The 12 Best Caesar Salads In LA, Ranked - Los Angeles - The Infatuation (2024)

Caesar salad was invented by an Italian man in Tijuana back in the 1920s. Now it’s as ubiquitous in LA as those signs on utility poles that say CASH FOR YOUR HOUSE NOW.Regardless of how many times we see this iconic salad on menus, chances are we’re going to order it. You might have your own thoughts on what makes a great caesar, but these are ours. Here are 12 LA restaurants that have mastered the art.

THE SPOTS

The Order: Nika’s Caesar

We’ve heard people say things like “It’s just a salad” or “Who the hell is Nika?” when discussing this classic caesar, but we won’t hear a word of it. Dan Tana’s version is the pinnacle of the form and an essential component of any dinner at this West Hollywood landmark. Could the lettuce be more crisp? Sure. But if you’re expecting farmers market greens from a ‘60s-era Italian restaurant with waiters in suits tossing each salad in the corner, you haven’t watched enough Scorcese films. This is creamy, salty, garlicky nostalgia at its finest.

The Order: Broccoli Chicory Caesar

It’s been trendy over the last few years for restaurants to give anything and everything the caesar treatment, from french fries at Birdie G’s to tostadas at Damian. Our favorite riff of the bunch, though, is Antico Nuovo’s broccoli caesar. The combination of snappy just-cooked broccoli and bitter chicories make this one gorgeous plate of greens. Add on a generous amount of tangy dressing, garlicky breadcrumbs, and a miniature mountain of shaved parmesan and you’ve got a crunchy salad that holds its own against Big Lettuce.

The Order: Chicories

The chicory salad at Etra looks like something you “threw together” for your friends because the braised short ribs you promised them are running 20 minutes behind schedule. It’s a beautiful, messy pile of bitter chicory with a blizzard of parmesan on top. And like the cheese, the kitchen is generous with the briny-peppery anchovy dressing and grated egg yolks that add a subtle richness.

The Order: Tableside Caesar

The retro steakhouse Dal Rae in Pico-Rivera prepares a few dishes tableside—steak diane, cherries jubilee, bananas foster—but the crown jewel is the from-scratch caesar. Order it and a cart straight out of a mid-century furniture showroom with a pantry’s worth of sauces and seasoning parks in front of your booth. Then a waiter who knows every ingredient measurement by heart puts on a three-minute performance that ends with a salty, well-tossed caesar piled on your chilled plate. It’s a fun show, and an even better salad.

The Order: Horses Caesar

We’ve encountered many (maybe too many) endive caesars over the years, but none are as satisfying as the one at Horses. This sceney Hollywood spot serves the leaves whole, a crucial detail. The endive scoops up the toasty breadcrumbs, anchovy-forward dressing, and parmesan confetti dust like precious canoes, evenly coating each bitter leaf. It’s the kind of punchy, salty thing you want to enjoy with an ice-cold martini, which Horses does very well.

The Order: Caesar

Anchovy lovers to the front—Ronan’s caesar comes draped in thick cuts of heaven’s most divisive minnow, giving the salad an intense pungency that is softened only slightly by the heavy dusting of parmesan. The cured-fish-phobes at your table might recoil, but that just means more fish salad for you.

The Order: Caesar

This salad has a lot going for it: Chunks of romaine are all equally coated in dressing, and the sheer amount of shaved parmesan on top gives every bite a fluff-like quality. But what makes this very good caesar and makes it great are the crispy, buttery housemade croutons. We’d order them as an appetizer if we could.

The Order: Japanese 'Caesar' Salad

A meal at this Echo Park izakaya usually revolves around grilled skewers, which you should order a few of. However, we prefer to fill most of the table with Tsubaki’s non-skewered dishes, including the excellent Japanese caesar. The lettuce has a nice density, so it stays crisp after getting tossed in a vibrant, creamy miso dressing. You also get a big ol’ crunch from panko breadcrumbs and a little smoky smooch from the shredded fish flakes.

The Order: Caesar

“That’s a heavy dress”: Our thoughts while watching Lady Gaga climb the Met Gala steps and when the Pinocchio employee poured half a bottle of dressing into our salad. If you’re a caesar-purist who likes their salad spackled with creamy dressing, this old-school Italian cafeteria in Burbank hits the spot. Bonus: It comes with a plate of garlic bread.

The Order: Vietnamese Caesar

The caesar at Cassia can be filed under what we call “sneaky caesars”: salads that look classic and simple but have something special that pops out like a jack in the box after that first crunchy bite. At this upscale Southeast Asian spot in Santa Monica, that means a big hit of fish sauce in the creamy dressing, scraggly croutons coated with anchovy paste, dried figs for sweetness, and a handful of aromatic herbs like cilantro, basil, and shiso chopped into with the usual romaine and radicchio.

The Order: Caesar Salad

We’ve had caesars at chain restaurants that taste like leaves dipped in mayo dusted with cheese from a can. But Hillstone is no ordinary chain restaurant. The salad here is light and crisp, served on a chilled plate as cold as your ex’s heart. The lightly toasted croutons are still soft, so they double as table bread to mop up the mustardy dressing. One odd thing about this salad is the addition of shaved corn—it's not bad, but it reminds us of one of those pre-packaged cobbs you'd pick up at Sprouts.

The Order: Vegan Caesar

The vegan caesar dressing at Lodge Bread has a cult following for a reason. Punched up with nutritional yeast, miso, and tahini, it packs in a whole health food store’s worth of umami without any fish or cheese. Combine that with some little gems, big cubed croutons made from house-baked sourdough, a generous amount of cracked black pepper, and fresh dill and parsley, and you end with a very pleasant light lunch. Grab a bottle of the dressing on your way out so you can recreate the whole thing at home.