Mazal — Restaurant in Los Angeles

Get ready, 'cause I'm about to shout from the mountaintop.

If you are IN Los Angeles, near Los Angeles, thinking about coming to Los Angeles, - THIS restaurant - is an absolute, hands down, MUST.

Go, go, go, go to Mazal.

I've been in LA for going on 30 years, eaten so much damn amazing food in this city, but Mazal is truly - special.

Family owned, location is in a VERY interesting part of LA which is on an upward curve as far as growth, artistry, excitement and development.

Warm, inviting, fantastic staff, CLEAN, personal and has a lovely touch as far as layout, atmosphere and visibility of all activity. They have an outdoor seating area as well, but we decided to dine inside as LA is getting a tad cooler.

Wonderfully greeted, cute table, relaxed, friendly service and attentive.

Wine, champagne and beer selection + items on tap = Impressive and very well curated. Spot on and beautifully in alignment with a delightfully focused and equally impressive menu.

My wife and I (thoroughly) enjoyed:

-Black sesame tahini -Pita -Marinated olives -Maple Cottage Mousse -Charred Broccoli -Hamin -Vanilla Halva

We ordered the following items TO GO to bring them home for the family:

-Israeli Salad -Pita -Maple Pecan Cake & Cream

For any new "foodies" reading this, these items may sound simple, but hold your horses and allow me to go into some detail, kindly.

Every item which hit our table was special. Complex, perfect portions, beautifully presented and with an extraordinary personal touch. Layers of flavor, love, care and attention went into every ounce of food.

The Hamin - gorgeous. Layers of flavor, the potato was perfect, balanced, focused. Circles of pita, fresh, piping hot, fluffy, steamy.

The black sesame tahini had a wonderful umami and texture. Perfect.

The olives. Incredible portion, matched beautifully with all dishes, the brine and salt and quality. Excellent.

Let's talk about the Mousse. Good lord. It almost made me cry. Fresh blueberries, pistachios, maple syrup. I will return - if only for this.

One of the most special aspects of the evening is that Hanni, one of the owners, and the wizard behind the food, personally served us, spent time chatting with us about the history of the restaurant, her family, her son (Tal, founder) and was unpretentious and honest in her sharing of how they navigated through adversity, COVID, building and maintaining hope and focus through some pretty damn tough times. SO so awesome. It was delight to meet her and made the entire experience 105% memorable.

(Thank you, Hanni! It was great to meet you!)

Go back? Um, not IF, but when. It's a place you will immediately fall in love with.

We did.

A true gem. Real. There is heart, soul, and love here - a real special touch which comes through the food, the staff and all aspects of its operations.

Love, love, love this place. Fantastic...

Perhaps the best mediterranean veggie/vegan fare in LA. After a day at the Wi Korean spa, there’s no better meal than the fresh, healthy and delicious fare at Mazal.

Friendly service and a family run affair: With Tal who manages front of house, his mum Hanni cooking 5 dishes at the same time, while their dad selects fresh produce from their farm (40 miles outside LA).

The food reminded us of the better farm to table restaurants in Israel. The decor is very Israeli with menorah's by the window and the setup is like a casual bistro.

The menu is simple (one page) but has some gems. We couldn't decide between the dips, so we requested a dip platter (off menu, they can accommodate if the kitchen isn't too busy).

It comes with 4 dips: Magreb tahini (spicy tahini), fresh cool babaganoush (eggplant), fresh whipped hummus with chickpeas and spicy tahini.

The asparagus was amazing with a bed of what felt like muhamarra, made of red bell peppers from their local farm and walnuts. I could scoop that dip for days with a pita.

The shawarma oyster mushrooms was our main entree, it comes with a delicate cannellini purée that definitely needs the side of mint chimichurri. The mushrooms are fried and benefit from the freshness of the puree and the freshness of the mint chimichurri.

Finally we wanted to save some room for desserts so we bagged many of the dips for lunch the next day - even better the next day.

Tao recommended the coconut baklava and it was gone before you can say bak la what?

This promoted us to get a second dessert which we knew we’d share with the rest of the fam, and we opted for the classic marbled halva, despite being tempted by the pistachio. Of the two, the coconut baklava was my favorite.

Tip: Free street parking Tip: If the weather permits, sit in the outside patio for an...

Dinner for two, mid week place was pleasantly vibrant. The converted alley where we were seated was fine though ,due to the narrow space, ambient sound bounced back from the wall such that we could hear all the conversations going around us. Alleyway can be a bit chilly and is not recommended for a chilly night . To our misfortune , lack of "Mazal" ( i.e. luck) the gas heater just died mid dinner. Luckily the stuff brought new heater when we asked. Still it was a bit uncomfortable for me and my date. Starters Hummus with schug - the texture is not smooth. This is just a matter of taste however, be advised. The spicy schug was spicy but with not much schug flavor. Moroccan Carrots - This dish was great, soft yet crunchy and full of flavor made me reminiscing of home. Mains Maghrebi Potatoes - It looked pretty on the plate, the thini felt like a mix with hummus and was lacking the unique sesame flavor; it was arranged on the side of the plate which made it very challenging scraping it off. The potatoes had no flavor just nice color with some scattered rosemary sprinkles. Jerusalem Bagel toast - this is not your New York Bagel. This Bagel is traditionally the size of a medium palm. I was hoping for a rich and memorable bite, alas it was not as crispy and without much flavor. The dish came with some white sauce spread creatively on the plate, not sure what it was and we didn't ask the server.

All together, nice space and good attempt on Vegan Israeli kitchen. Not sure if I'm going to bring anyone that is not exclusively vegan as it was far off from the flavors and the richness that is at the heart of Israeli cuisine.

I would consider having drinks by the bar and check the indoor space. Perhaps, to brave another attempt with the food just to...