Status Kuo is a relaxed, neighborhood restaurant. There's a nice bar to enjoy the happy hour menu, or you can sit at a table for a full meal with great flavors and reasonable prices.

Mar Vista is picking up steam in the Los Angeles restaurant scene. Washington Boulevard already has A-Frame, Hatchet Hall and Fin. Now Status Kuo joins, or rather, re-joins the ranks. 

Status Kuo sits on Grand View Boulevard, between Washington and Venice. They used to be known for their rotisserie-focused food, but they closed down earlier this year to rework their concept. They added a bar and an Asian inspired menu.

The look is modern with sleek lines and simple wooden tables. If you make it for happy hour before 7pm, you'll be treated to half off their whisky selection, which makes for a great way to sample some names you're not familiar with. There's also a short, but sweet cocktail menu with some interesting concoctions like "Pushing Up Daisies" with gin, swedish punsch, mezcal and anise. You can also get beer, wine and cider. 

The food options are also contained to a tight list, but offer some interesting combinations. Sure you've seen brussels sprouts on menus before, but Status Kuo's sprouts contain Chinese sausage and pickled goji berries. There's shishito peppers with unagi butter, cashew, citrus and bonito flakes and pho-lafels with green tahini and bean sprouts.

There's a pasta section with kimchi mac and cheese, beef noodle soup and "sunday gravy," a well cooked five spice braised pork that's filling enough for several people to share. The portion sizes push the boundaries of what I'm used to seeing in small plate selections. Two of us ordered 4 dishes and couldn't finish them. And I should add, none of the plates were over $20, so it's a good value.

You can get some more straight forward dishes like a cheeseburger, half chicken or steak frites. Or branch out with duck "pizza," thai snapper or gochujang wings. All of the dishes were bold on flavor. Nothing too subtle here, which I appreciated, and made the cocktails go down even faster.

Status Kuo is a good casual spot to pop in for some Asian-inspired dishes at a reasonable price. It's new menu is a welcome addition to the growing Mar Vista neighborhood.

Status Kuo
3809 Grand View Boulevard, Los Angeles
310.574.7610