Hayato - ROW DTLA

You never cease to amaze.

Know and follow the rules, and often the rezzie materializes…

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another congratulations to the notorious B.H.G.

https://www.instagram.com/p/ByVi0w7hnsq/

For a professional chef, a Michelin star is not something like a trophy that you win and just put on the mantle for the rest of your life. When guests see this and come in, they do not come out of respect for what you have done, they come because they have an expectation of what you will do. If you choose to participate and identify yourself as a Michelin-star restaurant, then there is also an obligation to live up to the responsibility that comes with it.
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When a professional athlete gets to the big leagues, they play on the nicest fields with the best equipment, and every day they have an opportunity to show a global audience what they are capable of. Working in a Michelin-star restaurant is no different - every day we have access to the best ingredients and the finest dishware, and we get an opportunity to show what we can do with all these things to the dining public. It is the ultimate privilege as a professional chef to work in such a setting and make a living at it. It is not something we take for granted.
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A heartfelt thank you to @michelinguidefor including us in a very special group that covers the entire globe. As we close in on the end of our first year of service this is an unbelievable gift. To all our customers: Thank you for enabling us to do what we dream of doing as professional chefs. We walk in the doors every morning thinking about serving each of you as best we can. Work on Star #2 starts now!

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Summer 2019 Menu

hayato is one of the best dining experiences in la, the food is excellent of course but what puts it over the top is the incredible service, hospitality and the ability to interact with chef go and his team. Being able to ask questions, share anecdotes and eating adventures just makes for a very fun and enjoyable evening. One story chef go shared with us was the time he went to felix. since he doesn’t go to the westside too often he wanted to try as much as he could so he crushed three appetizers and four pastas… by himself #notallheroeswearcapes. i think chef go can give @J_L and @moonboy403 a run for their eating money.

notes:

  • dinner is now $240 with a 16% service charge
  • starting july 1st chef go will be releasing a month’s worth of reservations at a time. this should make it easier for people to get reservations instead of having to stay up until midnight every night.

sakizuke - live santa barbara spot prawns, seared over binchotan, okra, tosazu jelly (rice vinegar, dashi, white soy sauce, mirin), shiso flowers
the tart tosazu jelly is nicely balanced with the sweet medium rare prawns. fun fact: the japanese plates for this course are 250 years old. so old @linus was eating off of them as a kid.

kakiage tempura - hokkaido scallops, corn
Salty, crunchy deliciousness

bozushi - aji (hyogo japan, spanish mackerel), chive rice, ginger
soft and lush with just the right amount of fat. highlight.

(new) owan - somen noodles, amadai (tilefish)
the amadai was sweet and had a firm and flaky texture that was incredible. chef go’s dad’s favorite fish. highlight

sashimi - tai (kagoshima sea bream), inada (kagoshima wild yellowtail), akagai (korean ark shell),
salt, soy sauce, wasabi, raw nori, myoga (japanese ginger shoot), shiso

another akagai alert @Chowseeker1999, @Sgee, @beefnoguy, @BradFord
chef go may have shed some light on the recent akagai sightings. he said there’s a new seller at the market that ships akagai pre-shucked, so maybe that’s how they’re able to ship them to the us.
hayato_20190621_200140_1

the notorious B.H.G. #hair @TheCookie

sake steamed abalone, abalone stock cubes, abalone liver sauce, wasabi
excellent

binchotan grilled nodoguro (ishikawa prefecture blackthroat seaperch), maui onions, dark soy sauce
holy shit this was good, chef go mentioned this was the fattiest nodoguro he’s seen and as great as all the other ones i had were this was the by far the best. cooked perfectly over the fire as always and literally dripping with fat. when i was done there was a pool of liquid fat on the plate. the maui onion was another highlight and had the sweetness of caramelized onions but still had a slight bite. highlight of the year.

(new) anago (yamaguchi prefecture sea eel), ankake (thickened dashi), tokyo negi (japanese leek)

shabu shabu - a5 omigyu ribeye (shiga prefecture), komatsuna greens (japanese mustard spinach), shiitake mushrooms
rich and tender with tons of beefiness.

chinmi - konoko (salted sea cucumber ovaries)
brininess of oysters with a hit of umami

(new) japanese rice set course - miso soup, pickles, hojicha tea, dungeness crabs, kanimiso
this was only the second time chef go has made this dish and the first time serving it to customers. the meat and brains from three whole dungeness crabs were used for this dish and it was probably the best version of his rice course that i’ve had so far. highlight.

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x3

harry’s berries gaviota strawberries, kinako (roasted soy bean flour) whipped cream, sencha matcha green tea

washington rainier cherries
sweet and snappy

pre-dinner amuse bouche

first stop was closed

second stop

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All aji looks so scrumptious this month!

That crab rice.

Also come July 1 he’s opening the full month for reservations.

Crap, continues to elude me. Went to SGO NY last week after your LA dinner report. Requested akagai… “…it’s illegal… no akagai” :cry:

Come down to LA. They’re everywhere now!

Peeps in LA are sooo shady

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Great report @PorkyBelly. :slight_smile: Looks like your visit was similar to ours with some swaps like the wonderful looking crab rice and akagai. I love the nodoguro, wasn’t it just amazing? :blush:

Hayato is definitely a highlight of L.A.

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Going very soon… So excited. Damn I have sooo many meals to write up just from this month alone. I need an intern.

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will be your intern if you take me to eat with you

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Can I volunteer, too?

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You mean hojicha not horchata right?

Thanks fixed.

Horlick?

Horjicha sounds like a fun fusion drink, probably will taste like nigori with some bitterness and astringency. Might want to pair that with the Harry’s berries strawberry dessert with strawberry ankake sauce, drizzle of 18 year aged balsamic reduction, freeze dried shaved strawberries, and strawberry tosatsu gelee with a side comparision of Amabuki Junmai Ginjo brewed with strawberry yeast sake.

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All the Hayato reports are killing me. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

This will seem weird because everything seems sensational and I would love it all, but I want to dive into that simple looking Owan (somen noodles, amadai, dashi). I love thin noodles in broth and somen looks impossibly thin and then paired with that piece of grilled amadai… Oh Lordy! I wonder where to find a bowl of those noodles where I won’t have to pay $240+ just to get at them. :slight_smile:

Question: what are the crispy, airy, balls in the miso soup?

P.S. That seems like shabu shabu even you could love.

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At this point it might be easier to just book a flight to Japan and go to a random kaiseki restaurant. I love Hayato, dont get me wrong, but he’s still not on the average level of kaiseki in Japan yet and that’s fine he needs time to find his groove and figure out his own unique identity.

That said last time I asked Chef Brandon to help me with reservations to Kohaku where he worked at. I’m kinda hoping he can get me into Goryukubo next time.