LA restaurant carnage claims 8 beloved eateries — including a celeb hotspot

Los Angeles’ restaurant scene is getting cooked.

A brutal wave of closures has swept across the city this summer, knocking out everything from decades-old celebrity haunts and chef-driven institutions to buzzy newbies that barely survived a year.

At least eight notable restaurants closed or temporarily shuttered between May and late July, with the latest casualty running it back for one final day of service on Wednesday.

Crustacean

Among the biggest names headed for the chopping block is Crustacean in Beverly Hills, the glitzy Vietnamese fusion spot that has fed Hollywood’s rich and famous for 30 years.

The Bedford Drive mainstay, opened by the An family in 1995, is famous for its top-secret garlic noodle recipe, a koi fish aquarium walkway and celeb clientele.

The eatery is permanently turning off the stoves after July 29. Elizabeth An, CEO of the family-run House of An restaurant group, told Fox 11 that the building’s new landlord “has other plans” for the property, which don’t “suit Crustacean.”

Connie & Ted’s

Just a few miles away, Connie & Ted’s, the West Hollywood institution that brought a high-end taste of New England’s coastline to West Hollywood, closed its doors July 1 after more than a decade of service.

For 13 years, the beloved seafood hotspot was one of the city’s go-to restaurants for East Coast comfort food accompanied by a California price tag. Opened in 2013, the restaurant became famous for its buttery lobster rolls, oyster platters, chowders, towering seafood spreads, plus its wave-shaped roof.

But Connie & Ted’s could not outrun the city’s crushing restaurant economics. In a farewell message, the team behind the eatery blamed a perfect storm of pandemic fallout, rising costs and the increasingly difficult realities of operating in Los Angeles.

Merois

Celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck also lost a glitzy West Hollywood outpost. Merois, Puck’s rooftop spot perched on top of the Sun Rose Hotel, quietly closed on May 1.

The high-end eatery paired French techniques with Asian flavors and sweeping views of LA, but its closure followed the demise of Puck’s Ospero at the same property in 2024.

Nerano

Beverly Hills took another hit this month when upscale Italian favorite Nerano closed its doors July 25 after a decade in business. Brothers Carlo and Andy Brandon-Gordon opened the restaurant in 2016, and they are behind some of California’s other well-known eateries including Toscana and S.Y. Kitchen.

Drake’s Hollywood

Meanwhile, Drake’s Hollywood suddenly went dark in late July after just three years. The flashy West Hollywood restaurant shuttered the week of July 20, with employees reportedly receiving final paychecks as the restaurant was cleared out.

Cinque Terre West

Across town, Venice has been hit by its own wave of dining casualties. Cinque Terre West permanently closed its Rose Avenue location in June after owners Marlo and chef Gianbattista Vinzoni packed up and moved to Texas.

The couple had already endured a devastating setback when their original Pacific Palisades restaurant was destroyed in the 2025 Palisades Fire. The restaurateurs have since headed to the Lone Star State and launched Cinque Terre West Austin this month.

Voodoo Doughnut

VooDoo Doughnut, the quirky Portland-based doughnut chain known for its wild flavors and cult-like following, quietly shuttered its Venice Beach location in June after just one year in business. The closure came as a surprise to many locals who had embraced the late-night spot, famous for its signature VooDoo Doll doughnut, Bacon Maple Bars and other over-the-top creations.

Dialog Cafe

West Hollywood hotspot Dialog Cafe, typically crawling with influencers, suffered debilitating damage after a water-main break earlier this month, with the location’s future now uncertain. The break caused property damage to businesses, homes and parking garages; smashed cars together; and even caused two men to fall into a sinkhole created by the flooding. 

As the property is still being assessed after sustaining serious damage, the team shared on Instagram that “reopening our existing location will not happen quickly, and we don’t want to speculate about a timeline.”

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