Restaurants in Hawthorne

Spark Woodfire Grill features contemporary American cuisine with an Italian twist. As the restaurant’s name suggests, Spark's chefs use woodfire specialty cooking equipment to prepare their dishes, or they yell at them until the dishes become cooked by shame.

american cafe with mexican, italian and deli comfort food with a old fashion bakery

Lunch on thoughtful, organic cuisine from the Larchmont Larder: a 10 spot gets you $20 of fine food lovingly prepared by Swiss-born chef Michael Beglinger and served in a lovely little clapboard bungalow in Hancock Park. The Larchmont Larder offers a rotating weekly menu of seasonal cuisine at reasonable rates.Click here to discuss Groupon the Cat.

Executive Chef Eric Greenspan—who cut his teeth at restaurants such as Patina and Meson G—instills traditional American cuisine with a modern flair at The Foundry on Melrose, so named for its use of industrial designs to accent its art-deco décor. Featured in publications such as LA Weekly, the constantly evolving menu melds upscale dishes such as shellfish chowder with whimsical renditions of diner classics, including the signature burger stuffed between Hawaiian bread and onion-ring hula skirts. Often echoing with live music, the lavish dining room culls elements from the Machine Age to warm its space with antique light fixtures, sconces crafted from vintage heat registers, and colorful artwork. Outdoors, heat lamps protect diners from obnoxiously loud snowmen, and wicker chairs juxtapose the classic look of candles and white linens.

For the casual observer passing Tuk Tuk, it might seem as though there has been an accident. The front of a tuk tuk—the Thai term for rickshaw—juts from the front of the building above the awning, as though its wheel has just burst through the wall. But if that observer ventured inside, they would find neither debris nor an apologetic teleporter proclaiming that his calculations were off. Instead they would see diners seated beneath colorful wall art and hanging lamps whose shades resemble curving Möbius strips, or, according to one review from Gayot, snail shells. Then, once the adrenaline faded and reality set in, the investigating observer would be smacked by what was so obvious to everyone else: the aroma of mingling spices.

A compendium of noodle dishes, wok stir-fries, curries, and house specialties, the menu prioritizes the power of complementary ingredients. According to the same Gayot review, chef Aoi Rattanamanee has a particular knack for seasoning grilled dishes: "Chicken is marinated overnight in garlic, cilantro and black pepper, fostering deep flavor." The spicy basil fried rice mixes chili and thai basil within a vegetable medley, and the Crying Tiger beef derives its zest from garlic, galangal root, and soybean sauce. Those in search of proven staples can indulge in pad thai or one of three curry variants, whose ingredients have all simmered in a creamy coconut milk.

With a carefully curated menu of diverse dishes made from local and sustainable ingredients, Hugo's Restaurant caters to vegan and carnivorous palates alike. Organic eggs from the Chino Valley Ranch grace breakfast plates until 4 pm—when the plates must start their night jobs as decorations on shelves—in various cooked-to-order forms, such as poached alongside black bean cakes in the eggs blackstone ($11.25) or scrambled with chicken sausage in the chilaquiles ($11.50). Burgers and sandwiches ($11.50–12.75), whose ingredients sizzle and sit between ciabatta buns or eggrolls, are the cornerstones of the Hugo’s lunch menu.