Los Angeles’s 2025 Eater Award Winners | Eater LA

"A rare South Bay standout just blocks from the Pacific, this intimate Hermosa Beach bistro from chefs Kevin de los Santos and Katya Shastova rewrites fine dining with intention and warmth. Regulars book tables for buttery puff pastry filled with mussels, escabeche, and smoked clam; a saucy Jidori chicken cassoulet; and crudo that reflects the chefs’ Southern Russian and Philippine roots — bluefin tuna with fried shallot oil, Ukrainian eggplant caviar, and capers. The dining room feels like a meal in someone’s home, service is refreshingly utilitarian (a sous chef might drop a dish), and a stellar wine list by de los Santos’s sister Christina Montoya favors sustainable producers. The commitment to a green space extends to shopping the Torrance farmers market, and the point is driven home in a captivating spin on fish en papillote: fold back parchment to an impressionist reveal of the daily catch layered with seasonal touches like summer corn, saffron, kohlrabi, leeks, squash, and edible flowers." - Rebecca Roland