Los Angeles, California – Immersive hospitality visionaries Mark and Jonnie Houston, in collaboration with Mitchell Hochberg of Lightstone, have launched a first-of-its-kind multilayered idea, Stage 8. Revolutionizing Los Angeles’ eating and social panorama, this eating, ingesting, and leisure expertise options eight distinct and mesmerizing locations, occupying everything of the eighth flooring of the just lately launched Moxy & AC Lodge Downtown LA, positioned immediately throughout the road from Crypto.com Enviornment and the Los Angeles Conference Heart.
Sprawled throughout 30,000 sq. ft of indoor and out of doors area, Stage 8’s story is informed by the eyes of its fictional founder, Mr. Wanderlust. This expansive maze of ideas brings collectively a riot of seemingly disparate international influences held collectively by their connection to the tradition of Downtown LA and by an suave mixture of genuine delicacies, performance-driven nightlife, and interactive design.
Stage 8 serves as a stage for a few of LA’s prime culinary expertise to create revolutionary chef-driven ideas, offering a very distinctive vacation spot within the metropolis. Michelin-starred Chef Joshua Gil transports company to a French-Teppanyaki expertise at Maison Kasai and al fresco oyster and ceviche bar Mom of Pearl. Esquire Chef of the Yr and LA native Chef Ray Garcia helms Qué Bárbaro, the South American dwell hearth grill, and The Brown Sheep, a meals truck serving “authentically inauthentic” Mexican road meals with an Angeleno twist. Joel Robuchon protégé Chef Hisae Caught heads up Fortunate Mizu, impressed by the Japanese artwork of cooking with water: seiro mushi (steam) and shabu shabu (boil). Mixed, beneath the steering of Stage 8 Govt Chef Richard Archuleta, the culinary ideas of Stage 8 will showcase a culinary menagerie of experiences.
Partnering with nightlife impresarios Jonnie and Mark Houston, the duo behind Los Angeles’ most fascinating and unique hospitality hotspots, from No Emptiness to Black Rabbit Rose, we’ve conceived a primary occasion vacation spot that turns an evening out right into a transportive expertise. You’ll be able to start the night time with a cocktail and dwell music at Mr. Wanderlust, select from any of the three distinctive and revolutionary eating places, and finish the night time with dancing at considered one of LA’s hottest golf equipment, Sinners y Santos, and possibly a late-night taco – all designed for town that is notoriously tough to restaurant and bar-hop. Solely the Houston Brothers have the curiosity and creativeness to create this sequence of experiences, all threaded collectively, every epic in its personal manner. Mitchell Hochberg of Lightstone
What we’ve discovered in our 20-plus years of opening eating places and bars round LA is that individuals need extra than simply dinner or drinks out. They wish to uncover one thing new and are available away with a way that they’ve achieved one thing memorable, one thing totally different. Stage 8 is all about creating alternatives for that sort of immersive discovery – it’s a end result of our experiences that pays homage to Downtown Los Angeles’ wealthy heritage and historical past. Mark Houston
The center and soul of Stage 8 is Mr. Wanderlust, a full of life piano bar and jazz lounge with a theatrical spin the place company start their journey. Mr. Wanderlust channels the eccentric globetrotting lifetime of its namesake, a fictional adventurer whose assortment of books, artifacts — and cocktail recipes — replicate his eclectic tastes. Golden Hour, a Miami meets Copacabana rooftop pool deck full with a rotating carousel bar, options hovering views of magnificent sunsets and the Hollywood Hills. The pool deck transforms because the solar units to an outside lounge with DJs and dwell leisure. Lastly, Sinners y Santos showcases 20 years of Mark & Jonnie Houston’s nightlife virtuosity, transporting revelers to an deserted Nineteenth-century cathedral which company enter by a “confessional”.
