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Petty Cash Is the Arts District's Colorful New Dinnertime Contender

Officially open in the former Fifty Seven space

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Farley Elliott is the Senior Editor at Eater LA and the author of Los Angeles Street Food: A History From Tamaleros to Taco Trucks. He covers restaurants in every form, from breaking news to the culture, people, and history that surrounds LA's dining landscape.

[This establishment is closed as of mid-March 2016]

This time around, Petty Cash means business.

Chef/owner Walter Manzke opened up his original iteration of Petty Cash, in the former Playa space on Beverly Boulevard, in kind of a hurry back in 2013, but with this new location in the Arts District, time was on his side. That means plenty of opportunities to build the sort of space where the Petty Cash concept could really thrive, from artsy wall decor to an expansive raw bar. And it’s all just now coming to life.

Now open, Petty Cash Arts District sits in the former Fifty Seven space, but offers a widely different take from the fine-dining former tenant. The place is laid back and colorful, full of street art and corrugated steel, plus hanging bare bulbs, simple wooden booths, and lots of space at the bar. Later this year, the brick-lined outdoor patio will also come to life as an easy-drinking nighttime destination, making Petty Cash one seriously well-rounded option for the Arts District.

The full food menu is below, but expect much of the same from this Downtown expansion. Redone Mexican favorites and updated classics (pig ear nachos, wood-grilled octopus) dot the roster, which also includes a section devoted to the on-site raw bar inside. Chef David Chavez, formerly from the Bouchon world and, for a time, The Kitchen in Sacramento, serves as chef de cuisine here, while Fabian Gallardo remains at the Beverly Boulevard location.

Petty Cash Arts District is now officially open (after serving some one-off guest chef dinners), with weekday hours from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. On Friday and Saturday nights, the place runs until midnight, and they’re closed on Sundays.

Petty Cash Arts District

Petty Cash - Arts District

712 S Santa Fe Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90021 (213) 624-0210