Coming Soon: Centeno's Lazy Ox

“Where the heck is Josef Centeno?”

It’s a question I hear occasionally in foodie circles. The celebrated chef, who had successful stints at Meson G and Opus, spent about a minute at Lot 1 in Echo Park before disappearing for a while. He then popped up as a consulting chef at Pasadena’s Bar Celona, and successfully transformed a mediocre menu into something pretty special. Well, come the end of November (fingers crossed) Centeno will open his much-anticipated Lazy Ox Canteen in the Little Tokyo district of Los Angeles. So far, so good: he’ll have all required permits by the end of this month.

Today, he gave me a preview of both the space and his menu.

Clearly there’s still a lot that needs to be done, but the space is starting to come together. The main dining room will feature a completely open kitchen with a wood stone oven. The bar area, which is situated directly next to the kitchen space, will seat 11 and offer an array of beers on tap and in bottles, and a good assortment of wine. In a nod to the district in which the restaurant resides, Centeno will also offer sparkling sake and a number of small-brew Japanese beers. Though he’s not sure it’ll make it on the final list, he talked about a Japanese oyster beer he tried the other day and liked.

The dining room will have two, 8-foot communal tables as well as banquettes and tables that will seat a total of 58 indoors, with patio tables that will accommodate an additional 18 seats. Business partner and restaurateur Michael Cardenas is handling the interior design, which will be “lots of wood, earth tones and concrete floors,” said Centeno.

As for the food, it will reflect Centeno’s diverse tastes. There will be a “daily specials” blackboard, with items like Buttermilk Fried Chicken with Biscuits & Bacon Gravy, Whole Boiled Dungeness Crab with Louis Dressing & Cucumber Salad, and Confit Duck Leg with Cocoa Picada, Lentils & Quince. There will also be a blackboard dedicated to gastropub fare like cheeses, cured meats and terrines, Centeno’s signature bacos and burgers. A note regarding the burgers: The chef will be grinding his own meat and baking his own burger buns, and announced that after much effort, he’s finally got the buns right. In fact, he plans to bake all of the restaurant’s bread in-house.

The a la carte menu consists of shared plates, salads, vegetables, meats and pastas, and is a mix of classic Centeno favorites (Sashimi of Yellowtail with Castelvetrano Olives, Pomegranate & Fuyu Persimmon and Hand-torn Pasta with Sunny Side Egg, Brown Butter & Citrus Vinegar) and challenging new dishes like House Made Merguez Sausage with Olive Oil Crushed Potato, Pickled Onion & Parsley Salad and Charred Octopus with Pickled Shallots, Corona Beans & Garlic Rapini. This menu will change daily or weekly. Because he doesn’t already have enough to do, Centeno is also handling the desserts. Right now he’s got a pistachio tart, blood orange flan, chilled rice pudding, and chocolate torchon – among others - on his tentative dessert menu.

Though in the beginning, Lazy Ox will open for dinner only, Centeno eventually plans to roll out a daily brunch menu (8 a.m. – 3 p.m., tentatively). A sample brunch menu he shared includes sweet dishes like the Fat Waffle with Whipped Butter & Stone fruit Marmalade and Brioche French Toast with Apple-Licorice Butter, plus a number of savory items including his well-known coddled egg with cream of wheat, the Breakfast Baco (chorizo, eggs, salsa) and an oyster po’boy with homemade Sriracha aioli.

Hungry yet?

The Lazy Ox Canteen is scheduled to open November 23rd. Parking is available in the lot at the corner of 2nd and San Pedro, for $4 after 4 p.m. and $2 on weekends.

235 S. San Pedro (between 2nd and 3rd)
Los Angeles, CA 90012