P.Y.T.
Vegetarian restaurant · Downtown Los Angeles ·
Locally sourced veg dishes, juiced cocktails, plant-filled ambiance
Locally sourced veg dishes, juiced cocktails, plant-filled ambiance
"Pretty young turnips…and every other veg that Southern California can grow. GO HERE: for a not-at-all-precious ode to vegetables in all their glory, most of which have been grown under the oversight of Josef Centeno (a Top 50 alum) at a nearby urban garden. There’s meat on the menu, but you probably won’t notice it. ORDER THE: crudité platter, which changes daily (as does the rest of the menu), but always includes a Technicolor assortment of wild-looking produce that’s been grilled, roasted, and cut into cool shapes for dipping into green sauces and yogurt-based dressings. Beyond that, choose a bunch of small plates to share with your group: The seasons and vegetables change too often to reliably recommend plates. IF YOU’RE A VEGAN: good news! This is one of few joints where a top-notch chef is willing to take the meat, dairy, and other non-plant products out of most dishes. Those “vegan options” will be just as tasty as the regular menu items. THE VIBE IS: Los Angeles light-and-airy, with twinkling lights from the ceiling, specials on the chalkboard, and fiddle-leaf fig trees crowding the corners. It feels like you’re outside, even though you’re smack in the middle of DTLA. (There’s a patio, too, though inside is nicer.) GETTING IN: is hardest for the in-demand brunch (cucumber salad, FTW) but, truly, it’s more fun to eat your vegetables at dinner. Reserve a few days out. And since most tables are small, save this one for a date or smaller group." - Condé Nast
"As early as 2017 this vegetable-forward Los Angeles restaurant offered a tonburi-based caviar service that paired the seeds with accoutrements such as corn, cashew cream and capers. The chef who developed the course described being introduced to tonburi years earlier and deliberately combining it with fermented and lacto-fermented grains and seeds to add depth, signaling an intent to treat the ingredient respectfully and to create a layered, umami-rich experience rather than a straight mimic of fish roe." - Jaya Saxena
"I recalled downtown vegetable paradise PYT closing in early March after Chef Josef Centeno let go of the popular corner space; the location had a long history—from Pete’s Cafe to Centeno’s Ledlow Swan and then Ledlow—and for its final act the dining room was bifurcated to create PYT, with many of its most popular dishes now served at sister restaurant Orsa & Winston." - Eater Staff
"Downtown vegetable-focused PYT, created by Josef Centeno after a long history for the corner location (formerly Pete’s Cafe and then Ledlow), will close early next month as Centeno relinquishes control of the popular space." - Eater Staff
"Set to close early next month, this popular, vegetable-forward restaurant will shutter after chef Josef Centeno decided to hand over the corner space; Centeno told Eater that he would be letting go of the location and that the restaurant “wasn’t on the market, but I got a great offer from an operator that I feel will complement the corner.” The spot grew out of a long history at the address—after Centeno took over as executive chef in October 2014 he flipped the restaurant through concepts (Ledlow Swan, later just Ledlow) before bifurcating the dining room to create PYT—and he used PYT as overflow for other projects. Centeno built one of L.A.'s most vegetable-forward menus there, which turned heads (including the late Jonathan Gold), and many of PYT’s most popular dishes will be moving to his nearby Orsa & Winston as that restaurant skews more vegetable-heavy; the final day of service for PYT will be March 7." - Farley Elliott
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