Being from LA, we’ve all the time been immersed within the metropolis’s Latin tradition, and embracing the general culinary range of Los Angeles is a wonderful factor. Our trademark is a trifecta of a novel idea, an excellent cocktail program, and terrific leisure, and the neighborhood supplies us with so many distinctive cultural references that we will play off of. We’ve been ready for the precise alternative to open Downtown and to fill a spot in Los Angeles by offering a pre and post-event vacation spot for Angelenos and vacationers alike from not solely Crypto.com Enviornment, but additionally the close by SoFi Stadium, Kia Discussion board, and Banc of California Stadium. With Stage 8, we’re actually blowing it out of the water. Jonnie Houston
The design and conceptualization of Stage 8 was led by Mark and Jonnie Houston in collaboration with Lightstone Design Studio, Undisclosable, and Basile Studio. Collectively, the group created a fascinating maze of venues that includes theatrical moments at each flip, from a 40-foot Earth Harp stretched throughout the ceiling of Fortunate Mizu to a trapeze artist descending from a chandelier in Mr. Wanderlust.
Whether or not you’re coming from out of city or down the road, you’ll be able to have a really totally different expertise each time you go to,
says Hochberg. Anticipation is a really highly effective emotion: Persons are keen about encountering one thing they’ve by no means seen, tasted, or skilled earlier than. It’s the identical urge that despatched Alice down the rabbit gap. Collectively, Stage 8 and Moxy & AC Lodge Downtown LA promise a large number of latest discoveries. Whichever journey you select, it’s assured to be fascinating and unforgettable.
Mr. Wanderlust
The Stage 8 journey commences at Mr. Wanderlust, a full of life piano bar, and jazz lounge exuding the adventurous spirit of its fictional namesake, the globetrotter extraordinaire. This lounge boasts two intimate and atmospheric rooms, inviting all to embark on an exploration by his musical and worldly delights.
As company step into Mr. Wanderlust, they’re welcomed into a wonderful library adorned with intricate wooden paneling and bookshelves showcasing Mr. Wanderlust’s cherished experiences. A darkish oak host stand serves because the centerpiece welcoming company into the world of his adventures, whereas above, aerialists will gracefully swing from a chandelier, setting the stage for fascinating performances all through. The library additionally serves as a treasure trove of mementos that includes globally impressed rugs, collectibles, work, and black and white pictures—every a prized memento echoing Mr. Wanderlust’s travels.
Getting into by a hidden passageway, the general public might enterprise deeper into Mr. Wanderlust’s residence, the place serpentine cubicles are upholstered in patterned materials, and complicated oak detailing adorns the partitions. The lounge incorporates a stage the place Grammy-award successful artists will carry out all through the night time, while silhouettes of mysterious performers might be seen on both aspect. Because the night unfolds, the stage is revealed, and a pianist or performer begins a present.
Take pleasure in a fascinating journey by Mr. Wanderlust’s international cocktail menu by the hands of Devon Espinosa. The wine program at Mr. Wanderlust is a meticulously curated choice by award-winning sommelier, Eric Railsback, that transports company on a sensory voyage, providing a harmonious mix of old-world classics and revolutionary new-world discoveries. The distinctive choice of cocktails is the results of a collaboration with esteemed mixologists from world wide, together with Julian Cox, Alex Day, and Dave Kaplan, Christian “Suzu” Suzuki-Orellana of Wildhawk and Kagano in San Francisco, Kate Gerwin of Blissful Accidents in Albuquerque, amongst others. Every beverage is meticulously crafted to showcase the spirits and flavors of their respective areas, inviting company to embark on a mesmerizing journey with each sip. Accompanying these libations, Stage 8 Govt Chef, Richard Archuleta presents a globally-inspired omakase-style choice of small bites, starting from the beautiful Caviar Toad within the Gap to the Braised Wagyu Beef “Cigarettes,” and Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup. For a unprecedented pairing, Espinosa moreover affords an omakase-like capsule expertise, thoughtfully mixing craft cocktails with choose small plates by Archuleta. Await to be transported to the illustrious world of Mr. Wanderlust.
From Mr. Wanderlust, company can embark on their culinary voyage by considered one of two secret speakeasy entrances. The primary entrance results in Maison Kasai, the French-Japanese teppanyaki restaurant helmed by Chef Joshua Gil. The second entrance entices company to Fortunate Mizu, a seiro mushi restaurant, crafted by Chef Hisae Caught.
www.mrwanderlustdtla.com | @mrwanderlust.dtla
Reservations aren’t required however beneficial till 9pm
Reservations by way of OpenTable
Wednesday and Sunday: 5:30pm – 12am
Thursday – Saturday: 5:30pm – Late
Monday and Tuesday: closed
Fortunate Mizu by Chef Hisae Caught
Accessed by a secret hall, company are welcomed to Fortunate Mizu, a Japanese restaurant anchored within the artwork of cooking with water – that includes shabu-shabu (boil) and seiro-mushi (steam). On the helm of Fortunate Mizu, is gifted Chef Hisae Caught, a local of Kobe, Japan, who labored alongside legendary French Chef, Joël Robuchon, bringing her experience to thrill company with scrumptious dishes.
