New Sichuan restaurant on the second level of the Brentwood Gardens plaza.
Anyone been?
Guyi Restaurant
11677 San Vicente Blvd
Brentwood
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We will see how long it lasts. The menu looks a bit too adventuresome for the 90049 crowd and i am not sure what the lease payments are, but if the Daily Grill couldn’t make a go of it in that mall, i am not sure if GuYi can.
I peeked inside the other night. Nice decor. The menu is just a bit too authentic for Brentwood. The only way I see this place succeeding is if Jonathan Gold sees it as an alternative to going to SGV for westsiders. That third floor space in Brentwood Gardens has been a revolving door for years. I wish them well but hope they did not sign a long lease.
i ate there the other night.
had the ribs with soy sauce 19.00
30% off till 3/14
wasn’t happy with my meal,took forever to get them.
they had tripe and intestines on the menu.
Er, how did the ribs taste?
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also boiled fish and boiled beef and pig knuckle on the menu. This is definitely not American Chinese.
they were okay,not great-very tender
I don’t know why you and @littlestevie stereotype people in the Westside as not being adventurous eaters.
Although we are just beginning to have authentic Chinese restaurants; we have long had Japanese restaurants that serve things like squid with squid gut sauce, natto, fish that is still squirming, mountain yam, etc. There is a Himalayan restaurant close to me that serves yak stew. There is a nearby Persian restaurant that serves tongue and brain sandwiches. There is an Indonesian restaurant nearby that is the only food I’ve tried that is too spicy for me to eat. All of these restaurants have been serving “adventurous” food in the Westside and thriving.
As someone that was born and raised on the westside, I still think I know the mindset. It is not so much that there are no adventuresome eaters on the westside, but are there enough that can sustain this restaurant in a fairly pricey lease. I don’t think Persian and Japanese are perfect comparisons. There is a fairly large Persian community in Westwood that has been there since the mid 70’s and it is very well established and they can sustain a number of restaurants. The westside Japanese community has been around longer than that, and the Sawtelle district has been a draw since before I was born. There are certainly more Chinese on the westside than when I was a child, and if the food is good enough at GuYi, they will go there. But are there enough non Chinese to frequent this place, for it to be successful?
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True.
Would add:
Bel Air/Brentwood/Palisades/Malibu is decidedly not Sawtelle and caters to a particularly non-adventurous palate. Sure some folks will drive from out of the area to a non-SGV place that serves good Chinese food but I would not expect most of the “locals” to sustain an SGV quality Szechuan place. Maybe UCLA studs will Uber over if it is really good.
To me adventurous eaters are people who eat food that they didn’t grow up with. I believe that the Westside has more adventurous eaters than the San Gabriel Valley. We have many different ethnicities and cultures represented in our restaurants. The restaurants I’ve seen in the San Gabriel Valley are overwhelmingly Chinese and don’t even represent many different regions of China.
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No doubt.
But you don’t need to be adventurous to eat in SGV.
#BecauseChinesePeopleGrewUpEatingChineseFood
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It’s good. See my directed post
Gu Yi - Darn Good Szechuan at Brentwood prices - Gu Ahead and try it!
Looking forward to how they develop - rent must be killer and no booze to offset (yet).
There is an $18.99 “Griddle Cooked Cauliflower” I was tempted to try - mostly to be cheeky (I don’t think Spago would dare charge as much for cauliflower) but passed. New Menu coming - I would guess they will add Tooth Pick Shit and other dishes/non-alcoholic beverages, a la Cheng-du Taste. Can I even hope for frog and rabbit on San Vicente? Kermit and Bugs on fire in the heart of Tinseltown would be mind-blowing.
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I second CiaoBob’s assessment. I’ve now been to all three new Sichuan places on the Westside (Guyi, Sichuan Impression and the updated dishes at Hop Woo) and I’ve found Guyi’s to be the best so far. Had the water boiled fish, husband and wife offal slices, cumin lamb, pork & leek dumplings and a choy greens with garlic. All very good to excellent, all served promptly and professionally. Not quite as pricey as Sichuan Impression and a bit better to boot. Just wish they had beer!
I know you like the Gu Yi more in general, but do you think this dish specifically is better at Gu Yi vs. Hop Woo? I tried Hop Woo for the first time (ever) ~2 wks ago, and I thought the fish was AMAZING. And it was also a VERY generous portion for the price.
I agree that Hop Woo’s portions were good with plenty of fish. I just liked the flavor better at Guyi. Although it is not a dish of delicacy and finesse, Guyi’s water boiled fish just seemed more balanced and easier to enjoy (though both versions were plenty spicy and oily and made me sweat).
now closed
Oh, that’s really sad to read. I was kind of shocked that it opened in that location and lasted as long as it did. I really enjoyed the food there and hope they open somewhere nearby. I imagine that huge space must’ve been very expensive (esp in that location).
Does anyone have any intel?
Edit: from one Yelp pic, it looks like Guyi abandoned the property? Oh, dear…
Lasted longer than I expected, to be honest…
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