The Bottom Line
Pros
- Elegant and stylish, but casual, atmosphere and decor
- Menu selection of healthy but creative dishes in the spirit of California
- Three locations city-wide
- Their signature Bento Box is to die for
Cons
- Parking is valet or street (no private lot)
Description
- Lunch is served Monday through Friday; dinner seven nights a week.
- Chaya's cocktail menu goes with its fusion dishes, and includes Sweet Lychee, Cucumber Ginger Fizz and Coconut Saketini
- Traditional (non-fusion) sushi dishes on the menu are the crunchy shrimp roll and 'Tuna Tuna Tuna'
- The restaurant occasionally hosts winemaker dinners and offers menus geared towards special occasions (Mother's Day, Easter)
- The 'La Petite Chaya' (bar and lounge) serves up cocktails and small plates with a nightly happy hour from 5 p.m. to close.
- A three-course prix fixe dinner costs $39
Guide Review - Chaya Brasserie California Asian Fusion Restaurant in LA
LA is a new-restaurant-a-minute town. For this reason, Angelenos have a reputation for being food-fickle. However, when we’ve really found a long-term gem, we stay loyal until the end.
That said, there are few Los Angeles restaurant staples that have managed to reinvent themselves in a manner intriguing enough to pull in both fickle looky-loos and serious diners in search of mainstays. Chaya Brasserie is one of the fine few.
Chaya’s famous Venice branch has been consistently popular with locals and visitors since I was a kid. The restaurant--with locations in Downtown and near Beverly Hills--has been steadily expanding since.
In 2010, the Alden Drive location temporarily closed its doors only to re-open--menu refreshed--under the creative guidance of Japanese-French Executive Chef Harutaka Kishi (who worked and trained under Joël Robuchon and Gordon Ramsay).
The result is nothing less than spectacular and (in true California style) fresh and healthy. Chaya’s signature Bento Box is something of a rite of passage for culinarily inclined Angelenos. Beautiful on the outside and inside, so to speak, food is flawlessly presented (in six compartments) and equally tasty. It consists of salmon prepared different ways--raw and cooked--and tuna roll, beef and salad.
In a similarly light and fresh vein, their roasted beet salad is a must. Prepared with oranges and Campari, it is punctuated (visually and flavor and texture-wise) with delightful goat cheese balls rolled in a crispy grain.
If you’re feeling like something more decadent and gourmande, don’t miss sampling the very special fusion classic: confit duck ravioli with Shitake, grain mustard emulsion and sweet n' sour red cabbage. The duck is gamey and cooked to perfection; the emulsion rich and flavorful.
But be sure to save room for dessert: a delicious fallen chocolate cake; or a butterscotch flan with creme fraiche and Fleur de Sel, if you’re looking for something more unusual.
The flavors, the presentation and last but not least, the airy and chic ambience--collectively make Chaya Brasserie (on Alden Drive) one of my favorite long-standing and creative restaurants. The eatery seamlessly melds tradition and innovation--East and West. And its founders, the Tsunoda family have been perfecting such culinary finesse for over 390 years. That’s about 1000 in 'LA years.'
Chaya Brasserie
8741 Alden Dr.
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(cross street: Robertson)
310-859-8833
Other Locations:
Downtown:
525 South Flower
Los Angeles, CA 90017
213-236-9577
Venice:
110 Navy St # 1
Venice, CA 90291-2553
310-396-1179
