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TAO

TAO Restaurant Review:

About the décor & atmosphere: Where else in Los Angeles would the TAO Group open a location of its signature Asian bistro than in Hollywood? The venue is worthy of a movie set with its grand décor that starts right as you enter. The hostesses have quite a nice front desk; then the sexy bar retains the attention of many of the dressed-up patrons, both for the drinks and its design. The hungry ones descend the stairs to a lower level where there are many seating options as the capacity is 300. The 20-foot-tall Quan Yin statue takes center stage atop a koi pond, animated with 3D light projections.

Likes: the décor.
Dislikes:: can get VERY crowded (but after all, isn’t that why people go there?).

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View our exclusive video interview with the chef de cuisine on YouTube

Food & Drinks: Chef/partner Ralph Scamardella has composed an Asian-inspired menu (almost as large as the venue) focusing on Chinese, Japanese and Thai techniques and ingredients. It’s hard for us to recommend items. It’s best to let your desire and appetite guide you between the dim sum, noodles and rice, sushi and sashimi, tempura, yakitori, soups and much more. If you’d like something from the sea, the miso roasted black cod should be ordered; while the crispy Thai pork will satisfy the carnivores. By the time you indulge in the bread pudding doughnuts or the giant fortune cookies, the music level might have risen with the ambiance, but you will still be able to hear your dining partners. Of course, we cannot forget the drinks. There is a small wine list, but it is more fun --- that is, in fact, why you came to TAO --- to quench your thirst with one or more of the many cocktails or saké.