Cuisine
Best Chinese in Los Angeles
Chinese spots pulled from our Los Angeles guides — picked by taste, price, and vibe rather than crowd averages. Here's who each one is for.
Northern Cafe
$Chinese · Westwood / Sawtelle
Northern Cafe is the Westwood go-to for cheap, satisfying Chinese: juicy pork dumplings, beef noodle soup, and dan dan noodles that fill you up for not much. It's busy, fast, and open late, which makes it a reliable cheap-eats default for UCLA students after class or a long night. The dumplings and the beef roll are the standout cheap orders.
Northern Cafe (Westwood)
$Chinese · Koreatown / Westwood / DTLA
Northern Cafe in Westwood is the UCLA go-to for cheap, satisfying late-night Chinese: juicy pork dumplings, beef noodle soup, and dan dan noodles that fill you up for not much. It's fast, busy, and open late, which makes it a reliable after-class or post-night answer right by campus.
Marugame Monzo
$$Japanese / Udon · Westwood / Sawtelle
Marugame Monzo makes udon by hand in the open kitchen, and the difference shows — the noodles are chewy, springy, and a world apart from the packaged version. The uni cream udon is the cult favorite; the classic kake udon in dashi is the purist's pick. A short trip from campus and one of the best comfort-food meals in Sawtelle.