Downtown LA, particularly its Art District, has become fertile ground for high-concept restaurants driven less by celebrity chefs (and celebrities, for that matter) and more by one-of-a-kind dining concepts and destination-defining interior design. Count Gusto Green among them. Its conversation starter is a menu 80 percent plant-forward and 20 percent omnivore-friendly, with portions and presentations designed for sharing.

Chefs Janet Zuccarini (noted for bringing notoriety to Felix Trattoria, a.k.a.Best Restaurant in America), along with her kitchen and bar teams, expresses a lot of audacity when turning familiar Los Angeles restaurant paradigms (accommodating vegans and vegetarians; farm-to-table everything) on their heads. You can expect the unexpected, from dishes weaving in unfamiliar crops like hemp (courtesy of Ziese Farms, the only federally approved purveyor of hemp leaf) to a full library of biodynamic and natural (or organic) wines, creative loaded and zero-proof cocktails, house-made kombucha, adaptogenic teas and coffees.

© Elyse Glickman

Everything is crafted from raw materials sourced from some of California’s most progressive farms. This means if you’re entertaining an out-of-town crowd craving something “a bit different” from fancy national chains or downtown staples like Botega Louie, this checks the boxes. Plan to reserve a spot before or after the mealtime rush hours to ensure you’ll be served by an adept waiter who will not only push to have your choices served at one time (as the chefs intended), but also give you a rundown of several non-traditional ingredients and their nutritional benefits.

Menu highlights include the excellent pizzas (including the surprising, completely plant-based almond ricotta eggplant, pesto, fennel pollen and fermented chili honey pizza); smoked pork ribs with hibiscus, star anise and cabbage slaw; hamachi crudo with blood orange, pistachio dukkah and black sesame; and bacon-free, roasted Brussels sprouts, charred shishito peppers, Hawai’ian palm hearts and sprouted Beluga lentil dishes.

As the anchor business of DTLA’s historic Green Street Building, interior design follows suit. It marries together greenhouse, beehive and art gallery sensibilities that just border on psychedelic while still registering as 21^st-century modern.

Gusto Green

718 S. Hill Street
Los Angeles, CA 90014
tel 323 218 0294