This guide to the restaurants, history, and sights of L.A.'s Fairfax District is sponsored by Cofax.

FIRST, A SHORT HISTORY OF FAIRFAX, BY ARTIST ADAM VILLACIN

Fairfax Avenue was originally named Crescent Avenue when first established in 1888.

In 1912, the City Council was going to change the name to West Street, but locals protested and they went with Fairfax instead, naming it after Thomas, 6th Lord Fairfax, the Baron of Cameron, a British noble and neighbor of George Washington in Virginia.

The first Canter’s Deli was in Jersey City. The Canter family moved to L.A. and opened the new location on Brooklyn Avenue in Boyle Heights. (Brooklyn Avenue was later renamed Cesar Chavez Avenue, which will eventually be renamed itself.) After World War II, the deli moved to Fairfax. It occupies a building that used to house a movie theater that showed Yiddish language films. The deli’s current co-owner was childhood friends with Slash and wrote a book about G N' R. 

The Gilmore family is a crucial part of the Fairfax District's story. The Gilmore Oil Company was founded in 1903 when Arthur Gilmore struck oil on his dairy farm. His son, Earl, ran one of the first gas stations in L.A. on the corner of La Brea and Wilshire, which used a horse-drawn tanker. 

The Gilmores built Gilmore Stadium (home of Bulldogs and Mustangs football), Gilmore Field (home of the Hollywood Stars and L.A. Angels baseball teams), and the Pan-Pacific Auditorium (home of the hockey Monarchs and most UCLA sports).

Pan-Pacific was featured in the film "Xanadu" and the music videos for Devo’s “Beautiful World” and Barnes & Barnes' “Fish Heads”. It also hosted the likes of Dwight D. Eisenhower, Elvis Presley, and the Harlem Globetrotters. 

The auditorium burned down in 1989 and became Pan Pacific Park, across from Erewhon. The site of the stadium and field became CBS Television City, where they filmed "The Price Is Right," "Kids Say the Darndest Things," "Playboy After Dark," and "Wild 'n Out." 

Another Gilmore contribution to Fairfax was The Original Farmers Market. The Beach Boys mention it in one of their crunchier songs—"H.E.L.P. Is On the Way," written when Brian Wilson was running his health food store, The Radiant Radish.

Fairfax High School has a stacked "Notable Alumni" section on their Wikipedia page. We’re talking Flea, Tony K., Hillel Slovak, and Jack Irons of The Red Hot Chili Peppers. We’re talking James Ellroy, Herb Alpert, Mickey Rooney, and Slash. We’re talking Ricardo Montalbán, Phil Spector, Warren Zevon, and a grip of L.A. Guns.  

While on the topic of music and Fairfax, Cherokee Studios must be mentioned, too. Wisconsin band The Robbs purchased the former MGM Studios location on Fairfax in 1975. Michael Jackson recorded "Off the Wall" there. Bowie made "Station to Station" there while on a strict diet of cocaine, red peppers, and milk. It’s where Weird Al made his first record, and where Warren Zevon made his last. ~ Adam Villacin

L.A.'s heartland of Jewish history and a mecca for street wear, skate shops, great everyday eats, and oddball arts through the decades . . . Let's take a look at all the best places to eat and shop on Fairfax these days, in the blocks surrounding Cofax and Canter's.

WHERE TO EAT

COFAX 

Cofax’s 2014 opening on Fairfax was a distinctly L.A. kind of kismet. A small nook of L.A. pride serving superlative coffee and breakfast burritos in a neighborhood known best for its pastrami and chocolate rugelach, named for the greatest Jewish ball player to ever grace the major leagues, in a cafe festooned with Dodgers bobbleheads and portraits.

Cofax was opened by Jason Bernstein and Nick Starr with the intention to provide coffee to the employees of Golden State, the popular burger place founded by Bernstein and Nick's brother, James Starr. James and Bernstein also co-founded the popular Prime Pizza chain, which has a location on the same block.

"At the time, Animal was across the street. That's when Supreme was there," Nick Starr tells L.A. TACO. "There were a lot of people working on the block, but there was nowhere for folks to get coffee in the morning. That's basically why that happened, seeing the need and converting what was a kosher butcher shop into like a little hallway of a coffee shop with a kitchen in the back."

"It's not so much that we reached out to the neighborhood," Star continues. "It's more like the neighborhood reached out to us. And the people who ended up working at that shop for the first five years were people who were contributing to the culture, who already had really deep ties with, you know, Odd Future and underground rock-and-roll culture and the skate culture and fashion scene, so we kind of just opened our doors and just got immediately absorbed into what was going on."

