Roy Choi's A-frame Opens in Culver City

N. Galuten

Baby back ribs: air-dried and hoisin chile glazed, with sesame

The Roi Choi empire continues to expand. The Kogi mastermind, who also opened Chego back in April, debuted his newest venture last week, A-frame. The hyper-casual Culver City restaurant took over a former International House of Pancakes, incorporating the signature sloped roofline (hence the name "A-frame").

Choi opened A-frame with restaurateur and bar owner David Reiss (Alibi Room, The Brig), to create this small, family-style dining environment. The menu, as you might expect, draws inspiration from across the globe, with items like Peruvian-style crispy beer can chicken, a carne asada torta, and Korean-style barbecued lamb chops.

A-frame, which includes a full bar and cocktail menu, has a unique style of seating, as all of the tables are communal, and they do not take reservations. "We wanted people to eat with their hands and share," said Reiss, "and we wanted it to be full-on communal everything."

People are encouraged to get their hands dirty eating the food here, and to share food not just with those in their party, but also with the complete strangers they might find sitting next to them. "People are sharing with people who they've never talked to in their lives, and that's really cool for us," said Reiss. "We wanted to light that little fire... I don't know if we really intended do to that from the get-go, but it really worked out."

N. Galuten

Inside A-frame

The restaurant, which also includes outdoor patio seating, is currently open only for dinner, but they hope to add lunch service in the near future. Reiss said that they would, "love to open for lunch in the next couple of months. If not every day, then on the weekends." They are currently serving food from five p.m. to midnight, but will serve drinks until last call at one-thirty in the morning.

Out of mere curiosity, we also asked Reiss how difficult it was to procure a full liquor license in a former IHOP. His response? "I'm shocked. It wasn't a lot of hassle to get it."

So in the end, A-frame makes for another exciting restaurant addition to a single block of Washington Boulevard, residing just next door to Waterloo & City, which opened back in May.

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