Restaurants in Lawndale

Friends and business partners Oscar Chavez, Mario Ordoñez, and Jose Ciro Aguilar mine their collective experience to curate 12 Washington Restaurant’s sophisticated cuisine and ambiance. The dining room’s crisp, white table cloths and soft lighting provide the perfect backdrop for plates of escargot or oysters on the half shell, and glasses of wine and champagne tempt the thirsty grey gargoyles perched above and around the front outdoor patio. Elegant dinner entrees such as filet mignon, osso bucco, and rack of lamb sate evening appetites, while benedicts, omelets, and salads ease diners out of their dinner jackets and into their brunch pantsuits.

Currywurst owner Kai Loebach draws inspiration from the wurst vendors of his German hometown to spice up local palates with a menu of plump and sizzling sausages. Served with house-made curry ketchup, the restaurant’s succulent namesake features a curry-sliced bockwurst, chicken thüringer, or hungarian sausage wrapped in E.U. customs papers and tucked inside a roll. Uncurried sausages dazzle with their delicious simplicity or dress up in onions, sauerkraut, and one of eight sweet, spicy, or savory sauces.

For more than 30 years, Quiznos has toasted its submarine sandwiches to bring out the hidden flavors found in butcher-quality meats, cheese, and artisan breads. Its classic and signature subs take on a variety of shapes, sizes, and styles ranging from the prime rib mushroom and swiss to the classic italian donning black olives, mozzarella, red-wine vinaigrette, and plentiful sliced meats. Those closely monitoring their waistlines can take unabashed bites of sandwiches that have fewer than 500 calories, such as the pork-cuban, Baja-chicken, and veggie-caprese subs. Quiznos' Toasty Bullets and Torpedoes offer slimmer versions of sub fare and flaunt supreme aerodynamics when shot out of T-shirt cannons and into mouths. A selection of Flatbread Sammies, soups, and salads round out Quiznos' varied menu.

Before taking center stage in Star Chicken's menu of fresh tossed salads, flatbread wraps, and steaming rice bowls, whole chickens sizzle and slow cook inside the eatery's rotisserie ovens. The kitchen staff accents their meat with a signature citrus and herb marinade and half or whole pints of hearty sides, including homemade chicken noodle soup and steamed Cuban black beans and rice. Savory aromas waft through the casual diner's interior, or escape their cages to tickle the nose-buds of loungers relaxing in the shade beneath the outdoor tables' umbrellas. Catering services transport the whole culinary cast to parties, meetings, or general get-togethers.

Eric Greenspan, co-owner and executive chef of The Foundry on Melrose, may have earned a place on the Los Angeles culinary radar for his work at hot spots including Meson G, but his reputation also has national reach. Besides besting Bobby Flay in a 2010 episode of Iron Chef, Greenspan has auditioned to take over command of Kitchen Stadium himself, most recently on The Next Iron Chef: Redemption. The chef's ever-changing menus of a la carte delectables meld French, Spanish, and creative American influences, plated with a sophistication deserving of a Caravaggio still life. Prix fixe tasting menus take diners on expertly engineered tours of flavors and textures, and vegetarian options let herbivores join the experience.

Interior-design guru Sandy Davidson decorated The Foundry on Melrose with a comfortable, art-deco aesthetic, mixing warm, antique elements with industrial accents. Bands play on select nights as mixologists craft artful cocktails and pour glasses of fine wines.