Living in Los Angeles comes with a lot of challenges, but finding a good meal is not one of them.
Finding a good meal that won’t break the bank? That can be difficult. So much so that many people have been eating at home, leading to a drop in sales growth for U.S. restaurants and bars during the first half of the year.
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With a little help from The Times’ Food team, it’s more than possible to have a standout meal at some of the city’s most exciting restaurants without breaking your budget.
In their new guide, my colleagues put together a list of 50 L.A. restaurants where you can dine for $50 or less per person, including tax and tip.
They include places that require specific hacks to stay within budget, as well as more casual options where $50 lets you sample a wide swath of the menu. There’s something for everyone.
Here are four recommendations. But dive into our list to discover more.
Bestia (downtown L.A.)
Yes, it is possible to eat for $50 a person (including tax and tip) at a restaurant that offers a $185 Wagyu ribeye and $80 veal chop. At Ori Menashe and Genevieve Gergis’ always-in-demand Bestia, you could order one of the restaurant’s live-fire-blistered pizzas — which range from a $25 classic Margherita to one topped with soft and spicy ‘nduja sausage, San Marzano tomatoes, mozzarella, spring onion, garlic, arugula and avocado cream for $29.
With a friend, you could share the whole grilled branzino ($52) or slow-roasted lamb neck ($56), which comes with smoked anchovy crème fraîche plus herb-adorned gem lettuce for wrapping the meat. Or you could share the $25 pizza and add an appetizer such as the herby Caesar salad with squid ink breadcrumbs ($24) or the buttermilk ricotta ($21) with aged balsamic, fennel pollen, herb oil, lava salt and a hunk of grilled bread.
And if you have enough left for one of Gergis’ fantastic desserts, the $14 buttermilk panna cotta with roasted huckleberries and stone-ground-wheat cookies should keep you within a $76 budget for two people, even allowing for $6 drinks for each person.
From top, tomatoes and cherries, squid ink chittara and vin dolce chiffon cake from Bestia.
(Yasara Gunawardena / For The Times)
Sushi:K (Beverly Hills)
Despite being in one of the wealthiest ZIP Codes in California, Sushi:K is one of the most affordable sushi restaurants in Los Angeles.
Chef Tomohiko Kawamura offers a $32 K Lite menu that showcases his well-seasoned shari and a daily selection of fresh fish. The set comes with a small sunomono salad and a bowl of miso soup. Next are five pieces of nigiri, followed by a blue crab or spicy tuna hand roll.
If you’re still hungry, you can opt for an additional cucumber hand roll ($5) or another spicy tuna ($6). There’s ice-cold Sapporo Premium ($6) and matcha green tea ($4). And, for dessert, maybe a scoop of the yuzu sorbet ($4.50).
A selection of nigiri from the K Lite menu at Sushi:K in Beverly Hills.
(Jenn Harris / Los Angeles Times )
Ruta 15 (Long Beach)
One of the most exciting meals you’ll find in Long Beach is at this ceviche bar where mariscos dominate. You can try plenty with a $50 budget: charred ceviche verde ($18) paired with mix-and-match seafood shooters bobbing with octopus, clams or oysters ($18); or Culichi-style shrimp ($25) sautéed in garlic and served with cilantro rice, butter-roasted onion puree and julienned veggies, all doused in a creamy green sauce.
Sample the “land” section of the menu with guacamole con chicharrón ($15), try churros acanelados ($11) for dessert, or have the rest of your meal with a margarita ($13).
Cheese-crusted shrimp tacos topped with fish chicharrones at Ruta 15.
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
Rosty Peruvian Eatery (Highland Park)
At this Highland Park mainstay, the portions are generous, making nearly everything shareable — such as the bowl-like “cup” of comforting aguadito de pollo soup served with crusty bread ($6) or the platter of lomo saltado ($24), its seared steak and sautéed vegetables piled atop thick house-made French fries and accompanied by rice and sauces. Order both and a refreshing chicha morada, or purple corn drink ($6), to wash it all down within budget, or swap in sides such as black beans or a salad, also priced at $6.
The Peruvian neighborhood restaurant also specializes in wood-fired rotisserie chicken: The quarter- and half-chicken plates ($14 and $23, respectively) include two sides and also make for great sharing.
Lomo saltado, with the aguadito de pollo soup, at Rosty Peruvian Eatery.
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
Today’s top stories 
Christian Brown gets a COVID-19 shot from Tamina Nassiri, a licensed practical nurse, at the Kaiser Permanente Venice Medical Office building Sept. 23.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Last year’s flu season was California’s worst in years. How bad will this one get?This exclusive Hollywood private club and workspace shut down. What went wrong?
- NeueHouse, the exclusive Hollywood co-working club that hosted celebrity-filled premieres and parties, abruptly closed last month after filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
- The swanky members-only space was undone by overspending, expensive leases, failed restaurant ventures and debt that ballooned to $83.7 million by March.
- Former executives cite fundamental mismanagement, including spending $40 million over budget on expansion plans.
JPL’s rough ride: Can California’s shining star of space science recover?
- JPL laid off 550 employees Tuesday — the fourth round in a series of layoffs that cut a quarter of its employees over two years.
- The lab has struggled since Congress pulled funding for its flagship Mars Sample Return Mission because of a ballooning budget and timeline.
- Now, an institution with an illustrious record of solving the hardest problems in space faces a daunting task here on Earth: reclaiming its place at the vanguard of exploration and innovation.
What else is going onCommentary and opinionsThis morning’s must readAnother must readFor your downtime 
(Photo illustration by Kay Scanlon / Los Angeles Times; photographs from Adobe Stock, Associated Press, Getty Images, AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)
Going out
- Haunted experiences: 12 Hollywood haunts that saw real-life horrors includes the Hollywood Roosevelt, the Mama Cass House and Greystone Mansion.
- Food: Columnist Jenn Harris’ search for jambon beurre in Paris led her to the best sandwich in L.A.
- Dining: The new dining spot to show your out-of-town guests why we love L.A.
Staying inA question for you: What frustrates you the most about parking in L.A.?
Michael writes: “It drives me up the wall when I see big SUVs parked in spots clearly striped for smaller cars. Or when someone has such poor skills that they park with part of their car edging into a second parking spot.”
Email us at essentialcalifornia@latimes.com, and your response might appear in the newsletter this week.
And finally … your photo of the day 
Hundreds of people march along West Cesar E. Chavez Avenue in Los Angeles on Saturday for the second “No Kings” protest.
(Carlin Stiehl / For The Times)
Today’s great photo is from Times photographer Carlin Stiehl at a downtown L.A. “No Kings” protest against President Trump’s policies on immigration, healthcare, the environment and federal agencies.
Have a great day, from the Essential California team
Jim Rainey, staff reporter
Hugo Martín, assistant editor, Fast Break desk
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew Campa, Sunday writer
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters
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