Centered round a u-shaped eating bar, seating 30 on luxurious blue and inexperienced upholstered stools, diners will relish the interactive expertise of cooking their meals on the desk. The restaurant additionally options cubicles beneath arched trellises adorned with cherry blossoms and round infinity mirrors depicting hundreds of butterflies. The culinary journey begins with scrumptious “zensai” snacks and uncooked dishes, adopted by a selection of seiro mushi or shabu shabu set entrée. Every set consists of Japanese A5 wagyu, Kurobuta pork, seasonal seafood, or natural farmer’s market greens, together with quite a lot of broths. Specialty libations, together with rice-based spirits and umeshu, full the expertise with a nod to the colourful ingesting tradition of Osaka and Tokyo.
The restaurant incorporates a wall adorned with 777 conventional golden “fortunate cat” collectible figurines. Above the bar, on a platform, musicians will carry out on a 40-foot Earth Harp that stretches diagonally from one nook of the room to the opposite — the creation of visionary musician and Grammy Award-winning artist William Shut — and on drums, giving the impression of eating in a music field.
www.luckymizudtla.com | @luckymizu.dtla
Reservations by way of OpenTable
Wednesday – Sunday: 5:30pm – 10pm
Monday – Tuesday: Closed
Maison Kasai by Chef Joshua Gil
The journey into the world of Maison Kasai (“Home of Fireplace”) begins within the alluring confines of Mr. Wanderlust the place company might be guided into the restaurant by a secret entryway. This passageway unveils a French-Japanese teppanyaki providing, envisioned and curated by Michelin-starred chef, Joshua Gil. On the coronary heart of Maison Kasai sit bespoke teppanyaki tables serving as fascinating platforms the place expert cooks will artfully put together every course with a mesmerizing culinary efficiency.
The place dwell cooking turns into an artwork kind, Chef Gil has crafted an beautiful menu that skillfully blends Japanese flavors with French culinary methods. Right here, diners discover a teppanyaki culinary expertise that includes an array of delectable entrees, with a dinner expertise that includes à la carte objects or a teppanyaki dinner menu. Highlights embody lobster (with kosho corn custard, miyoga drawn butter); wagyu dumplings (shiitake consommé, contemporary wasabi); omega azul kampachi (nasu dengaku, miso boulliabase); or the famend Japanese A5 Wagyu – every dish is accompanied by conventional French sauces. Indulge within the flavors of Wakame Shiitake Tare, Kizami Au Poivre, and Sauce à l’Americaine that completely complement grilled delicacies. Complementing every dish, Maison Kasai affords a thoughtfully curated choice of premium sake, shōchūs, and craft cocktails, guaranteeing a well-rounded eating expertise with every expertly crafted sip.
Drawing inspiration from Japanese expressionism in Artwork Deco, the restaurant’s ambiance is a harmonious mix of magnificence and creativity. Customized-designed Japanese Artwork Deco-style wallpaper, envisioned by artist Candice Kaye, adorns the partitions, presenting a mesmerizing geometric collage of abstracted faces and silhouettes. With two personal eating areas, the partitions at Maison Kasai are superbly adorned with wealthy, heat wooden tones, embellished with fascinating starburst patterns that create a shocking three-dimensional visible impact.
