Upscale Chinese food will level up dramatically in Los Angeles when world-renowned Mott 32 opens a 12,000-square-foot location that takes up the entire second floor of Hollywood’s Citizen News building early next year. The new restaurant, a partnership between Mott 32 and L.A.’s Mother Wolf Group, will be perched above popular pasta palace Mother Wolf, but have its own entrance.
Mott 32, known for its signature dry-aged and applewood-roasted Peking duck as well as its hand-crafted dim sum in Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok, Seoul, Cebu, Toronto, Vancouver, Las Vegas and Dubai, is a restaurant where luxury and comfort meld together. There are signature dishes like lobster mapo tofu, crispy triple-cooked wagyu short rib and Iberico pluma char siu at every location. Recipes are developed in Hong Kong by Mott 32 co-founders Malcolm Wood, Xuan Mu and Matt Reid, as well as group executive chef Lee Man Sing. About 70 percent of the menu at all Mott 32s is identical to or closely aligned with the original Hong Kong location.
“We’re building a char siu show kitchen,” Giancarlo Pagani, managing partner of Mother Wolf Group, tells Observer. “That’s going to be a key element of the restaurant.”
Like the other Mott 32 locations, the restaurant will boast custom duck ovens. High-end dim sum, including crowd-pleasers like hot and sour soup dumplings and king prawn har gow, will help complete the picture alongside signature cocktails like the Five Spice Sherry and boozy Hong Kong Iced Tea. The Hollywood restaurant will also showcase California produce, local seafood and seasonal dishes.
Pagani is working closely with Wood, co-founder of Maximal Concepts, to create a glamorous dining experience in a storied 1930s Art Deco building. Joyce Wang Studio, which has previously worked with Mott 32 in Asia and Las Vegas, is designing the Hollywood restaurant.
“When you’re building a restaurant of this scale, you need to be transporting people somewhere else,” Pagani says. “The design needs to be very reflective of that. I think it’s going to be sexy. It’s going to be fun. It’s very centrally located. So I think those three elements are really important to success here.”
The goal is to take guests on a journey as soon as they arrive. “We’re converting the south alley into the entry experience for Mott 32,” Pagani says. “There’s a beautiful staircase that takes you to the second floor. That will now be dedicated completely to Mott 32.”
Pagani is looking to build off the success he’s had in Hollywood. “With Mother Wolf and us being able to establish this area in Hollywood as a destination for dining, I think it’s the perfect location for Mott 32,” he says. “We know from Mother Wolf that if the concept is strong, people will come from everywhere in L.A.”
Mott 32’s new Hollywood location is being billed as the brand’s United States flagship. Mott 32 is also developing locations in London, Scottsdale, Budapest, Riyadh, Manila, Bali, Melbourne and Sydney.
Pagani is on an expansion tear as well. Mother Wolf Group just opened Bar Avoja, a lounge hidden behind Mother Wolf that features a menu of Roman street food from chef Evan Funke. Mother Wolf Group operates the Dream Rooftop nearby.
Separately from Mother Wolf Group, Pagani recently partnered with SBE to open chef Wes Avila’s MXO, a modern Mexican restaurant that’s centered around wood-fired cooking. And last month, Pagani debuted globe-trotting Tel Aviv chef Eyal Shani’s pita-sandwich spot Miznon in downtown L.A.’s Grand Central Market. Pagani is also planning to bring other Shani restaurants to Los Angeles.
A quick trip to Las Vegas might be a good way to preview what’s coming up in Los Angeles. The Venetian casino resort’s Palazzo tower is home to outposts of Mott 32, Miznon and Shani’s HaSalon. Regulars at Mott 32 in Las Vegas know to pre-order the Peking duck, which quickly sells out on many nights.
There’s often a scrum for reservations at Mother Wolf in Hollywood, so L.A. guests will likely want to plan their Peking duck nights at Mott 32 well in advance.