It wouldn't take long for the rest of the city to throng Cofax for its plump and meaty breakfast burritos and high-grade coffee (starting with Portland's Stumptown, but now keeping things local with Canyon Coffee). Today, the cafe has a second location in Culver City (where there's a Golden State lunch pop-up offered on weekdays) and a third opening any day now in Echo Park.

Cofax's breakfast burritos hit differently, with their beautifully toasted flour tortillas from East L.A.'s La Fortaleza, providing snap and crispness that still holds in fluffy scrambled eggs and the output of Cofax's secret weapon: the smoker of their friend Kevin Bludso, owner and pitmaster of Bludso's BBQ.

The Cofax crew continues to use Bludso's smokers to smoke its potatoes and veggies for the hash in its burritos, as well as the tomatillos found in its salsa, while also deploying Bludso's brisket and pastrami as burrito fillings, allowing customers bites from two local legends in every burrito.

The success of this small burrito and coffee outfit has kept Cofax here, despite frequent transitions of businesses opening and closing on the street.

"Now you can throw a rock and can hit a breakfast burrito," Star recalls.
"But at the time, the most popular breakfast burritos were at, like, great Mexican restaurants that happened to open in the morning. I think we were one of the first couple of places where it was just like, we're a coffee shop and we're actually making our own breakfast burritos."

See why these burritos still draw crowds on Fairfax, and other neighborhoods keep clamoring for them, by stopping in the morning or over lunch. If you don't do the heavenly hot links, pastrami, or chorizo in your burrito, we can confirm, even the veggie breakfast burrito will knock you outta your Allbirds.

440 N. Fairfax Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90036 

CANTER’S 

When you want L.A.’s best pastrami-on-rye, you go to Langer’s. When you want L.A.’s best pastrami-on-rye at three in the morning, you go to Canter’s, a name that's synonymous with Fairfax. 

Hunger pangs will be crushed and spirits sponged up by the satisfaction of a hot sandwich packed with smoky, fatty beef piled between butter-slicked toasted rye slices to take on the road. Or maybe you'll do a cheese-cloaked croque monsieur or bowl of matzah ball soup.

Whatever you get, you’ll enter a hall of living L.A. history, where stories seep from the brown floor tiles to the crazy ceiling of an ersatz New England autumn.

Canter’s is more than just a delicatessen. It’s a living shrine of Mid-City culture, tracing the decades through its 24-hour counters of black-and-white cookies and sliced meats in front, to the unofficial Guns N’ Roses museum in the Kibbutz Room’s adjoining bar. 

Here, you’ll glimpse back into the age of the street’s thriving Jewish community—which grew in the 1920s from a westward population shift of Jewish Angelenos from Boyle Heights and later, as a U.S. refuge for Holocaust survivors—into the era when gargantuan, family-friendly restaurant spaces ruled the Earth, of Fairfax High School shenanigans, and Agua Net-soaked Sunset Strip debauches, under one crazy-ass roof.

The hospitality of the veteran staff here exceeds what you’ll find at most trendy L.A. restaurants, at a fraction of the price point. Shout out to the server who brought us samples of both the corned beef and the pastrami as we struggled over which one to get in our Reuben.

Should you find yourself facing the same struggle, they graciously offer “The Fairfax,” a sandwich that combines these leaner and fattier beef cuts in perfect harmony.

You may have a better Reuben at Daughter’s Deli. Or a chopped liver you like better at Brent’s. Or have stronger memories of family meals over matzoh ball soup at Fromin's.

But you won’t find a better window into L.A.’s bustling past than Canter's, or a warmer home for L.A. nostalgia over a group or family meal. Especially in the witching hours.

419 N. Fairfax Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90036 

LUCIA 

There’s nothing like Lucia out there in L.A., a buzzing, Black-owned culinary ode to Black joy in the form of modern Caribbean cuisine, within a dining room that has all the glamour of a Hollywood gala and a two-time James Beard finalist in the kitchen, blowing minds and tantalizing palates.

Executive chef Cleophus “Ophus” Hethington is a focused visionary and U.S. Navy vet with several venerated restaurants on his resume, including New York’s Jean-Georges, Sao Paulo’s D.O.M., Atlanta’s Lazy Betty, and North Carolina’s Benne on Eagle.

At Lucia, he’s reaching across the islands for inspiration in bold, beautiful, and intricate dishes that resound with essences and flavors identifiable to anyone who's spent significant time in the Caribbean—the smack of a Cuban mojo, the depths of Mayan naranja agria, the tang of tropical fruit, and the starchy sweetness of cassava—even when flipping familiar dishes on their domes like a dancehall queen going headtop.

