The Best Dishes Eater Editors Ate This Year in Los Angeles, 2025 | Eater LA

"I still dream of my visit to Elkano in the coastal city of Getaria, where masters of the grill prepare whole Spanish turbot, basted slowly with a sauce of Txakoli, vinegar, and olive oil. I could see the reference point chef Aitor Zabala was going for with Somni, his seven-week-old tasting menu that’s been reborn in West Hollywood (it was previously inside the SLS Beverly Hills). Those coming to Southern California have a truly global culinary destination worth booking months out in Somni, a halo restaurant for the City of West Hollywood. The more than 25 items that arrive at the counter here will delight any food enthusiast for the meal’s nearly three-hour span. Zabala’s steamed Spanish turbot preparation carried an immensely luxurious texture, almost silken, in a way that grilling cannot achieve. Though I did miss the Basque-style smoky flavor, the rich, tangy sauce underneath recalled the famous Elkano turbot, punctuated by a single crisp perilla leaf. Somni’s approach aims for the purest kind of simplicity and elegance, and this turbot illustrates those two aspects best. — Matthew Kang, correspondent, Eater" - Matthew Kang