As Suspected, LA’s Slanted Door Dreams Are Officially Dead

It may come as no surprise to learn that chef Charles Phan is officially leaving behind plans to open up a Slanted Door in Los Angeles — but that doesn’t make the news any less heartbreaking.

Back in September of 2015, Phan announced that he was “drawn to downtown Los Angeles because of the exciting redevelopments taking place,” and that he had officially secured a lease for a big property inside the City Market South development, right next to Rossoblu. There, Phan would deliver to the city his famous brand of modern Vietnamese cooking, complete with stellar service and lots of wine.

Well fall turned to spring, then summer, then another winter, and so on, without so much as a peep from the Slanted Door crew about an opening timeline. Rossoblu managed to arrive in May of 2017, but still no Phan. And now, more than a year later, the dream has died entirely.

For months Eater has pressed the Slanted Door team for details, but no one seems interested in speaking on the record about the project. Instead word comes by way of City Market South directly, whose reps tell Eater that “Slanted Door will not be opening at City Market South nor in Los Angeles.” the restaurant is no longer listed on the development company’s website.

There’s a silver lining, however. Fans of the Slanted Door, a 2014 James Beard winner for restaurant of the year, can still head up to the Bay Area or, later this year, out to Las Vegas to enjoy the food. As for City Market South, Rossoblu is going strong, Cognoscenti Coffee keeps everyone awake, and Steve Livigni, Pablo Moix, and Antonia Lofaso are close to opening a cocktail bar and restaurant on site this summer.

• Sqirl Chef Jessica Koslow Won’t Be Opening on LA’s Westside After All [ELA]