Here, Jamaican patties are stuffed with wagyu beef, saltfish croquetas come with truffle and manchego, and your curry is applied to duck breast with a pistachio-cocoa dukkah.

Perhaps you'll start with a soursop paloma, coconut coquito, or escovitch okra martini, and a dish called "plantain expressions," in which caramelized lobes of the overripe plantains known as maduros wade in a smoky-sweet plantain mole, shielded by scales of crisp plantain chips.

Or sail straight for the addictive starfruit and guava salad, electrified with gooseberries, chayote, marcona almonds, and hearts of palm.

Bring friends so you don't have to choose between all the temping entrees, like a ropa fina made with NY strip, whole Trini-Chinese chicken with green ketchup, jerk lamb shank, or fish roasted under a green fig leaf. Share the tres leches with macadamia pralines and the guava-and-cheese pastelitos for dessert.

Each balanced, soulful flavor-burst on the menu must be prep-heavy as hell. But that doesn't stop chef Ophus from looking inward and exploring his passions even further, recently exalting the through-lines of African diaspora cooking through a dedicated series of weekly, limited-time menus with titles like "Africa: The Source" and "Black America | Reinvention & Ownership."

We'll say it again. There's nothing like Lucia out there.

351 N. Fairfax Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90036

GENGHIS COHEN

"Genghis Cohen moving to the block was like a major, major win," Cofax's Nick Starr tells L.A. TACO about Fairfax's current resurgence. "It's a perfect fit for this block."

Now situated next to the first location of Jason Starr's growing Prime Pizza empire, Genghis Cohen is a 42-year-old Angeleno classic, famous for its live shows and the kind of "American-style" Chinese classics that mark any great Jewish family dinner on Christmas Day.

We're talking porky egg rolls of unusual size, Westside Slings and Mai Tais, volcano chicken flaming on your table, fried pot-stickers (with a turkey option), crab rangoon, a Kung Pao-style trio of meats, moo shoo pork, seemingly 6,000,000 ways of serving shrimp, and tongue-in-cheek servings of "shalom" pork stir-fry.

It's nostalgic food, made better, for anyone who pined for a non-regional Chinatown experience, in one of the most mind-blowing spaces, a vision of red leather and paper lanterns, fish tank above the bar, right where it's supposed to be.

448 N. Fairfax Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90046

ANNIE’S SOUL DELICIOUS 

Two words: Hennessy wings.

Okay. More words, maybe with greater context: Annie’s Soul Delicious has been serving traditional and creative plates of soul food at this address, with and without cognac sauces, since 2025, when it moved from its location in Little Ethiopia, which had been shuttered six years prior by the pandemic.

A soul food-centered offshoot of owner Annalisa Mastroianni Johnson's Annie's Edibles catering concept, you'll never leave Annie's Soul Delicious hungry thanks to its big, Southern-inspired plates of smothered fried chicken and pork chops, tossed wings, gumbo, fried catfish, lemon pepper shrimp, hot links, and oxtail mac-and-cheese, served with sides like cornbread, greens, and red beans with smoked turkey and beef sausage.

When you need something cold to drink that stands up to the colossal plates, you can buy punches like "Purple Rain" and "Bomb Pop" by the gallon.

And you never know who else might be with you. One time I was eating oxtails here when Darlene Ortiz appeared from outta nowhere; my mouth too full and heart too timid to confess she's half the reason Ice-T's first two tapes were the first I remember ever buying as a kid.

339 N. Fairfax Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90036

WHERE TO DRINK

THE DIME

Dime bags. Dime pieces. Rhymes like dimes.

That's the vibes at The Dime, a tiny, unadorned, beat-driven black box of a dive bar and party spot where anything and everything has gone on Fairfax for 23 years. Founded by actor and New York nightlife dude Andy Fiscella, you never know exactly what to expect but it will be fun.

It may just be you with a PBR, a great hip-hop DJ, and the bartender, conversation barely possible due to the jet engine decibels.

Or maybe it's you with some company and a clear bag full of margarita (known as the “bagorita”) as friends, old and new, twerk, shout, and stumble all around you. If it's too loud, just join the blunt smokers on the sidewalk for a breather.

There are times when the ad hoc dance floor and bare-bones bar can turn into a shitshow, but thank the gods there is still a place willing to say “fuck the rules” and invite everybody to let it all hang out. Like a real dive bar should.

Enjoy it while you can. This is the kind of genuine gem that’s been going the way of the eight-track in L.A. The Dime has nearly been dropped several times over the years. But for now, the party goes on.

