Washington Boulevard in Culver City used to be a road you drove along to get somewhere else. Now it is one of the better streets to walk, lined with galleries and studios and the long white bulk of the Sony lot, and near its eastern end the E line sets down passengers at Culver City station. Ivy Station, the development there, has given the neighbourhood a new front door, and The Shay, a Destination by Hyatt hotel, stands in it. On 17 December 2024 its ground floor became the first West Coast home of Zaytinya.
From Washington DC to Washington Boulevard
José Andrés opened the original Zaytinya in Washington DC in 2002, a large, bright room of Turkish, Greek and Lebanese small plates that taught a generation of Americans to eat mezze. The Culver City branch is part of a bigger plan: José Andrés Group runs food and drink across The Shay, its first partnership with Hyatt, and the menu was developed with the group's research and development team through travel. Upstairs, Butterfly is a rooftop Mexican restaurant and bar in the spirit of Oyamel, the group's Bib Gourmand restaurant in Washington, around what the group calls the only rooftop pool in Culver City. Downstairs, the head chef is Gilberto Ruiz Gil.
A restaurant that began in the capital has landed beside a light-rail stop in a city famous for refusing to take the train.
The room
This is a room for daylight. Guests pass a custom mural that runs through the interior, in blues and natural textures drawn from Mediterranean colours. One blogger called it dusty, sun-faded and more modern than the Washington original. The dining room looks into a semi-open kitchen with a wood-fired hearth at its heart, and outside, a very large patio sits under a timber pergola for the many months when the weather insists on it. Go with a group and linger.
What to order
Start with the seared halloumi, served with dates, pomegranate, citrus, mint and pistachio. A food blogger said the thick slabs were so good that conversation stopped. Next come the spreads: hommus ma lahm, topped with ground lamb, pickled vegetables and pine nuts, and h'tipiti, a roasted red pepper and feta spread, both with fresh pita. The smoked beet salata arrives with clementines and pistachios, and the dolmades are tangy with labneh. Crispy Brussels sprouts carry garlic yoghurt and barberries, and the octopus comes Santorini-style over yellow split pea puree.
Then the fire. The whole branzino from the hearth is dressed with green olive ladolemono, and the slow-smoked lamb shoulder with gem lettuce cups, garlic toum and harissa is made for wrapping. For a table of four, the blogger recommends the kebab platter, with chicken, two preparations of lamb and kofte on garlic toum, tender and not overly heavy when shared. Pudding is a Turkish coffee chocolate cake with mastic cream and pistachio.
A word of caution: early write-ups found little to fault, so the practical hedge is demand. Reservations are recommended, and the original in Washington is known for queues outside.
Drinks
The Ancient Olive is a dirty martini built on olives three ways, and 3 PM in Istanbul mixes lemon-lavender tea vodka with Harry's Berries. The wine list moves between the Mediterranean and California. On the roof, Butterfly pours additive-free agave spirits infused with California fruit and Andrés's Salt Air Margarita.
Arrive at dusk on the E line, when the hearth is glowing and the patio is filling up under its pergola.
- The vibe
- Blue Mediterranean mural, wood-fired hearth, huge pergola patio beside the E line.
- The food
- Seared halloumi, lamb hommus, hearth branzino, smoked lamb shoulder, kebab platter.
- The drink
- The Ancient Olive martini; 3 PM in Istanbul with lemon-lavender tea vodka.
- A tip
- Reserve; the kebab platter for four is the order, and the roof serves tacos.
