"People have been telling me I need to go to Los Alamos for years. I had been thinking about making the trip last weekend - and when I got a reservation off the waitlist at Bell’s, it was a done deal. During the pandemic, Bell’s switched to a five-course, $65 daily-changing set menu, and I can easily say this dinner was one of the best meals I’ve eaten in the past year. The courses included a crepe topped with Santa Barbara sea urchin, a salad of just local lettuces and shallot dressing that was dumbfoundingly good, a polenta-focused, sauce-mornay-drenched croque madam, and one of their signature dishes, steak au poivre. Between the food, the excellent wine list (featuring great finds from Santa Barbara county and far beyond), the cozy patio covered in heat lamps, and perhaps most importantly, the thoughtful staff focused on providing you with the best experience possible, this restaurant alone should make you consider a trip out to Los Alamos. I would most definitely drive the two hours from LA just for Bell’s. -Katherine Lewin, Editorial Director, Restaurants" - the infatuation los angeles crew