442 N. Fairfax Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90036 

KIBITZ ROOM 

It’s late, and you can’t stay “here,” but you’re not ready to go home yet.

Where do we go now? Where do we go? 

Hit the 65-year-old Kibitz Room. It’s where most of Mid-City’s midnight marauders are probably heading, too. 

Another infamous dive bar of legend on Fairfax, Kibitz Room is attached to Canter’s in an ever-dark corridor of purple-tinged red light with a neon-backed bar spitting out dirty martinis and draft beer.

The nocturnal nook is short on frills save for an incredible history where everyone from the rock world has dropped in at one point or another, plus decently-priced drinks and these two other saving graces:

1. Third-generation Canter’s owner Marc Canter has turned the walls into a shrine for the glory days of Guns N’ Roses. Canter was homies with Slash at Fairfax High and his framed photos lining the room show the band chilling at the booths at Canter’s, fresh off a set or kicking someone’s ass or lecturing "Michelle" on the downsides of heroin and porno work or whatever. Elsewhere, there are a few other classic photos from great musicians’ L.A. gigs, including one from Prince's 1985 Purple Reign tour, at a show at the Fabulous Forum our mom took us to. Thanks mom.

2. It’s got a stage where you can catch some fiery shows. Earlier this year, we caught those punks Spunk, who endangered both our eardrums and public safety with a blistering early morning set in the bar.

We’ll see you there sometime after midnight. Buy us a pickle back from Pablo. Cuz’ nothin' lasts forever, and we both know hearts can change.

419 N. Fairfax Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90048 

WHERE TO SHOP

BRAIN DEAD STUDIOS 

Brain Dead Studios is part-movie theater, part-film-lover’s gift shop, touting bound archives of niche record store ads and official movie memorabilia. On the cusp of Fairfax, the two-story Brain Dead (BD) building catches your eye with its wacky 80s-esque logo and classic theater marquee, housed in the site of the old Silent Movie Theater.

Established about 12 years ago, BD moved into the Fairfax neighborhood six years ago and has been screening the most acclaimed off-kilter cinema, becoming a sort of L.A. hub for cult classics. With over 120,000 followers on Instagram, BD has seemingly developed its own cult following. 

Its screenings are members-only, and to join it’ll run you $28 per month. These memberships come with one ticket to each screening, discounts on concessions and merch, and special access to Brain Dead events.

BD is known for hosting special screenings, like an exclusive early listening party held in the dark for Mitski’s 2023 album, “The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We.” Or a recent multi-day Fantasy Fest, which included vendors, live music, and a screening of “Conan the Barbarian.”

If you’re into transgressive themes, X-rated sci-fi, and the occasional Miyazaki-animated masterpiece, this theater subscription may be more worth it than your typical membership that prioritizes mainstream blockbusters. (Cough, cough . . . AMC’s not showing Cronenberg’s “The Fly” anytime soon.)

611 N. Fairfax Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90036

GOLF WANG 

Experimental L.A. shock rapper-cum-Grammy Award-winning artist Tyler the Creator started Golf Wang, his own international chain of retail stores, which now has locations in Sydney, London, NYC, and Los Angeles. 

The L.A. location is nestled in the center of Fairfax, its large, all-caps signage a stark beacon seen from blocks away. The brand specializes in streetwear blanketed in a wave of preppiness, with sharp collars, delicate cardigans, and rugby polos juxtaposed with cargo pants, sweats, and graphic tees.

The vibe is reminiscent of 90s and early 00s graphics, rooted in the cultures of skate and underground music. There’s even a wooden bowl stretching from wall to wall. 

Tyler famously got his start co-founding Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, a collective of L.A. musicians who self-released a joint mixtape in 2007. Artists like Okonma, Syd, Frank Ocean, and Earl Sweatshirt emerged as some of the group’s most successful members.

Before Okonma played sold-out stadium shows and established the Camp Flog Gnaw music festival, his online presence consisted of low-def YouTube videos and controversial lyrics. 

GOLF WANG’s reputation has led to collaborations with well-known brands like Arizona Tea and Hollywood films like “Marty Supreme.”

This shop is a must-visit if you ever had an Odd Future phase that dominated your SoundCloud library with self-taught rap and hip-hop—that would eventually grow to influence an entire sub-genre.

350 N. Fairfax Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90036

KOSHER NEWS 

Kosher News, one of L.A.’s last existing newsstands, sells hard copies of magazines both familiar and obscure, stretching nearly an entire block on Oakwood Avenue. Shots of celebrity faces, beautiful architectural designs, and codpiece-clad cartoon barbarians fill the shelves to the brim—along with crossword puzzle books, stoner snacks, and cult favorite rags like Fangoria and Octane. We’re just happy it’s still here.

