He’s dreamy. The French Chef. The French chef who speaks Japanese and cooks Japanese food. And oh, Rick Bayless likes his sushi with mole spices.

None of the previous was disclosed while the menu was being previewed at Chaya Brasserie Beverly Hills. All we knew was there was a new gent in the kitchen named Harutaka Kishi and he’s got a big knife. With thee knife came a reworked Chaya menu

The new menu, named “La Petite”, can be sampled from the front “bar” area. To the rear, a market-inspired prix fixe menu is still served in the main “Brasserie” room. However, very little physical demarcation is present to separate the flow of the entire lofted space. As soon as one picks up the “Little” menu, the transformation is visible. While the historical “tuna tartare” (c. 1984) remains, the sushi roll of the old “Happy Hour” menu is shortened, and the remainder of the menu, from the foie chicken parfait, to the salmon rilette and “Moroccan” lamb meatballs, shows a decidedly French flair.

After spending the last few years within the Gordon Ramsay empire, it is certain Chef Haru unders the strict regimen of quality control and a kitchen’s pride. It seems Chaya has ultimately found the perfect chef for the Beverly Hills location in Kishi. The man has no problem executing haute cuisine, but he’s able to drizzle the yuzu into an apple salad and marinade using miso just as easily as the next guy, if not more so.

Out of the dishes sampled at the gratis dinner, the crowd wavered between the smoked then braised pork belly, the duck prosciutto (house cured) & the salmon rillette when selecting favorites. Personally, eating lamby things preceded by the word “Morraccan” automatically puts me in the mood to watch Casablanca so that dish was plenty cheery for me; the green tea fettucine Wagyu bolognaise (not pictured) was absolutely a surprise despite the matcha apparently used for food coloring purposes only. Also worth mentioning is the holiday appropriate sangria made with spiced apple cider. This was tasty enough to pair with nearly all petite bites sampled without further diving into the cocktail menu. Will be replicating at home ASAP.

For New Years Eve, Chaya is running a low key jazz combo with no cover in the bar lounge:

Chaya Beverly Hills
(310) 859-8833
8741 Alden Dr
Los Angeles, CA 90048
www.thechaya.com

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