The team behind Lake Tahoe’s Smoke Door opens its newest and first Los Angeles restaurant on Friday, April 17. Bengara debuts in the Arts District’s former Taberu space, with a menu centered on Japan’s binchotan charcoal, but genshiyaki-style with meats cooked slowly over low heat.
Smoke Door chef and owner Tyler Burges and lead chef Phil Mireles (both worked together at Saison and Angler) composed a raw, cured, and grilled foods menu with ingredients sourced from Japanese and Los Angeles vendors. Opt for the teuchi citrus soba, grilled rice skewer with uni and red miso, pork shoulder with house bacon and fermented garlic, and kinako ice cream (roasted soybean flour). Beverages span beer, shochu, sake, and cocktails like the shiro Negroni with shochu, sweet vermouth, and rosemary.
Bengara, whose name references a traditional Japanese red iron oxide pigment, features a stunningly reworked space that includes 69 indoor seats, plus 30 on the patio. The room is enveloped by a hand-painted mural, and the dining room blends industrial cement with softer woods.
Bengara is open from 5 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday, and until 10:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday at 806 E. 3rd Street #140, Arts District, CA 90013.
Meats prepared genshiyaki-style. Wonho Frank Lee
Things that only happen in Los Angeles between Coachella weekends
When the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival is underway, plenty of celebrity-focused moments are captured by locals throughout Southern California. Recording artists, celebs, and those who worship them often flee the desert to tend to business, perform, or just live their lives.
Fresh off a memorable performance on Weekend One, headliner Justin Bieber was caught on an e-scooter sipping a juice from Convi Sandwich Shop. Canadian superproducer Kaytranada and recording artist Channel Tres DJ’d at Anderson Paak’s jazz club Andy’s to celebrate another notable artist, Thundercat. And slightly north of Los Angeles, Ojai travelers visiting mezcal bar and taqueria Radio Roma learned that the remaining Beastie Boys were performing a tiny show at a local women’s club.
Time Magazine acknowledges chef Nancy Silverton
Time Magazine’s 2026 list of the 100 Most Influential People is out, and chef Nancy Silverton has joined the prominent round-up with actor Keke Palmer, Pope Leo XIV, and Mexican President, Claudia Sheinbaum. The longtime chef and restaurant owner is having quite a resurgence with Max & Helen’s, the forthcoming Spacca Tutto, and, of course, her longstanding Mozzaplex and Chi Spacca.
Ebi-Ayo Supper Club returns for another residency this weekend
Only seven seats are available for Ebi-Ayo Supper Club, a pop-up dinner by chef Tayo Ola on Friday, April 17, and Saturday, April 18. A former Los Angeles resident, Ola serves six courses family-style, melding Nigerian cuisine with Italian techniques for $250 per person. He’s only in town a few times per year, so sign up to secure a seat.
Goat cheese jollof risotto with braised oxtail. Ebi-Ayo Supper Club
Botanica co-owner Heather Sperling will flip her Silver Lake tapas bar, Bar Siesta, to Bar Besito. The restaurant will close for three days starting on Monday, April 20, and reopen on Thursday, April 23, with a menu that leans further into seasonal Spanish cooking with West Coast flavors and products.
Firstborn collab with Morihiro and Perilla
Head to Chinatown’s Firstborn for a collaborative dinner on Monday, April 20, with Perilla chef and owner Jihee Kim and Han Suk Cho, bar director at Morihiro and former lead bartender at Kato. Sip on inventive drinks from Suk Cho and Firstborn’s Kenzo Han, paired with dishes from Firstborn chef Anthony Wang and Kim, like the black garlic-glazed short rib skewer and a boneless fried chicken leg with soy-pickled cucumbers and daikon. Banchan is, of course, by Perilla. The dinner is walk-in only.
Eater staff writer Francky Knapp explores artwork at restaurants across the country, including a jazzy sandwich piece at South Coast Deli in Santa Barbara.Nobu’s $375 omakase is raising eyebrows at Coachella.Gwyneth Paltrow is about to expand her takeout-only restaurant, Goop Kitchen, to the East Coast for the first time.