Sylvio Martins and Cathy Park included The Hummingbird in a roundup of new restaurants that opened in August, 2024 and «have the most potential»
Hummingbird’s kitchen spills out into the ad hoc dining room, creating a sense of theater no matter where you’re sitting. At the bar, you’ll watch Zarate grind homemade salt in a giant molcajete and assemble technicolor raw dishes with a jeweler’s precision. Another chef rolls thick temaki stuffed with so much sashimi you’ll want to call KazuNori for a retroactive refund. Sit at one of the tables and you’ll hear iPhone camera shutters throughout the evening as dates around you snap photos of yellowtail tostadas and seared ribeyes plated like main courses at the Met Gala, followed by audible “ohh’s” as they start eating.
It’s more than just dramatic food that makes Hummingbird feel like a touring production of the hit indie play Restaurant! though. Servers retrieve water and dinner plates from a table pushed against the front door. Purple corn tea and THC seltzers stand in for beer and wine. The playlist jumps unironically between Britney, Bob Marley, and Madonna. Most dishes hover around $20. Stay late enough and someone in the kitchen might ask you to try a new one they’re working on. Stay later and someone’s roommate will hop on the mic and start singing. Bongos might appear. It’s an offbeat world at The Hummingbird but—as the rule goes in theater—it rewards you for saying yes. Continue reading at: https://www.theinfatuation.com/los-angeles/reviews/the-hummingbird
