The Great Outdoors

A Japanese Beer Garden Grows at Chaya Downtown

Chaya exec chef Shigefumi Tachibe
Chaya exec chef Shigefumi Tachibe Photo: Chaya via Facebook

Spring is approaching and it’s almost time to get outdoors again, something that hasn’t been lost on Chaya Downtown. On March 22nd, the day after spring starts, the restaurant will debut new weekly Japanese beer garden Monday menus. The new food will be served on the restaurant’s patio, surrounded with traditional Japanese red lanterns. Pitchers of Kirin will be served for $15, and chef Shigefumi Tachibe will be behind new selections of yakitori to be grilled outside on a hibachi for Rob Eshman and anyone else seeking the embrace of the outdoors.

The menus will add such bites as short rib, shrimp, and beef tongue skewers for $2 each, along with more traditional chicken and beef skewer choices, while plates like sake-steamed mussels, grilled corn with feta, and tuna poke will be priced between five to eight dollars. The menu will only be available on Monday evenings and only through this summer, plus the patio only fits about 50 at a time. So when you’re tired of brat sausages and college brat sausage fests at Wurstkuche, you have one more alternative in Downtown.

Chaya Downtown 525 S. Flower St. 213-236-9577.

A Japanese Beer Garden Grows at Chaya Downtown