Kato Restaurant

Underwhelmed by bar tasting menu. I had Ben really looking forward to be but for the price the quality and dishes were overall disappointing. The best dish was the supplemental course of sea urchin with caviar and ham. Service was great to start but as it got busier there were some shortcomings. For $195 plus a $45 supplement I expected more.

Overall we had a good experience at Kato. Food was good, lot of quantity and flavorful. Service is great, we arrived almost an hour early and they happily accommodated us. Something to note would be that the term “Bar tasting menu” is a bit misleading because the portion sizes of each course is a LOT. Not really a tasting menu but I would say a full fledged coursed meal. I wish we knew that and they would describe that appropriately in the website, because we ended up adding a course to our meal not knowing the plate sizing and it was a lot of food. But every course was amazing!

I had the pleasure to eat at this restaurant to celebrate my engagement with my now fiancée. The food, service and ambiance was unmatched. The staff went the extra mile throughout the whole experience.

Kato is truly a unique experience offering an elevated journey through Taiwanese and Asian flavors seen through the lens of a chef. Technique is interwoven with nostalgic flavors that lead to a joyous culinary experience. Each dish is well crafted and is layered with textures, beautiful presentation, and heightens the senses. Dining at Kato for my first meal of 2026 inspires me to continue to work harder so I have more to spend here for future occasions. Seated near the kitchen allows you to watch each chef honed in and taking care in their craft. Every garnish is delicately placed with intention. Each dish carefully inspected before it makes its way to the table. Service is impeccable especially from Nikki. Truly professional with a touch of genuine warmth and care. Beverages are also on another level. Whether you order their wine pairing or cocktails, it's a must to truly elevate the journey. Wine is chosen to pair with the Taiwanese flavor profile and cocktails are well presented and offer a depth of complex flavor. If you enjoy Asian flavors and want to see it presented center stage, Kato is my highest recommendation as it's well executed. They have earned all the recognition and awards they have received in the past years. I only see them improving and I will continue to dine here when possible.

Kato is an exceptional experience! We've dined at the bar twice, and each time the dishes have been excellent and the service is wonderful. It's our favorite celebration spot in the city.

Amazing food and service. Amazing food and service. Amazing food and service. Amazing food and service.

Wonderful creative cuisine. Top notch ingredients and excellent service from start to finish.

We had an outstanding dining experience at Kato. The food was superb, the service outstanding, and the ambiance enjoyable and lovely. There are so many great dining choices in LA, and my husband and I could not have been happier to have allotted a dining slot to Kato during our LA vacation. It was a very special meal with our son that we will always remember and cherish. Also, sometimes Michelin-starred restaurants in the US are not quite like their European counterparts in terms of standards, but Kato has certainly earned its star (and then some) in every way. Every member of the service team was excellent and at the top of their game. In particular, we were lucky enough to have Nathan and Fern overseeing our incredible dining and wine experience. But let me circle back to the absolutely delicious food and their outstanding wine list. Kato is a culinarian's delight. Just make a reservation, and you will thank yourself later.

Would just very heavily recommend this place for anyone looking to splurge on a date night in the City of Angels. The atmosphere, the space, and the vibe are very welcoming. Situated in a converted warehouse district type deal. Simplistic but warm with nice music and a super friendly staff. They offer an 8-10 course tasting menu based on ingredients from Southern California and probably 6/8 savory were fish related. Excellent service on par with the Michelin Star. All the little things hit even asking about our drive up from SD cause they knew we lived there somehow. The wine list is unreal. 70 pages kept across 6 cellars within the building or within a half mile of the restaurant. They have the biggest Reisling collection in the US. Wine pairings were masterfully paired with the dishes they came with. Great wines but truly elevated by the food as a combo. Bravo here. Food was excellent and the flavor and taste matched the beautiful presentation. My only qualm is I didn't like the wait staff's outfits. They looking like they were wearing beige lab coats and I thought it was kinda beat tbh. Side note they also do a cheaper and abbreviated tasting menu at their bar! Hard hard recommend. Do yourself a favor and check this place out

The service started out very well, but by the end of the night, we sat waiting for desserts and coffee to come out for a long time. The food was disappointing. We found shells in the fish maw soup and the lobster was raw for our dishes. They made a new one for me which was cooked correctly. For a Michelin star restaurant that specializes in seafood, it is disappointing that the chefs couldn't cook lobster. The other dishes were underwhelming except for the quail which was cooked perfectly. The desserts didn't have enough contrast in texture and some didn't have enough flavor. The cocktails didn't taste good either except for the milk punch. I am surprised that this restaurant has maintained its Michelin star status. Very disappointing for a meal that cost over $500 a person which included the tasting menu add ons and cocktails.

Kato delivered an exceptional dining experience from start to finish. The ambiance was beautiful, warm, inviting, and impeccably clean. Each dish was presented with delicate precision, and the overall presentation truly elevated the experience. The drink pairings complemented the food perfectly, enhancing each course without overpowering the flavors. Service was superb as well; the team not only attended to every detail but also shared thoughtful storytelling about the food and its history, which added so much depth to the meal. Overall, Kato is a standout restaurant that blends atmosphere, flavor, and service seamlessly. Highly recommended for anyone looking for a refined and memorable dining experience.

A dream come true

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Food is simply outstanding; not a single dish was below very good and each are unique and diverse in taste, texture and experience. Two particular offerings were simply divine:the Suancai Yu and the Hongshao Rou. Neither was authentic of course but they were certainly elevated offerings and what was refreshing in a fine dining setting is that both have a little spicy kick to them, which is an element usually missing in this setting to my disappointment but not at KATO. The crispness on the fish skin paired with the amazingly soft and perfectly cooked fish and the peppery soup was out of this world and so was the softly melting flavorful beef; yup beef not pork, yet it work like gangbuster - the additions of tiny tendons by Chef Yao to this dish is divinely inspired. Service is rather mixed unfortunately. While pacing was great, actual wait staff experience varied greatly from one staff to the next. One staff would be experienced, friendly and confident while the next feels like he's on his first week at the job and struggling to describe the dishes with volume going up and down on purpose. Ambiance was good with the only detractors are passerby looking into the windows from outside; had this location not be on the ground floor, the floor-to-ceiling glass windows would work much better. I do have to stay that I am not a fan of the wait staff grayish "jacket" - the cut is simply poor and the color looks dingy instead of the muted and "easier to hide booboo than whites" it wanted to be. It reminded me of factory uniform in Asian country for "not so clean" manufacturing area. Overall, the food is truly outstanding and simply makes up for all the other not so perfect issues. Definitely a two Michelin star food level with so very close to three stars experience actually (the Youtiao and both desserts could use tweaking). The service is really what drop this restaurant from a two to only a one star in my opinion - nothing that a rigorous training wouldn't fix.

Kato was an absolutely stunning menu with an exceptional staff. There's a reason it persisted through covid until now.

Food is great but stupidly expensive. One-bite snack for 45 bucks is insane, even in LA. Literally, one plate was suppose to be eaten in a single bite and cost 45. I had 3 of these “bar snacks,” a cocktail, and a glass of wine and spent $230. On what planet is this reasonable? Service was remarkable though.