Welcome to The Latch Tastemakers, where we sit down with people who know a city’s scene like the back of their hand to ask their must-try restaurants, cafes and bars. Dive into our Tastemakers series and curate your ultimate hit-list, whether you’re exploring your own city or venturing somewhere new.
Growing up, Guy Turland would watch his grandmother cooking for his family, including 16 cousins. For every special occasion, the family would come together and Turland would be in awe of his grandmother pulling together a meal to feed everyone.
“I started out doing an apprenticeship at a fine-dining restaurant, where I realised I love the heat of the kitchen,” he says. “I love the smells. I love the touch. I love using my senses.”
Today, Turland is a chef, restauranteur, TV host and partner with Swedish stand mixer brand Ankarsrum in the lead-up to Easter. All this is to say that Turland knows good food. So, at a recent event for Ankarsrum, we asked Turland where he recommends finding it in LA, his part-time home for nearly a decade.
“I think what people get wrong about the LA dining scene is they only think it has American food,” says Turland. “They think burgers, they think BBQ, they think unhealthy food. But LA really stands alone in the US for its produce. It’s also got a huge Mexican influence.”
As for how to best explore food in LA, Turland says you will need a car — it’s not a walkable city. If you don’t want to Uber or drive yourself, Turland recommends staying in a hub you’re keen to explore the most. That way, you can sink your teeth into it.
“LA’s so large and spread out, it’s like one city with a thousand little cities and cultural cliques within it,” he says. “Santa Monica, Venice Beach, it’s very coastal, beach, seafood, lots of fresh produce. West Hollywood is a bit more party-focused. And Culver City is more upper class and business-centric.”
Here, Turland shares his favourite places to eat in LA.
E.P. & L.P.
First on Turland’s LA hit-list is Australian-owned E.P. & L.P. in West Hollywood. The restaurant has indoor dining and outdoor, on one of LA’s largest rooftop, with views of the Hollywood Hills and Sunset Strip. Turland says he visits for nearly every special occasion.
“I felt at home there, similar flavours [to Australia],” he says. “But also, there was a real mix of ingredients and spices that weren’t anywhere else in LA. It was really hard to find those flavours in LA outside E.P. & L.P. for me.”
Turland says to dine indoors before heading upstairs to the rooftop bar to party. “It was always cranking, full of people,” he says.
Loqui
Turland’s favourite place to eat Mexican in LA is Loqui, which has four locations around LA and a fifth opening soon. It started as a pop-up in San Francisco, serving flavours from Baja California and the Yucatan Peninsula, before opening as a restaurant in Culver City in 2016.
“Loqui was just around the corner from my [now-closed] restaurant in Culver City,” says Turland. “So I was there a lot. It wasn’t super complicated — just Mexican food done right. How laidback and how good the food was created the experience that’s stuck in my head.”
Gjusta
If you’re looking for an eatery with a great vibe, Turland recommends Gjusta, a café, bakery and food market in Venice Beach. “They bake their own bread and cure their own fish,” says Turland. “It’s like that artesian vibe that really talks to the seasonal ingredients and amazing produce that LA offers.”
He’s also a fan of one Gjusta’s sister venues, Gjelina, in Venice on main drag Abbot Kinney Boulevard. Open since 2008, the restaurant serves locally-sourced, produce-forward food, with menus guided by conversations with farmers and fishermen.
Elephante
An LA restaurant Turland says lives up to its hype is Elephante, which has pizza, pasta and small dishes. He recommends you order the whipped eggplant that comes with puccia puffy bread and go at sunset to catch it from its rooftop overlooking Santa Monica Beach.
“You go in from the street in Santa Monica, not expecting much,” says Turland. “Then you come up in the lift and it opens to the most breathtaking view. Salty air, beautiful people, the sun coming through.”
Food Trucks
Turland also says it’s worth checking out LA’s food trucks. The city has the best food truck scene he’s ever experienced. “It’s fun, it’s laidback, it’s cheap,” he says.
“I’d recommend jumping online and doing some research because food trucks change all the time. That’s the excitement about food trucks. You don’t know what’s going to turn up next. Grab your food, go sit at the beach or in the park. Rub shoulders with locals.”
Santa Monica Farmers Market
Another local eating experience is to grab food at Santa Monica Farmers Markets and have a picnic. Held twice a week, the markets are a five-minute walk from the beach, so you can head there with your spread and watch sunset.
“I’ve seen ingredients in those Farmers Markets that I’ve seen nowhere else in the world,” he says. “I don’t think there are many places like that in America. Santa Monica and Venice and that coastline really does stand out because you can get fresh produce directly from the people marking it and growing it and then sit down and watch sunset. It’s pretty special.”
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