Restaurants in West Hollywood

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.

Colin Fukunaga and Robert "Mags" Magsalin came up with the idea of creating the FukuBurger truck while working at Tao, a high-end Asian restaurant in Las Vegas. The pair's successful combination of gourmet Angus beef, turkey, chicken, and vegan patties with Japanese-influenced toppings—including wasabi mayo, teriyaki sauce, and red ginger—led to the establishment of FukuBurger's permanent location in Los Angeles and an applauding article from Caroline on Crack. In addition to hosting innovative cuisine, FukuBurger whets whistles and inspires chopstick duels with Japanese lagers, sake bombs, and beer-based Fuku Bombs until close at 4 a.m.

Hanging light pendants enliven modern barstools with red tints while chalkboards list the day's draft selections. A mural of a Japanese woman reaching for a burger adds to the bar's casual ambiance and acts as a siren that causes patrons to crash into the brick wall.

Hummus House's chefs elevate their signature side to headliner status with a variety of flavors that complement a menu of meaty or vegetarian entrees. Hummus flavors such as jalapeño cilantro, fiery chili, and kalamata olive coat pita bread, and the selection of flavors rotates regularly. Broasted chicken, the eatery's twist on fried chicken, takes about 30 minutes to materialize, during which poultry steeps in a pressurized broaster to seal in juices. While diners munch, their eyes can feast on regal accents in Hummus House’s colorful dining rooms, one of which flaunts scarlet and gold cloth spiraling out from a chandelier like rays from the sun.

Matthew Corrin was fashion designer Oscar de la Renta's marketing manager, which meant a lot of long hours at work and a lot of hurried lunches at local delis. After his umpteenth greasy sandwich, Corrin began wondering why there weren't more healthy and convenient lunch alternatives. This rumination and a resignation letter to de la Renta begot Freshii, a fast, casual eatery that serves healthy meals and has graced the pages of various publications, including the Chicago Tribune and Inc.'s 30 Under 30 list. Environmental awareness also plays a big part in the business model—even the food packaging is made from eco-friendly vegetable starches.

Every Freshii kitchen is stocked with base ingredients of brown rice, rice noodles, romaine lettuce, field greens, and spinach; toppings such as carrots, broccoli, grilled tofu, and candied walnuts; and an array of dressings and sauces. Using these ingredients, the chefs create bowls, wraps, salads, soups, and burritos for lunch and dinner. During morning hours, when the sun is still busy curling its rays, they scramble eggs, serve house-made oatmeal, and top fat-free frozen yogurt with a choice of fruit. Customers can bring their own bowls and the staff will wash them and fill them with fresh ingredients hailing from environmentally responsible farms that fairly compensate their workers.

When he cofounded his first sandwich shop in 1965, 17-year-old Fred DeLuca planned to use his profits to pay his way through medical school. But the combination of quality ingredients and friendly service at the shop—then called Pete's Subway—proved so popular that nine years later, he and his partner found themselves in charge of 16 locations across Connecticut, and Fred left behind his doctoring plans for a career in business.

Today, Subway restaurants number over 34,000 around the world—almost as many shops as there are sightings of Elvis buying cold cuts. At each location, staffers pile sliced ham, marinara-slathered meatballs, and other fillings into halved loaves of bread before customizing handhelds with tomatoes, shredded lettuce, and other healthy toppings plucked from chilled containers behind the counter. Salads free crisp veggies from bread's overprotective embrace, and crunchy baked chips or apple slices accompany entrees to tables. Subway's website also facilitates health-conscious eating by listing each item's nutrition information and fastest mile time online.

The complexity involved in the creation of traditional Polish cuisine presents an overwhelming obstacle for many new restaurants. Not so for Polka Polish Cuisine, where husband-and-wife team Andrew and Katherine Dabrowski turned the savings from Andrew's big rig career and staggering credit-card loans into a success story. Now in the capable hands of Katherine's relative Mike Budny, the medium-sized strip mall eatery has blossomed into an area gem featured in a segment on Food Network's Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. Budny's chefs grill up regular and spicy kielbasa, marinate beef stew gulasz (goulash) for 24 hours, and hide sauerkraut, potatoes, or cheese inside pierogies' doughy pockets. Amid Polka's kitschy, playful décor of trophy buck heads, whimsical signs, and multicolored ceiling tiles, patrons slake thirsts with 10 varieties of herbal tea and end meals on a dulcet chord with nalesniki, crêpes stuffed with sour cherries and cheese, drenched in vodka, and set ablaze as a tribute torch to a memorable meal and to the infamous flaming peaks of Poland's Carpathian Mountains.