INDUSTRY INSIGHT: 
Downtown Dining
Chaya’s Charm Goes Urban
By Elyse Glickman
When it comes to impressing out-of-town business associates, your best bet is to dazzle them with a spot that brings the best sensory aspects of L.A. together. Then again, impressing local colleagues is probably also a wise move. Since 1981, Chaya has been that “go to” restaurant.
Chaya Downtown
City Nat’l Plaza
525 S. Flower St.
Los Angeles, CA 90071
(213) 236-9577
Chaya Venice
110 Navy Street
Venice, CA 90293
(310) 396-1179
Chaya Beverly Hills
8741 Alden Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(310) 859 -8833
Chaya’s roots date back nearly 400 (!) years to a successful restaurant empire in Japan owned by the Tsunoda family. Today, executive chef Shigefumi Tachibe keeps that legacy alive and interesting with a mix of Asian and European culinary flourishes that defy such pat labels as “fusion” and “Franco-Japonais.” Under his watch, the California branch of the Chaya family took root with the elegant, beachy-keen Chaya Venice (revered for its sushi offerings) and Chaya Beverly Hills. A Chaya seed planted in food-conscious San Francisco has also blossomed into a bright success story.
While M Café, Chaya’s latest offshoot, generated well-deserved excitement with its chic macrobiotic/vegetarian menu, the discerning diner with a reputation to uphold will embrace Chaya Downtown for a number of reasons—starting with the fact that it is a vibrant alternative to the financial district steakhouse. Though there are many excellent shrines to filet mignon and prime rib nearby, Chef Tachibe, ace mixologist Mary Thompson, and the rest of the team understand there are times when the mood and food are best kept light, refreshing, and festive.
Though Chaya Downtown offers L.A.’s hardest working residents a sexy happy hour from Monday through Saturday, its strongest draw is still the cheerful food menu and sushi bar. Chef de Cuisine Kazuya Matsuoka delivers food that lives up to the promises made on the menu. The ingredients are fresh, the textures and aromas are alluring, and sauces and condiments applied with a delightfully spare touch. Even meat dishes, such as a Kobe beef filet and short ribs platter, stir the soul without weighing one down.
While other L.A. dining scene upstarts focus on trendy innovations to keep diners’ attention, Chaya Downtown knows a mix of modern and post-modern fare from the executive chef’s repertoire will keep everybody coming back. The dishes are also very sharable, turning dinner with appetizers into a sociable do-it-yourself food festival. You may be surprised by what conversations can arise as your group exchanges bites of Chaya’s enduring tuna tartare (dating to the 80s) and a burata cheese and tomato salad with unfamiliar surprises of house-cured maple leaf duck prosciutto and escargot/chopped mushroom cocotte. Though one cannot go wrong with Chaya’s long-perfected miso-marinated sea bass, anybody who takes a chance on the Crunchy Arare Coated Halibut (seamlessly mixing Asian textures and Italian flavors) will be richly rewarded. The same goes for the desert menu. While Chaya’s chocolate confections consistently win raves, you will also be delighted with the tart flair of lemon and cherry-based desserts and yogurt ice creams.
Ambiance-wise, Chaya Downtown has its own unique flavor that separates it from its siblings. Its warm, loft-style space across from the city library is at once both an escape from the city pulse and a celebration of it. Whether one is organizing a lunch meeting or chilling out with friends after work, there’s no better, so L.A. spot to do it in than Chaya Downtown.
