A subterranean fine-dining restaurant eight months old and a short drive from Beverly Hills now holds the No. 1 spot on the Los Angeles Times' 2026 "101 Best Restaurants" list.
Lielle, the 42-seat Pico-Robertson restaurant from Swedish chef Marcus Jernmark, claimed the top ranking when the list was published Oct. 24, KTLA reported. The restaurant sits at 9575 W. Pico Blvd., which KTLA described as "Beverly Hills-adjacent."
Jernmark opened Lielle in February with a four-course set menu priced at $150 per person. The menu changes every five or six weeks and leans on California ingredients filtered through what Los Angeles Times restaurant critic Bill Addison called "Scandinavian instincts with California sensibility."
The restaurant is named after Jernmark's daughter.
Jernmark moved to Los Angeles about four years ago after a career that included stints at New York's Aquavit and Thomas Keller's Per Se, according to Eater LA. He led the kitchen at Stockholm's Frantzen and later opened Zén in Singapore. Both restaurants earned three Michelin stars.
At Lielle, Jernmark traded the grand tasting-menu format for something more compact. He favors the term "bistronomy" to describe the approach, according to the Los Angeles Times review: a smaller space, a shorter menu and high execution at a price point well below the $400 tasting menus found at comparable restaurants.
The dining room, designed by the firm Lovers Unite, occupies a basement level with barrel-vaulted cork ceilings, dark-clay brick floors, cherrywood tables and burgundy leather banquettes, the review noted. Beverage director Phil South oversees a wine list that spotlights California producers.
Lielle also holds one Michelin star for 2026, according to its OpenTable listing. The restaurant serves dinner Wednesday through Sunday, 5:30 to 9 p.m.
The Los Angeles Times list, started by the late food critic Jonathan Gold in 2013, is now compiled by critics Bill Addison and Jenn Harris. Kato, a contemporary Taiwanese-American restaurant in downtown Los Angeles with two Michelin stars, held the No. 2 spot for the second consecutive year.
Jernmark has kept busy beyond Lielle. He opened Marée, a 70-seat Parisian-California bistro, on Sept. 9 in the dining room directly above Lielle at the same Pico Boulevard address, Haute Living reported. Marée takes both reservations and walk-ins.
