Twice a year, Los Angeles stands in the culinary spotlight for what has now extended to two full weeks of restaurant specials all over the city. This bi-annual event was first held in 2008 and has now evolved into a restaurant showcase for eateries all over Los Angeles County.
Otherwise known as DineLA, the 14-day dining event is set to begin Monday, July 14 and conclude on Sunday, July 27. The event essentially gives restaurants the opportunity to develop specially priced prix-fixe lunch and dinner menus.
Diners may select from $15, $20, or $25 lunch menus and $25, $35, or $45 dinner menus.
This summer, more than 300 restaurants will be taking part in DineLA – with a large number located across the Westside.
The restaurant scene is, to say the least, growingly diverse in the City of Angels, from tourist hot-spots on Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, to the quaint Thai place down the street from UCLA, to celebrity-chef-owned eateries in Beverly Hills. Participating restaurants represent a spectrum of different cultures, price ranges, and neighborhoods within the widespread city of Los Angeles.
DineLA Restaurant Week was initially birthed with two goals in mind: to encourage business within the city’s restaurant community and to promote awareness for Los Angeles as one of the world’s leading premier dining cities.
The concept of the event is the result of a collaboration between masterminds Los Angeles Tourism and Convention Board, American Express, and the Angeleno restaurant industry.
“I believe DineLA is one of the best events of the year, as it allows locals to sample menus at affordable prices,” said Chef Mette Williams of Culina, Modern Italian at 300 South Doheny Drive. “During this time, we always gain new guests who haven’t been to our restaurant before, and many become frequent guests after DineLA ends.”
According to general manager Stephen Rankin of Michael’s Restaurant in Santa Monica, DineLA “gets both locals and visitors” to try a new eatery out. The prix-fixe menu also usefully allows them to “taste a bit of everything of what the restaurant has to offer.”
The common denominator among all people seems to be that good food is always appreciated and enjoyed. Whether it be families looking for a new eatery to try out for dinner, couples interested in a date spot, or local college students searching for a sweet deal, DineLA serves a wide variety of customers. The event also holds the potential to create an incentive for diners to try new cuisines and indulge in a more adventurous meal.
Gina Sungkamee, chef of Emporium Thai Cuisine in Westwood, commented on the idea that DineLA encourages a multitude of audiences to take a chance on a restaurant that they would not normally walk into.
“The event makes more customers want to try Thai food,” Sungkamee said.
Due to the popularity of the event, DineLA strongly recommends that reservations be made in advance, though walk-ins are welcome. According to DineLA’s website, restaurants see an average 25 percent increase in sales.
Ever Perla, manager of Il Buco in Beverly Hills, said that there was no doubt that the dining event helps in bringing in new customers. It is no wonder that the list of participating restaurants is ever growing.
The increasing number of customers during DineLA is not a statistic to be ignored, either: an estimated 300,000 people participate annually, according to DineLA’s website.
“We’ve been doing DineLA for at least the last three years,” Perla said. “So that means we’ve taken part in DineLA at least six times, and I plan to continue participating.”
All in all, the general consensus of DineLA seems to be that it has undeniably created a symbiotic relationship between restaurants and their customers. After all, restaurants ultimately gain consistent diners, whereas customers get to take advantage of two weeks of reasonably priced culinary goodness.
A Food Affair Restaurant, which is located in West Los Angeles, weighed in on the idea that both parties benefit from this event.
“It’s a double pleasure,” Babette Royere, the wife of chef Christian Royere, said.
Across the board, nothing but excitement for the upcoming event was expressed by the chefs of the Westside.
“We love DineLA,” Akasha Richmond, head chef and owner of AKASHA Restaurant in Culver City, said. “It’s a great opportunity for everyone – including us – to try new restaurants. We have a lot of fun participating each year.”
For more information, visit discoverlosangeles.com/dinela.
