine pairings, are a treat."

• • Zagat Highly Rated: "[I]t boasts a 'bargain' prix fixe Sunday dinner that continues to provide an 'unbelievable gastronomic evening', making reservations 'difficult to come by.'"

• • Los Angeles Times 3-Star Rating: "This is intelligent, sensual cooking. As small as the menu is, there are so many things you'd want to order that choosing can be difficult. Standouts include grilled Atlantic snapper; suckling pig; and a juicy veal chop."

• • Travel + Leisure Best: "Smash-hit Sunday Suppers featuring California-French cuisine."

• Melisse, Santa Monica (French, $19-$175) Phone: 310-395-0881 Google Map
  • Fodor's Choice: "Consider seared foie gras with figs poached in sweet wine and huckleberry sorbet, lobster Thermidor, or seared venison in chocolate sauce."

• • Zagat Highly Rated: "'Incredible talent' Josiah Citrin earns this Santa Monica 'temple' of French - New American dining the No. 1 Food score in LA for his 'outstanding', 'cutting-edge' dishes..."

• • Los Angeles Times 3-Star Rating: "Several of the best dishes, such as the splendid cote de boeuf for two, are served table-side, and the chef's tasting menu is always a treat."

• Saddle Peak Lodge, Calabasas (Contemporary, $14-$47) Phone: 818-222-3888 Google Map
  • Frommer's Exceptional Rating: "Vegetarians beware; the menu is custom-made for meat lovers: roasted buffalo loin with wild-mushroom risotto cake and a red reduction sauce... and the house specialty -- roasted elk tenderloin that's so tender you can cut it with a fork."

• • Fodor's Choice: "What was once a bordello is now a restaurant oozing with rustic elegance."

• • Zagat Highly Rated: "[I]t's a 'unique' 'adventure', one that's suited to a myriad of 'special occasions', just not to 'vegans.'"

• Valentino, Santa Monica (Italian, $12-$36) Phone: 310-829-4313 Google Map
  • Fodor's Choice: "Renowned as one of the country's top Italian restaurants, Valentino has a truly awe-inspiring wine list. The list itself goes on for more than 120 pages and the cellar overflows with 100,000 bottles."

• • Zagat Highly Rated: "Piero Selvaggio's Santa Monica 'favorite' still sets 'the standard' with its 'incomparable' 3,000-label wine list, 'consistently fantastic' Italian cuisine and 'inspirational' tasting menus..."

• • Los Angeles Times 3-Star Rating: "Everything conspires to seduce you into ordering what Valentino does best, the "extravaganza menu," a series of little courses that can be tailored to the night."