How to get into 9 L.A. hot spots

Here are nine of L.A.’s hardest reservations. We can’t make any promises, but we can suggest a few strategies for anyone in search of their dream dinner.

Animal

Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo’s restaurant has been a tough reservation almost since it opened in 2008, for which you can thank the Food Network and the New Yorker. If you try to reserve via the restaurant’s website, you’ll be booking through Resy, which lets you book about 10 days in advance. But you can walk in and try for a seat at the bar. 435 N. Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles. (323) 782-9225, www.animalrestaurant.com

Bestia

Bestia, chef-owner Ori Menashe’s downtown restaurant, has been a rough get from the start. If you reserve via the restaurant website, you’ll be connected to OpenTable, which is frequently a frustrating experience because the prime-time reservations always seem to be unavailable — even several weeks in advance. Table8 includes Bestia, but those tables are sometimes unavailable as well. Best strategies? Try for a table at 5:30 p.m. and call to check on cancellations — or walk in and hope for the best. 2121 E. 7th Place, Los Angeles. (213) 514-5724, bestiala.com

Gjelina

Have you ever driven past Gjelina without spotting a line of customers outside waiting for a table? Travis Lett’s Venice restaurant is a hot spot with hot customers and a hot wait staff, so that line has been standard for most of the six years it’s been open. On the Gjelina website reservations are handled by Resy; Table8 also lists the restaurant. But those lines outside are an indication that dedicated walk-ins do get in, so maybe just get in line. 1429 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Los Angeles. (310) 450-1429. www.gjelina.com

Gwen

Curtis Stone and his brother Luke Stone opened Gwen — a restaurant and a butcher shop — in Hollywood this year, and its place on the hot list was assured from the outset. Like Maude, which Curtis opened in 2014, ticketed reservations go on sale on the first of the month for the following month, although, with 78 seats, you might have a better chance of reserving a table. Feeling lucky? Gwen “absolutely” accepts walk-ins, according to its website. 6600 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles. (323) 946-7500, www.gwenla.com

Maude

Tickets for Stone’s 25-seat restaurant in Beverly Hills go on sale at 10 a.m. the first of every month for the following month — and most are purchased in a matter of minutes. If you don’t get a prime-time slot, you might want to rethink your timing: It might be possible (but not necessarily probable) to snag two seats at the bar at, say, 5:30 p.m. 212 S. Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills. (310) 859-3918, www.mauderestaurant.com

Norah

Norah is relatively new, hard to find and wildly popular. The website uses OpenTable and Table 8, and you can book up to two weeks in advance; plan ahead and you might get a primetime table. You can also walk in, and eat your dinner at the bar. 8279 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood. (323) 450-4211, www.norahrestaurant.com

n/naka

Many Angelenos who drive by this unobtrusive restaurant on Overland Avenue near Palms Boulevard have no idea it is one of the most highly sought-after reservations in Southern California. Each dish in chef Niki Nakayama’s multi-course

kaiseki meals is exquisite, which may be why there are no apparent openings between now and the end of the year. Reservations are made through Resy, which will allow you to use a “notify” feature, just in case someone changes their mind and cancels. Hopefuls are asked to type in their preferred “start” times. Then you pray. 3455 W. Overland Ave., Los Angeles. (310) 836-6252, n-naka.com

Republique

Republique, chef Walter Manzke’s “super bistro” on La Brea Avenue, opens at 8 a.m. but takes reservations only for dinner. On the restaurant’s website, the reservations tab will take you to OpenTable, where you can book up to months in advance; the restaurant is also listed on Table8. If you’re willing to dine at an early hour — the bar opens at 5:30 p.m. — you might succeed as a walk-in. 624 S. La Brea Ave., Los Angeles. (310) 362-6115, republiquela.com

Trois Mec

Ticketed reservations for Trois Mec, the midcity French restaurant from Ludo Lefebvre, Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo, go on sale every other Friday at 10 a.m. If that doesn’t work, check out the restaurant’s Facebook page or Twitter account: Sometimes seats become available and are announced on social media. 716 N. Highland Ave., Los Angeles. www.troismec.com