Following the sale of its original building, one of L.A.’s most legendary Chinese restaurants closed its doors in May. But Genghis Cohen is now reopened in a new space, with an even more elaborate dining room and new dishes and cocktails. It’s also still on the same street, just a few blocks farther south.
The fabled New York-style Chinese American restaurant serving stir-fries, tropical drinks and house specialties like the “Kanton Knish” hosted some of the world’s most famous celebrities and generations of Angelenos in its roughly 40-year run at 740 N. Fairfax Ave. The location featured a dining room bedecked with red paper lanterns, an aquarium and a large paper dragon, as well as a tandem music venue.
Owners Marc Rose and Med Abrous said they were unable to renegotiate Genghis Cohen’s lease after years of attempts with the building’s new owners, and devised a plan: reopen elsewhere in the neighborhood, first with takeout, then with dine-in service.
“We have been working our tails off to find a solution, and I believe that we found the best possible solution to a real crappy situation that we were put in,” Rose told The Times earlier this year.
They launched Genghis Cohen with delivery on June 1, taking over the former Sweet Chick space at 448 N. Fairfax Ave. Now they’ve unveiled the new dining room, which features even more neon, color and the return of its red paper lanterns and dragon.
That circle-cut fish tank is now embedded in the wall above the bar, which is also larger; given the additional bar seats, the team added a slew of new tropical cocktails, such as a boozy riff on Dole Whip dessert, plus a weekend-only late-night menu of bar bites like chicken lollipops and barbecue pork bao. New ’round-the-clock dishes include shrimp-and-chive dumplings and five-spice marinated Volcano chicken, which is set ablaze tableside.
The new Genghis Cohen lacks a private dining room as well as a music venue, but Abrous and Rose partnered with Canter’s Deli and its adjacent bar and venue, the Kibitz Room, to host a music series called “Genghis Cohen Live” on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Genghis Cohen is open Monday to Thursday from 4 to 10 p.m., Friday from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m., Saturday from midnight to 2 a.m., and Sunday from noon to 10 p.m.
448 N. Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles, (323) 653-0640, genghiscohen.com
Funke reopens
An August fire temporarily shuttered Evan Funke’s lauded eponymous restaurant in Beverly Hills, but earlier this month Funke and all its delicate, revered Italian cuisine returned.
According to a representative for the city of Beverly Hills, the small fire was contained primarily within the ventilation duct system, and the restaurant sustained minimal damage. No one was hurt in the fire, and Funke’s team attempted to reschedule guests at the chef’s other Los Angeles restaurants, Mother Wolf and Felix, while awaiting the reopening.
As of Oct. 1 Funke reopened for reservations in both its restaurant and rooftop bar. Funke is open Monday to Thursday from 5 to 10:30 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 5 to 11 p.m. Bar Funke, on the roof, is open Monday to Thursday from 5 to 11 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 5 p.m. to midnight.
9388 S. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills, (424)-279-9796, funkela.com
Chimmelier Expands
Some of the city’s top Korean fried chicken just expanded to a new home on Melrose Avenue.
Chimmelier, from In Hospitality Group, launched at Smorgasburg in 2020 with massive fried chicken sandwiches and seasoned fries that still draw lines at the weekly food festival. Chimmelier — or “chicken sommelier” — then took over the former home of the restaurant group’s previous operation, Hanchic, where it is still operating with a walk-up format in a strip mall bordering Westlake and Koreatown.
But Chimmelier’s new location, along Melrose in the Fairfax District, features indoor dining and splashes of color in street-art-inspired murals. The brand’s signature Korean fried chicken, both in sandwich and wings form, can be found here along with small plates and sides such as shrimp toast bites, tteokbokki in rosé sauce, cheese corn and kimchi fried rice. Much like at sibling concept Jilli, owners plan to introduce more Korean drinking culture to L.A. with a program for soju, locally made beer, makgeolli and natural wines in Chimmelier’s new home. Chimmelier is open daily from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
7363 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, chimmelierusa.com
The post The return of one of L.A.’s most iconic Chinese American restaurants appeared first on Los Angeles Times.
