Downtown's Most Prolific Chef Is Opening a Vegetable-Focused Restaurant

Downtown's serial restaurateur and chef Josef Centeno (Baco, Bar Ama, Orsa & Winston) is switching things up at Ledlow, the all-day corner restaurant he took control of back in late 2014. Starting next week, the concept will be split in two very different ways.

The first thing to know is that Ledlow won’t actually be going away, just transitioning into a moodier 24-seat restaurant with a focus on whiskey. The most popular items (that burger, the fried chicken) aren’t going anywhere, though the menu will be truncated some to accommodate the smaller size. What’s more, Ledlow plans to continue serving coffee, pastries, and breakfast in the morning daily, plus lunch and dinner.

The other half of the equation is P.Y.T., a new plant-based idea that Centeno’s been toying with for some time. He’s been doing more urban gardening through the L.A. Leadership Academy in Lincoln Heights, where some of the produce and herbs will come from for P.Y.T., and has been wanting to turn towards the vegetable as a primary base for dishes for some time. There will be meat available at P.Y.T., Centeno says, but it’s limited to one or two dishes at a time.

So how’s it all going to work? Well, Ledlow will take a few days off starting next week to reformat things a bit, before reopening as the dual concept — complete with separate entrances. You’ll step into Ledlow from the usual door on the corner of Main and 4th, while P.Y.T. takes you in from the Main Street patio side. The two spaces will have different feels and looks, mostly, but still be contained under the same giant ceiling that Ledlow has been known for.

Tming-wise, Ledlow should return by the second weekend in September, with P.Y.T. coming in after that. There’s already an Instagram and website for the vegetable-focused concept too, though Centeno has been teasing dishes over on his own Instagram account for a little while now.