Salt’s Cure

Salt's Cure, Los Angeles: Should You Book?

Ranked #98 in Opinionated About Dining's Gourmet Casual Dining in North America (2023) and #149 in the Casual category (2024), this is a restaurant that the serious dining community keeps returning to, even as louder, glossier options open around it. If you want honest New American cooking from a kitchen that knows what it's doing, Salt's Cure is worth your time.

The Restaurant

Chefs Chris Phelps and Zack Walters built Salt's Cure around a core commitment to sourcing whole animals and curing, smoking, preserving in-house. That means the food has a particular character: dense, savory, grounded in technique rather than trend. The name is not accidental; salt and curing are the organizing principles of the kitchen, you can expect that philosophy to run through whatever is on the menu when you visit. This is not a restaurant chasing seasonal menu pivots for press attention; it is a place doing a specific thing at a high level.

The room at 1155 Highland Ave is small and unfussy. Do not expect a dramatic interior or a cocktail program engineered to be photographed. The drinks here support the food rather than compete with it, which is the right call for this style of cooking. If a technical bar program is a deciding factor for your evening, Los Angeles has dedicated cocktail bars better suited to that priority. Salt's Cure is about what arrives on the plate.

For a food-focused explorer who tracks OAD rankings and cares about craft over concept, Salt's Cure sits in a category of its own in Hollywood. It is not trying to be 71above or Nightshade. It is doing something quieter and more deliberate, the OAD recognition confirms the cooking is operating at a level well above its price point and modest footprint.

When to Go

Salt's Cure is closed Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday through Friday hours run 9 am to 8 pm (9 pm on Friday), Saturday 9 am to 9 pm, Sunday 9 am to 3 pm. The all-day weekend format makes Saturday the leading all-round visit, you get the full menu window and the kitchen running at full pace. Sunday brunch is a real option but closes at 3 pm, so arrive early. Dinner on Friday or Saturday gives you the longest service window if evening timing works better for your schedule.

Booking at Salt's Cure is relatively easy compared to the harder reservations in Los Angeles, this is not a venue where you need to set a three-week calendar reminder or refresh a booking app at midnight. That accessibility is part of its appeal.

How It Compares

See the comparison section below for how Salt's Cure stacks up against other Los Angeles options across price and format.

Pearl Picks: More to Explore

If Salt's Cure is on your list, these are worth knowing about. For casual neighborhood dining in Los Angeles, Norah and Pace cover different registers of the same broad category. R+D Kitchen is an easier group option if you need flexibility. For context on what serious New American cooking looks like at the top of the format nationally, The French Laundry in Napa, Lazy Bear in San Francisco, Smyth in Chicago, and The Inn at Little Washington represent different points on the ambition curve. Closer in spirit to Salt's Cure's ethos, Bayona in New Orleans and Emeril's in New Orleans show what long-running, craft-focused New American restaurants look like with more runway behind them.

For more on what Los Angeles has to offer across categories: our full Los Angeles restaurants guide, hotels, bars, wineries, and experiences.