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Star chef Wes Avila is going big in Hollywood this winter, adding to a growing list of well-known names taking up residence in the neighborhood over the next year or so. Avila’s project, named Ka’Teen, will offer coastal Mexican flavors — think the Yucatán, mostly — across a fully outdoor space built in conjunction with the Relevant Group and Ten Five Hospitality.
Calling Ka’Teen “the latest evolution in the Alta California vernacular,” Avila promises to pull in the flavors and feeling of the Mayan Riviera and Yucatán peninsula, meaning lots of plants, palm fronds, and tostadas, ceviches, and tacos. There will be whole fish on offer for groups as well as cochinita pibil, all available with handmade tortillas and cocktails.
The upcoming outdoor stunner, designed by Bernadette Blanc, is a giant of a space at 5,000 square feet — at least compared to Avila’s current restaurant Angry Egret Dinette in Chinatown. That’s where Avila has been slowly expanding his own culinary conversation, starting with tacos and moving into burritos, pastrami, burgers, sandwiches, and whatever else Avila feels like whipping up that week. Previously, Avila founded Guerrilla Tacos as a street stand and later food truck (and now a still-in-operation restaurant, though Avila is no longer involved), after working for years in fine dining spaces like Le Comptoir and L’Auberge.
The Relevant Group and Ten Five Hospitality, meanwhile, are busy remaking the Hollywood dining scene with projects like Lincoln Carson’s Mes Amis and Italian chef Evan Funke’s incoming Roman restaurant Mother Wolf. Expect Ka’Teen to open before the end of this year at 6516 Selma Avenue.
