Jeff Strauss, who spent roughly three decades writing and producing television, including Dream On and Friends, before staging in professional kitchens in his mid-50s and opening Jeff’s Table and then Oy Bar.

Where is Oy Bar and what are the hours?

12446 Moorpark Street, Studio City, CA 91604. Open 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, closed Sunday and Monday, per Google Business Profile. Phone (818) 761-8686. Reservations through Resy.

What did The Infatuation rate Oy Bar?

8.2 out of 10, in a review by Brant Cox. That review predates the Joutine, which appears in the publication’s October 2026 guide to the greatest potato dishes in LA.

Oy Bar’s Joutine Makes The Infatuation’s List of LA’s Greatest Potato Dishes

Oct 21

4 min read

The man who spent three decades writing television now has a potato dish on The Infatuation’s list of the best in Los Angeles.

The Infatuation named the Joutine at Oy Bar one of the greatest potato dishes in the city, one of 15 Los Angeles entries tied to Potato Week, the publication’s celebration of potato cooking around the country.

Oy Bar is at 12446 Moorpark Street in Studio City, in a room that reads as a dive bar from the sidewalk and cooks like something else entirely once you are through the door.

What The Joutine Is

Crispy potato chunks under gravy and cheese curds, with pickles, green onions and tender wagyu brisket piled on top. The name plays on poutine, filtered through the Jewish cooking that runs through the rest of the menu. The Infatuation’s read is that the dish stays balanced despite the number of things on it.

The brisket is what separates it from the Canadian original. Instead of a straight gravy-and-curds plate, the potatoes carry a deli load.

There is a small piece of history in the dish, too. When The Infatuation first reviewed Oy Bar, it noted the kitchen does not serve fries at all, sending out salty crispy potato chunks with a sweet, tangy chutney instead. The potatoes were already the house move. The Joutine is what they grew into.

The Infatuation Gave It An 8.2

Brant Cox, the publication’s editorial lead in Los Angeles, reviewed Oy Bar and scored it 8.2. He files it under Bar Food, tags it for drinking great beer, eating at the bar and dining solo, and does not pretend the room is anything other than what it is: dated wood paneling, worn swivel stools, dropped ceiling tiles.

“The best dive bar is usually the one that’s closest to you,” he wrote, before making the case that this one is worth the drive anyway. Of the matzo ball ramen he said it is “objectively one of the strangest dishes we’ve seen at a dive bar,” then told readers to “just get in your car and go eat it.” His reassurance to anyone reluctant to leave their own neighborhood: “We promise your bubble will still be there when you return.”

Worth noting that the review predates the Joutine. The space was The Bar At Oyster House before Jeff’s Table took it over.

Jeff Strauss Took The Long Way Here

Strauss spent roughly three decades writing and producing television, including Dream On and Friends. Cooking was the thing he did alongside the writing. As the Hollywood work slowed, per Fine Dining Lovers, his wife told him to go after food “while you can still stand up.”

He started staging in professional kitchens in his mid-50s, at Ink and at Miminashi, and turned that into Jeff’s Table and then Oy Bar. He describes the cooking as Jewish-Japanese, with Mexican and Indian influence worked in, and says dishes get added when they make him smile.

The Rest Of The Menu

Oy Burger. A medium-thick patty with gooey Toma cheese, hoisin ketchup, lettuce, red onion, cucumber and dijon on a sesame bun, under a heavy layer of cilantro. Cox called it “a savory, herbaceous masterpiece.”
Jeff’s Special Reuben Quesadilla. Pastrami, sauerkraut and comté inside a gruyere and jalapeño crust. Rich and unsubtle, by the reviewer’s own description, and very good.
Matzo Ball Ramen. A light ginger-scallion chicken broth with chashu, mushroom, egg, chili crisp and one large matzo ball. Seasonal, and it tends to leave the menu in summer.
Pickle Bento. The deli pickle tray reimagined as a bento box of pickled vegetables and sauerkraut.
Wings. Habanero-honey, well cooked and meaty. Cox wanted more heat.
Yaki onigiri and smoked trout tostada. Later additions, the first with cured salmon, crème fraîche and miso butter, the second with chaat masala and papadam.

The Rest Of The LA Potato List

Oy Bar shares the guide with 14 other dishes across the county:

Hermon’s, Northeast LA. A potato fritter built from thin crisp layers with a cream center and shaved parmesan.
Ototo, Echo Park. A chilled potato salad with chopped pickled mustard greens, two small pork sausages and a soft-boiled egg.
Bar Sinizki, Atwater Village. Potato and cheese pierogi fried in brown butter with crème fraîche.
Hojokban, Arts District. Truffle potato jeon with cheese, truffle aioli, green onions and bacon bits.
Damon’s Steak House, Glendale. A twice baked potato on a recipe that has not changed in decades.
Taco Nazo, South El Monte. Tacos de papa in a fried tortilla, finished with a mayo-based crema.
Henrietta, Echo Park. Baby potatoes boiled, smashed, double-fried and topped with garlic aioli, scallions and shaved parmesan.
Oste, Beverly Grove. Patate pinsa with crisped potato slices, raclette, rosemary and black pepper.
Almost Famous Chai + Food Boutique, Culver City. Vada pau sliders on toasted brioche with mint-garlic and tamarind chutneys.

The full guide is at The Greatest Potato Dishes In LA.

If You Go

Oy Bar, 12446 Moorpark Street, Studio City, CA 91604
Hours: 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, closed Sunday and Monday
Phone: (818) 761-8686
Ratings: 8.2 from The Infatuation, 4.6 on 178 Google reviews as of October 16, 2026
Reservations: through Resy

One discrepancy worth knowing before you drive over. Google lists the open at 5 p.m., while The Infatuation’s review puts it at 6 p.m. The review is several years old, so the earlier time is likely the current one, but call ahead if you are aiming for the first hour. The bar also styles itself OyBar on its Google listing and Oy Bar in the review. Several recent reviewers report the room filling early on weeknights.

Sourcing

Potato Week and the Los Angeles selections were shared with Food Journal Magazine by Frances Cave, account executive at FleishmanHillard, on behalf of The Infatuation. The 8.2 rating, menu descriptions and quotes come from Brant Cox’s review of Oy Bar for The Infatuation. The Joutine description comes from the guide The Greatest Potato Dishes In LA, published October 8, 2026 and credited to Brant Cox, Cathy Park, Sylvio Martins, Andrew Ryce and Garrett Snyder. Background on Jeff Strauss comes from Fine Dining Lovers. Address, hours, phone and Google rating come from Google Business Profile, checked October 16, 2026.