The latest Sbe Entertainment hotspot brings together two completely different concepts under one roof – paella and sushi – at the outdoor Westfield in Century City, Los Angeles. After a day of shopping or an evening film excursion, the connecting spaces of Casa Dani by three-Michelin-starred Spanish chef Dani García and Katsuya by master sushi chef Katsuya Uechi, designed by David Rockwell of the Rockwell Group, offer a welcome respite with plenty of patio views and bar spaces.
Wallpaper* dines at Casa Dani and Katsuya Century City, Los Angeles
The mood: a playground for indoor-outdoor dining and drinking
The two side-by-side restaurants feature a stunning circular bar and an open-air garden with a terrace overlooking the Beverly and Hollywood Hills – the perfect view for an olive oil martini with Kastra Elion vodka. ‘While the two [connecting] restaurants don’t share a design ethos, the outdoor bar is a transitional connector,’ said Greg Keffer, partner and studio leader at the Rockwell Group. ‘What they do share is the opportunity for guests to be transported for the evening.’
Opposite an open kitchen, the Casa Dani dining room is anchored by a curved, hand-glazed green tile fireplace, which serves as the focal point of a space filled with neutral-toned leather banquettes and tables. Meanwhile, in the Katsuya space, the design evokes a raw, minimalist Japanese aesthetic with a monochrome palette. The dining room features a natural wood post-and-beam ceiling, with ribbed wood details on the columns extending down to wood floors. Dramatic, mottled metal bell pendants hang between the beams, filling the overhead space with sculptural impact.
The food: The best of both worlds
As the name suggests, Casa Dani offers a home-away-from-home setting that is not fine dining, but a showcase of Spanish culture through a modern Mediterranean lens. Just like at his New York outpost, García’s food is rooted in contrasts, textures and temperatures. While you can expect comforting paellas – from vegetarian to chicken or seafood – and other traditional nods to Andalusian cooking such as Ibérico ham, García takes things a step further with dishes like truffled onion on his tortilla slice, oxtail brioche with ‘bull sauce’, and a tomato tartare. For dessert, García’s burnt Basque cheesecake features an earthy goat’s cheese.
Katsuya Century City continues its nearly 20-year tradition of high-quality sushi into a new era, adding toro tartare with Oscietra caviar and tangy kizami wasabi, alongside A5 wagyu tataki with ‘truffle snow’. The signature baked crab hand rolls, spicy tuna tartare on crispy grilled sushi rice, and yellowtail jalapeño with onion ponzu remain staples – and an order of rock shrimp with ponzu mayo is always a must for the table, accompanied by plenty of premium sake.
Can’t decide? The Garden Menu on the terrace offers a smattering of small bites and cocktails from both menus.
Casa Dani and Katsuya Century City are located at 10268 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90067, United States.
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