Hollywood’s not just a place where deals get struck and movies get made—it’s a massive neighborhood, covering several miles between the 101 and La Brea that are thick with offices and apartments, sound stages and record stores, and it has also become a neighborhood jam-packed with great restaurants.

You may have to navigate tourist-riddled Hollywood Boulevard and it may take 15 minutes to drive the two blocks from the 101 off-ramp to the Netflix compound, but these days it’s worth braving all of the above and more to try inventive Japanese cuisine from a Nobu-trained chef, extravagant prix-fixe menus that live up to their Michelin stars, and buzzy openings from chefs that are as famous as their guests. And since it’s Hollywood, you might even have a literal brush with celebrity—maybe it’s a Chris, a Jennifer, or a Keanu, or maybe that security guard played Sexy Australian Corpse 3 on a mini-arc of CSI:Van Nuys. Star power aside, here are 25 Hollywood restaurants ranging from classic eateries to date night picks to our favorite Mexican and Italian spots, to keep on your Walk of Fame list.

Ben Mesirow is an Echo Park native who writes TV, fiction, food, and sports. At one time or another, his writing has appeared in The LA Times, Litro, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, Los Angeles Magazine, and scratched into dozens of desks at Walter Reed Middle School.