Inside LA’s hottest new food market

Inspired by Mexico City’s bustling stalls and Seoul’s lively night markets, this is Michelin-starred DC chef Rose Previte’s most ambitious project to date. It spans five different LA concepts, plus two of her own from DC, exploring foodways stretching from Tangier to Tehran and Batumi to Beirut, all housed within a sprawling West Adams complex.

Wallpaper* dines at Maydan Market, Los Angeles

The mood: warehouse-style Moroccan bazaar

While Los Angeles has food and product markets (such as Grand Central Market in DTLA), there has been nothing quite like Maydan Market (named after, and including an outpost of, Previte’s Washington, DC Maydan restaurant). Upon entering through the double Moroccan doors, you're confronted by a massive copper range hood towering above the central hearth, which is surrounded by a bar for dining, drinking, and enjoying a front-row seat to the live-fire cooking action.

Every inch of the place offers another discovery: from hand-painted murals to throws, rugs, and other eclectic items sourced from thrift shops and Middle Eastern furniture stores, including the Burbank-based Moroccan store Badia.

The lighting within the Maydan restaurant section was inspired by Château Mukhrani, a renowned Georgian winery, featuring myriad designs, including those of Fortuny, based in Venice. Previte also incorporated crochet lamps from Hamimi, handcrafted by a Moroccan women’s collective, alongside pieces by LA-based artisans.

The market was built by ITX Construction Consultants and designed in collaboration with NCA Studios, with Preen (of Lucia and Club 88) overseeing the design finishes.

The food: live fire and plenty of spice

It will be hard to choose which stall to visit first, though you can also take a seat in the Maydan section (ask for corner booth number 11 if you can), where you’ll be tucked away yet still able to see the action across the vast space.

If you’re dining as a group, order Mayden’s family-style spread: freshly baked bread, hummus, halloumi, charred carrots, and honey-soaked dates, with your choice of protein (opt for the turmeric chicken or rib-eye). For à-la-carte ordering, the shrimp or market vegetables are a must.

Alternatively, wander over to Yhing Yhang BBQ from Holy Basil (which began at Smorgasburg open-air market at the Row DTLA), celebrating Thailand’s gai yhang. Lugya’h, by James Beard Award-nominated Poncho’s Tlayudas (a former East LA pop-up), focuses on Oaxacan flavours, while Maléna, a new concept from the team behind the lauded food truck Tamales Elena, offers its own regional take. Sook represents the next generation of Middle Eastern markets – part grocery, part modern culinary retail – where you can buy everything from house-made spice mixes to candles and lip balm.

Maydan Market is located at 4301 W Jefferson Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90016, United States.

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Carole Dixon is a prolific lifestyle writer-editor currently based in Los Angeles. As a Wallpaper* contributor since 2004, she covers travel, architecture, art, fashion, food, design, beauty, and culture for the magazine and online, and was formerly the LA City editor for the Wallpaper* City Guides to Los Angeles.