Hayato - ROW DTLA

Im pretty sure Chef Go breaks close to even on the kaiseke pricing itself. I think he said he lost money doing bentos but considered them a passion project.

Much like Skenes at Saison having ~60% food costs

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I think it has everything to do with Chef Go’s passion for his food. I don’t know how he makes Hayato work financially; I agree that he could easily charge a lot more. But I sense that he is not particularly interested in serving the high-rollers who will buy something expensive just because they can, without understanding or appreciating it. He wants to share with people the cuisine he loves so much, and I think he doesn’t want it to remain totally out of reach for diners who can maybe save up for a special occasion dinner (provided that they can get a reservation!).

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This is why we always buy an expensive sake when we go, as the mark-up is pretty high! Got to keep him in the black!

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Let’s be real here. Even at $260pp before drinks/tax/tip (and $295 soon), Hayato is out of range for probably 95% (?) of the general population.
I love what he is doing. It looks insanely delicious.
But, unfortunately, I will not be dining at Hayato unless someone else is paying.

Not that I don’t think it isn’t worth that much…
I, and many other, simply cannot justify spending that much on a single presumably incredible experience.

I often wonder what chefs (not just Go) that say they “do it for the art/passion” think/feel when they reach the level where they are feeding only rich people and the rare people that save up to splurge on the meal. It must be an internal struggle.

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I get it, for some people it’s just not something they’re into. I’ve found that there are certain things I won’t spend an equivalent amount of money on. For instance, I don’t really splurge on concert tickets, but I will for Hayato. It’s nearly a 4 hour meal, so the time spent is the nearly the same as a show, but it just depends on what someone wants to spend their money on.

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a couple new fall dishes:

anago and chestnut tempura

k & j orchards nashi pear, sake jelly

fuyu persimmon

and some honorable mentions because they’re so good :heart: :smiling_face_with_three_hearts: :heart:

ebi shinjo, matsutake
:fire: :fire: :fire:

sakizuke - hokkaido kegani, kani miso, kanisu sauce

sabazushi, sesame seed and myoga rice

katsuo warayaki, chive, myoga, salt, soy sauce

binchotan grilled hokkaido kinki, lotus root, sudachi

kisu tempura, eggplant soaked in kombu dashi

nabe - amadai, matsutake, mizuna

gohan - black cod saikyo yaki, mitsuba

x3

yuki-san’s wasanbon

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That sake gelée! The rice grains in that sabazushi!
:heart_eyes:

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x3 FTW

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I think we had a very similar meal as @PorkyBelly. The best meal we’ve had in LA. We enjoyed this much more than n/naka, Providence or any of the omakase experiences mostly due to Chef, his explanations of the ingredients and the quality of the food. Everything was sublime and met our expectations given the very high praise from everybody on the board. The couple at the end of the bar at one point had champagne, white wine and sake. I couldn’t see what wine they were drinking but I heard 87. The champagne was one of the Krug bottles. They seemed like regulars. I want to be them when I grow up.

Thanks again to our anonymous FTC friend for his generous extra reservation.

A few random shots of our favorite dishes.
Dewazakura Daiginjo and the cup I chose. It reminded me of the cup Indiana Jones chose in the Last Crusade.


Hairy crab with a vinegar gelee, crab brains and a few squeezes of ginger. Chef said this crab was about a one pound crab but the brains were from 3 crabs. Hoping to win the crab brain lottery.


Uni from Hokkaido. Sweet fishy salty goodness. I don’t know what he did to this but I loved it.

Young salmon roe with sake and mountain yam. Chef said in Japan they separate out this type of roe because it’s highly coveted due to the different type of membrane and it’s much less salty. Phenomenal.

The best Asian pears from a farm up in Fresno. Incredibly sweet. They source directly from the farm and they are not available at any farmers market.

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smart crabs are so tasty and delicious

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BTW Chef said 7 bowls of rice was the most anybody has eaten. I only had 3. For shame.

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How the hell are you guys getting reservations here all the time???

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Yes please do tell! Also if any of the ftc regulars are interested in doing a buy out I would be interested.

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same

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Tried last year lol

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I haven’t tried since he got star 2 but at least with tock imo it was possible to get reservations. What’s worked for me has just been going in on a single instance, timing the page refresh to the second, and being flexible with dates.

If you hesitate, miss the timing for a second, or have an incorrect setting and need to back out you’re probably done, especially with star 2 being relatively recent. Go in and don’t even think about whether it’s a good day for you or not. Look for the first blue you see and get that click in. In fact, if you know weekdays can work for you it might be safer to prepare to aim for a weekday seating as they might be marginally easier to book. Just a guess for that last bit though.

I think with 2 stars he’s more likely to pull clientele from other areas so competition is just higher than ever. I remember when I went to somni right after they’d gotten star 2 a chef told me they’d had people fly out from New York as a result.

I’m not sure it’ll work anymore but you could also wait to see if anything opens up after the 10 minute tock timeout.

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Chef Brandon doesn’t do buyouts anymore. :frowning:

But I kinda understand. The ballers and their friends would be the only clientele ever eating there.

Addendum: Just read the email from Chef Go (thanks waffles)… Yep.

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new dishes for december:

sakazuki sake cup

seikogani okayu with uchiko and sotoko eggs
chef go makes a warm porridge out of some dashi, rice and the seikogani meat, eggs and kanimiso.

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somebody mentioned this would make a great belt buckle

binchotan seared kinmedai, tosazu gelee, shiso blossoms

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goma-ae - fuyu persimmons, roasted shiitake mushrooms

magochi tempura, eggplant, ankake
pretty rare to see this outside of japan

cucumber, turnip, myoga


and the rest of the best

ebi shinjo, matsutake
serving this as a first course is like hitting a lead off home run. outstanding.

anago and chestnut tempura

sujiko, yamaimo, yuzu zest, dashi

modori-katsuo
super fatty and crispy skin

sake steamed abalone, abalone stock cubes, abalone liver sauce, wasabi

owan - wild oregon matsutake, hamo, green yuzu

binchotan grilled hokkaido kinki, lotus root, sudachi

hokkaido uni tsukudani

nabe - amadai, matsutake, mizuna

karasumi

gohan - black cod saikyo yaki, mitsuba

x3

k & j orchards nashi pear, sake jelly

yuki-san’s wasanbon

matcha

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What’s the best season to go to Hayato?

I was thinking maybe summer so you get the best of both worlds in terms of produce and seafood. Looking back to your original July 2018 post you had spot prawns, abalone, tai sashmi, corn/scallop tempura, nogoduro and market peaches. But you could have easily had Harry’s Berries and some other amazing produce.

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6.5 bowls on my last trip there (3 weeks ago).

Autumn/Winter, IMHO. But heck, the real answer on the exam is: WHENEVER YOU CAN GET A SEAT.

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