Restaurants in Pasadena

Expert chefs at Take Sushi stuff classic rolls with deftly chopped seafood to pile high on plates and compartmentalized bento boxes. Located within walking distance of Koreatown inside the Oxford Palace Hotel & Galleria, the eatery also plates Korean fare such as broiled sea eel and barbecue short ribs.

Aside from masterfully crafted Greek dishes prepared with fresh fillo pastry, freshly blended hummus, and imported Greek feta, the highlight of Sofi Greek Restaurant is undoubtedly its Arcadian patio. Amid thriving potted trees and white stone fences, servers use metaxa cognac to flambé kefalotyri cheese or overdue library book notices tableside with each saganaki order. They top blue and white linens with freshly grilled jumbo shrimp and swordfish or gyros platters served with grilled pita and creamy tzatziki sauce. While gazing at the evening stars or flocks of jets migrating for the winter, alfresco diners may follow bites of baklava coated with lemon and honeysuckle syrup with sips of Greek coffee and wine.

What Pico Café's progenitors established as a modest coffee shop in 1998 has since flourished to become a full-fledged restaurant teeming with vegetarian specialties forged with Kehilla kosher ingredients. Reflecting the eclectic vibe of its South Robertson locale, the menu brims with Mexican, Mediterranean, and Israeli selections, helping to greet the sunrise with crêpe and omelets, while sating late-night cravings with quesadillas, pasta, and traditional mallawah. Patrons can curl up on the patio or in the intimate dining room with an espresso, smoothie, or milk shake created to pair perfectly with fresh-bread selections, which, like the sunrise or leases from an amnesiac landlord, arrive daily.

Located just off Sunset Boulevard in the heart of Hollywood, District 13 is a punk-rock gastropub designed to throw old Hollywood glamour off its axis. Inventive burgers and exotic sausages make up the bulk of the graffiti-splashed menu. Pheasant, rabbit, wild boar, and even alligator sausages sizzle at lunch and dinner alongside lamb, buffalo, and salmon burgers. The restaurant also offers three vegan sausages, which pair with 22 California craft beers on draft or one of the 50 international bottles hiding behind the bar.

Rockpaper Coffee Co. and Grind House Coffee roast premium, single-origin arabica coffees to fuel auspicious morning starts and day-brightening afternoon pick-me-ups. Rockpaper Coffee Co. immerses java sippers in a modern café setting, complete with exposed-brick walls and natural light pouring in from the storefront windows. Lofted at wooden high-top tables, customers can admire the frothy art whipped into their libations or request that baristas draft police sketches of thieving cookie monsters in their latte foam. Other edibles include breakfast sandwiches and fruit smoothies. Occasional open-mic nights and free comedy shows keep laughs pouring liberally.

For more than four decades, chef Ulrich Huegli—or Ueli, as he's often known—has been crafting Swiss-inflected cuisine in a variety of California restaurants. At his latest culinary home, Swiss Chef Restaurant, he lightly breads veal for wienerschnitzel, and grills hearty veal bratwurst, among other traditional alpine specialties. Some of his entrées range further afield: steaming bowls of Hungarian goulash brim with stewed meat, noodles and vegetables, and pastas such as gnocchi and rigatoni bolognese add Italian flair, much like nicknaming the entire kitchen staff “Flavio.” Frosty mugs of international beers—such as Erdinger and Bitburger—issue from the full-service bar, which also serves wines and cocktails.