Michael J's, Los Angeles

Michael J’s Pizzeria & Bar started as a family-run Italian pizzeria in the early 1980s, but things escalated quickly. Within just a few years, the restaurant was catering events all over Los Angeles, Orange, and Ventura counties, spreading the word about its delicious, handmade meals to all corners of Southern California. More than 30 years after first opening, Michael J's reopened as a bar and gourmet pizzeria with a distinctly American twist. Today's menu brings the world together through food, with Italian pizzas and spaghetti bolognese alongside sriracha chicken sandwiches and chipotle-spiked pastas. Guests can sip craft beers, specialty cocktails, and fine wines at the indoor and outdoor bar, or shout compliments to passersby from retractable windows that open to the sidewalk.