Brick Lane Brings Wood-Fired Modern Indian to a 1920s Arts District Warehouse

Named for a street in East London, built around a tandoor in a Los Angeles warehouse.

Brick Lane opened in May at 1331 E. 6th Street in the Arts District, taking the former Brera Ristorante space, a renovated 1920s masonry and steel warehouse now hung with work by South Asian artists. The name points to the street in East London's Tower Hamlets long associated with South Asian immigration, curry houses, galleries and market culture.

The chef is Sanjay Rawat, who built his reputation at Kahani at The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel. He opened with first-time restaurateurs Rishma Shariff and Sachin Nayyar. Rawat has described the project as a lifelong ambition and framed it around sharing traditional Indian flavors through modern technique while using California produce, tracing the line from cooking with his grandmother in New Delhi to a historic room downtown.

What to order

The kitchen runs on a live wood-fired grill and a tandoor, so the menu leans toward kebabs, smoked plates and slow-cooked dishes, with real depth on the vegetarian side. Applewood smoked butter chicken is the signature. Beyond it sit charred sweet potato chaat with frozen yogurt, chaat masala, tamarind and mint, slow-cooked lamb neck with yogurt and garlic naan, aromatic roasted black lentils, mor milagai branzino, stuffed kulcha and a Hyderabadi mushroom dum biryani.

The drinks are not an afterthought. Kathryn Coker, longtime wine director at Rustic Canyon, built the list, and the bar carries a collection of Indian single malt whiskies, which is still uncommon in Los Angeles. Horacio Cortez created the cocktails around South Asian flavors, including the Brick Lane Kesar, a saffron-driven mix of whiskey, ancho chili, mango, lime and yellow chartreuse.

Visiting

Brick Lane is at 1331 E. 6th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90021, in the Arts District. Reach it at (213) 395-0110.

• Hours: Wednesday and Thursday 5:30 to 10 p.m., Friday through Sunday 5:30 to 10:30 p.m. Closed Monday and Tuesday.

• Reservations: available on Resy.

• Getting there: street parking in the Arts District is tight on weekend evenings, and the Metro A Line at Little Tokyo or Arts District station is a reasonable walk.

It joins a growing group of modern Indian rooms downtown alongside Baar Baar, Badmaash and Cali Chilli. Our coverage of Badmaash's newest location is in Badmaash on Abbot Kinney.

Follow along with more LA restaurant news, see what else has opened in our guide to new restaurants in Los Angeles, or browse our picks for the best food in Los Angeles.