“Offline is the new luxury,” the stand claims in its Instagram bio . . .  and they might be onto something, considering absolutely everything about the world right now. There’s something nostalgic about seeing tourists and locals alike stopping on the sidewalk to flip through an issue they may or may not buy.

When patrons ask the purveyor for a certain magazine honoring their favorite Hollywood starlet, or the desperately sought-after pages of Rue Morgue magazine, you come to realize there’s a sense of dependability at Kosher News—like there’s a strong chance they will always have exactly what you’re looking for.

If you’re not a magazine junkie like some of us, and maybe just trying to cut down on screen time, it’s probably time to hit up one of L.A.’s last mag stands still standing.

370 N. Fairfax Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90036

CLASSIC FOOTBALL SHIRTS

With locations in New York City and Miami, Classic Football Shirts’ Fairfax location is L.A.’s sports jersey epicenter. Whether you call it soccer or fútbol, CFS is home to any possible jersey a fan could covet. 

“We are the home of football shirts, with over 100,000 products in stock, spanning from the 1970s to 2026,” it says on its website. “From heritage club strips to modern future classics, this is where football lives.”

With over 1.5 million followers on Instagram, CFS has garnered a massive fanbase of the game's fans. They have their Beckhams and Mbappés, but they also carry your more niche kits, making this stop both convenient and comprehensive. 

The loads of player merch filling the store work in tandem with what CFS calls their “vault” to deliver nearly every imaginable product to the football fans of L.A. That’s where they sell actual jerseys worn by players during matches, vintage and hard-to-find kits, and “classic grails.” 

Fight for a chance to wear the same top that’s been riddled with the sweat of your favorite player through CFS’s live online auctions. Every Monday, it releases another rotation of shirts from the vault, available at auction for just a week. Just don’t forget that they live in the UK time zone.

447 N. Fairfax Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90036

DOLLS KILL 

Dolls Kill is infamous for its titillating forays into alternative fashion trends (clowncore pleasers, anyone?) and for its leap from an online-only existence to a brick-and-mortar lifestyle in 2018, starting with its Fairfax location.

An interactive, immersive warehouse of kinky outfits, the space is filled with towering shelves of merchandise, while photo-ops are scattered throughout: a blood-red, butcher's strip door, mirrors decorated with graffiti, and a demonic telephone booth. It’s kind of like if a Hot Topic grew up and started an OnlyFans, without losing any of its esteem for Satan.

Categorized by styles like “rave,” “goth,” and “boho,” the brand caters to customers who can be found out late at night, haunting the dance floor at Bar Sinister or adding glamour to the edges of the pit at a synth-punk show. It’s always an entertaining place to enter and look around.

Photoshoots erring on the side of soft-core porn, including images of models wearing BDSM-inspired clothing bedecked in Christian symbolism, helped solidify the brand’s “edgy” reputation back when they were online-only. 

By specializing in items ranging from festival-ready lingerie to Demonia platforms, Dolls Kill became the ideal stop for shoppers seeking a store more risqué than H&M or Forever 21. And, of course, they sell sex toys.

With over three million followers on Instagram, it’s clear that Dolls Kill is beloved by many, but online users have often critiqued the brand for various controversies: instances of cultural appropriation in the 2010s, past allegations of art theft, and its current lack of inclusive sizing.

Since these past allegations, the brand vowed to alter their internal structure and operations and have publicized their donations to charities like NAACP Empowerment Programs “in support of BLM” and The Trevor Project, which aims to end suicide among queer youth. 

415 N. Fairfax Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90036

GOO SALON

While walking past Goo Salon, you may stop and admire the storefront, even if you’re not in need of a trim. That’s because three funky lady puppets—resembling Janice of Muppets fame—are on display, greeting everyone walking the blocks of Fairfax. 

Goo got its start pre-Y2K, established in 1999 by owner-stylist Molly Scargall, who first got into hair by styling her Barbie dolls. 

“I’m still doing what I love and have been for the last 20 years,” Scargall writes on her LinkedIn. “I’ve created a space where everyone is welcome and everyone is treated equally!”

Among this independent salon’s services are haircuts, coloring, braids, and extensions, with expertise in all hair textures. The women-led salon was declared L.A. Weekly’s best salon of 2016.

Braids accented with designs by Jennifer Sullivan and chic cuts by Scargall have helped shape the store into many locals’ go-to salon. With a reverence for L.A.'s zany creatives (and Madonna), Goo has become its own Fairfax landmark, providing cuts and more to artists, drag queens, and families.

459 N. Fairfax Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90036