Viet Tapas Bar is an exciting new fine dining Vietnamese restaurant that opened in July on the north side of Colorado Boulevard near Townsend. The restaurant is a new concept from Viet Tran, the chef and owner behind Atwater Village’s popular Viet Noodle Bar.
We checked in with Viet to learn more about his vision for small bite Vietnamese cuisine:
What is the story behind Viet Tapas Bar?
I have always wanted to do small bites Vietnamese food (tapas) at Viet Noodle Bar in Atwater since 2009 but couldn’t do it after several trials due to the kitchen setup. I did not want to break the rhythm of making Pho with grilling and frying so I put off the idea of doing tapas.
After few years operating in Atwater, I was fortunate to have Firat Demir to join the staff as the key person to run Viet Noodle Bar, which gave me the opportunity to create a new concept. A year and a half ago, I found an available restaurant in Eagle Rock. I fell in love with the space when I saw it. It took me six months to get it.
What made you want to open a tapas concept restaurant in Eagle Rock after many years in Atwater Village?
I did not want to replicate Viet Noodle Bar in Eagle Rock since it s so close to the Atwater restaurant. So I decided to do Vietnamese tapas.
I want to introduce Vietnamese dishes that diners can share and experience together. The menu is completely different from Viet Noodle Bar and is oriented for sharing. For example, we won’t have pho since it doesn’t fit with the menu and it’s not recommended to share. At Viet Tapas Bar, we will rotate and expand the menu as we go.
What dishes would you recommend to someone who is visiting Viet Tapas Bar for the first time?
I would recommend Chicken or Taro Crispy Roll, Steamed Rice Cakes, Grilled Bison with Lolot Leaves, Beef with Watercress, and end with Rice Claypot with choices of topping
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Viet Tapas Bar
1661 Colorado Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90041
(323) 507-2150
Tue-Thur: 5pm-9pm
Fri-Sat: 12pm-3pm, 5pm-10pm