Kato offers a vibrant fusion of Taiwanese flavors in a casual strip-mall setting, where innovative tasting menus and warm service take center stage.
"Jon Yao presents upscale Chinese flavors with standout dishes like a chawanmushi with caviar and a fish maw soup. Kato was named 'One to Watch' by the World's 50 Best." - Eater Staff
"Kato remains a destination for its elegant, Taiwanese and Los Angeles-influenced tasting menus. Reservations are hard to score, plus there’s a $383 price tag ($218 for the bar tasting menu) for dishes like A5 strip loin grilled and served with potatoes, black garlic, and braised tendon in a beautiful, understated dining room. Given its recent ascension back to the top of the Los Angeles Times “101 Best Restaurants” list and its continued Michelin star rating, it’s clear the critics have anointed Kato as one of the best places to eat in the city." - Matthew Kang
"Chef Jon Yao and his team have carried the torch of Taiwanese cuisine for almost seven years since its origins at a West LA strip mall. In its dining room in Downtown LA’s expansive Row project, Kato has a menu focused on the subtle, elegant flavors served in a handsome but relaxed space. The tasting menu, featuring intricate bites of caviar-studded Dungeness crab with Chinese celery or grilled freshwater eel served over seaweed fried rice, costs about twice what it did in West LA. But the menu boasts a more thoughtful progression of whimsical bites to more substantial explorations of Taiwanese comfort fare, and the service situation is multitudes better than the original Kato. Plus, everything from the wine list to the cocktail menu are world-class, with compelling vintage bottles to inventive milk punches or shaken drinks designed by bartender Austin Hennelly. — Matthew Kang, lead editor, Southern California/Southwest" - Eater Staff, Rebecca Roland, Matthew Kang, Mona Holmes
"Though the multi-hour dinner menu at Kato may be a bit much for a first date, don’t count it out entirely. The bar at Kato offers small bites and cocktails, as well as reservations for a slimmed-down version of the tasting menu that also costs a bit less. Expect a handful of dishes at the bar including milk bread and a buttery uni donut, plus an inventive cocktail menu that also includes non-alcoholic options." - Rebecca Roland, Matthew Kang
"Though the multi-hour dinner menu at Kato may be a bit much for a first date, don’t count it out entirely. The bar at Kato offers small bites and cocktails, as well as reservations for a slimmed-down version of the tasting menu that also costs a bit less. Expect a handful of dishes at the bar including milk bread and a buttery uni donut, plus an inventive cocktail menu that also includes non-alcoholic options." - Rebecca Roland, Matthew Kang
