Restaurants in Agoura Hills

Entice appetites with starters such as chicken livers in peri-peri sauce and tomato-onion gravy ($6.99), or more-conventional bite-sizers such as samosas ($7.99) or Hout Bay calamari served with homemade garlic mayonnaise ($7.99). Under the protection of divey décor (plastic fish, Christmas lights, and sports-tuned televisions), mine heaps of heartier fare such as Guinness stew, rich with the dark brew and chunks of filet mignon ladled over a pile of mashed potatoes ($14.99). The South African favorites on Springbok’s menu are “refined, with more attention to detail than the atmosphere would suggest,” according to the Los Angeles Times. Rudder hard to starboard and encircle Durban-style curry of the day with sambals and pappadum ($13.99), or a South African sausage sandwich ($8.99).

When Enterprise Fish Co. first opened in 1979, its founders set to work renovating the historic 1917 brick building to emulate a classic Pacific-coast seaside restaurant. Today, the original hardwood floors, trussed wood ceilings, and brick façade remain, though an exhibition kitchen and faux bois–printed leather booths lend a modern air. Seafood such as oysters and salmon in a Coca-Cola glaze headline the menu, accompanied by fish tacos, fresh lobster tails, and mesquite-grilled prawns. In addition to its ample fish and shellfish dishes, Enterprise also whips up filet mignon, candied-apple pecan salads, and chicken sandwiches with chipotle aioli to serve in the dining room or out on the patio beside the fire pit. Old photographs of Venice Beach dot the dining-room walls, along with snapshots from other notable seaside spots, such as the Iowa coast.

Red isn't the only color on Reds Restaurant's wine list, which presents bottles that speak multiple languages and come and go as they please. While sipping vinos from California, South America, and Italy, guests can peer past the black-hole-black bar straight into the open kitchen. There, the chefs will summon smoked-salmon farfalle, spam-fried rice, and duck confit into existence, and bring life to desserts such as The Brownie and pineapple upside-down cake. Dinner is the main feature at this wine-and-tapas shop, but a lunch menu attracts a midday crowd to the Encino Place Shopping Center's second floor from Tuesday to Friday every week.

RAWvolution founders Janabai and Matt Amsden serve up raw foods chock-full of healthy vitamins and enzymes, earning praise from celebrities such as Cher, Susan Sarandon, and Alicia Silverstone. Forged from locally sourced organic produce, the Amsden’s array of gourmet wheat-, soy-, and gluten-free vegan fare tickles health-conscious palates at two café locations in New York City and Los Angeles. Their prepared-meal service, The Box, also fills clients’ fridges with four to five days’ worth of premade organic meals for at-home noshing.

Harry's Golden Grill defies labels. Its menu covers everything from steak-and-egg breakfasts to shish-kebab plates and pizza. This range of dishes is evidence that Harry's chefs don't cook according to a certain theme; they cook according to their tastes. Throughout the day, a variety of cuisines are explored, as grilled hamburgers fill plates at lunch, and heaping portions of rice, vegetables, and seasoned meats are served up for Mediterranean dinners.

If the tables at Kate Mantilini could speak, they'd quickly find themselves booked by every major talk show. Their undersides have seen the feet of Al Pacino and Robert De Niro filming their first scene together in Heat as well as the pants cuffs of Tom Cruise, Mick Jagger, and Antonio Banderas, according to seeing-stars.com.

Founders Marilyn and Harry Lewis built the backbone of this celebrity hot spot. Harry had already worked alongside Humphrey Bogart in the film Key Largo when he told Marilyn that he hoped to open a restaurant chain geared toward folks in the film industry. In 1950, his idea came to life at several Hamburger Hamlets, where Hollywood icons could grab a meal or autograph a fan's shirt with ketchup before returning to their shoots. While luminaries like Sammy Davis Jr. occasionally supervised the kitchen, says the Los Angeles Times, Marilyn taught herself to cook a repertoire of eclectic comfort food. In 1987, the pair sold their Hamburger Hamlets and established Kate Mantilini.

Today, looming Mad Men posters on the walls speak to a modernism that has not abandoned the restaurant's Hollywood roots. A geometric orrery sculpture hangs from the gigantic sundial on the roof, and an elongated mural of a boxing match stretches across the dining hall. The smell of Kate's signature meatloaf weaves throughout the architecture and mingles with a slew of rotating aromas, from calamari to strip steaks and award-winning chicken pot pie. As the scents drift past the tables and onto an outdoor patio in Beverly Hills, they surround the former bank building, which now hosts homestyle breakfasts, lunches, and dinners.

The Lewis family has also opened a second Kate Mantilini location in Woodland Hills. The garden setting has its own alfresco seating to supplement 42 indoor booths, where patrons can order the same quality of rustic yet upscale American cuisine. Though they see their fair share of well-known figures, both restaurants cultivate an unambiguously welcoming vibe—one that invites children to feast on macaroni, casual visitors to stop in for a bowl of soup, and hungry families to share tapas rather than saw microwave dinners in half.