www.maisonkasaidtla.com | @maisonkasai.dtla
Reservations by way of OpenTable
Wednesday – Sunday: 5:30pm – 10pm
Monday – Tuesday: Closed
Qué Bárbaro by Chef Ray Garcia
Company can uncover the range of South American delicacies by the custom of dwell hearth cooking at Qué Barbaro. Crafted by award-winning chef Ray Garcia, this open and ethereal restaurant showcases dwell wood-fire cooking with meats, seafood, and inventive vegetarian dishes, all infused with daring, refined flavors, ready on a wood-fired open grill within the middle of the area. Menu highlights embody Provoleta (provolone picante, san marzano tomato, chimichurri, baguette); Anticucho de Hongo (oyster mushroom, black garlic, cambray onion); Dorada a la Parrilla (dorade, romesco, child fennel, calabrian chili); and the massive format Costilla Gaucha – a 30 oz prime, bone-in quick rib meant for sharing (with leaf lettuces, candy potato, ensalada rusa, chimichurri). The cocktail menu consists of twists on basic South American drinks just like the caipirinha, and riffs on the pisco bitter, and a play on the flavorful batida — all designed to enrich the dwell hearth delicacies.
For these looking for an alfresco eating expertise, an outside bar affords a fascinating view of the restaurant. The restaurant design attracts inspiration from South American structure and is adorned with lush greenery on the ceiling. Tropical-toned materials in numerous shades of deep greens adorn the cubicles and banquettes, whereas the wallpaper showcases a full of life scene of birds, monkeys, and different wildlife frolicking amidst a vibrant jungle backdrop. Wooden paneling and colourful tiles, together with the glowing glow of brass sconces, create an ambiance paying homage to a non-public backyard oasis. Customized lighting fixtures resembling picket trellises are adorned with lush greenery, creating a fascinating environment as if eating beneath a suspended backyard.
www.quebarbarodtla.com | @quebarbaro.dtla
Reservations by way of OpenTable
Wednesday – Sunday: 5:30pm – 10pm
Monday – Tuesday: Closed
Golden Hour
Qué Barbaro spills out onto Golden Hour, a Miami-meets-Copacabana rooftop pool deck presenting an city oasis eight tales above Downtown LA. Bathed within the heat glow of the solar stands a hanging carousel bar with rotating prime strung with chandeliers, embellished with golden pineapples. The pool deck transforms because the solar units to an outside lounge with DJs and dwell leisure.
The cocktail menu attracts inspiration from basic tiki tradition with a rotating choice of granitas, “painkiller-coladas,” and extra, whisking company to an island getaway. Golden Hour supplies the best locale to get pleasure from breathtaking Southern California sunsets year-round.
Golden Hour’s massive rotating carousel bar is seen from the road, capturing the creativeness of passers-by. The colour palette evokes the magical hues of golden hour, with radiant golden tones dancing alongside the luxurious greens of the tropics and the alluring oranges and pinks of the setting solar. With personal cabanas, swing seats, convertible lounge chairs, and Copacabana-style patterned tiles surrounding two swimming swimming pools, it’s a see-and-be-seen scorching spot that transitions seamlessly from day to nighttime.
www.goldenhourdtla.com | @goldenhour.dtla
Reservations aren’t required
Wednesday – Sunday: 5:30 pm – 11pm
Monday and Tuesday: Closed
The Brown Sheep
(opening later this month)
Discovered on Stage 8’s expansive out of doors terrace, The Brown Sheep by Chef Ray Garcia presents sudden takes on a seemingly informal menu of consolation favorites, showcasing Garcia’s “authentically inauthentic” method to cooking in addition to his capacity to deftly incorporate international flavors into his menus, making his meals quintessentially “LA.”. Menu highlights embody Panilocos (pani puri, pickled wooden ear mushroom, Japanese peanut, cucumber, tamarind chutney); Scorching Hen Tacos (guajillo fried rooster, slaw, habanero comeback sauce, flour tortilla); and Lengua Cheesesteak (beef tongue, rajas, provolone, crispy shallot, chile morita, flour tortilla).
Modeled after a basic road eats automobile, the “classic” truck invitations company to put orders on the fastened counter, replicating a real road meals expertise. Surrounded by the enchanting fantastic thing about Talavera tiles, the terrace beckons company to take pleasure in quite a lot of colours and textures. Inviting wood-and-leather Equipale chairs present snug seating, whereas wrought iron furnishings, adorned with upholstery in daring stripes of saturated pink, orange, inexperienced, and blue, provides a vibrant contact. Because the solar units, the terrace comes alive DJs spin, setting the stage for a quintessential expertise.
www.brownsheepdtla.com | @thebrownsheepdtla
Reservations aren’t required
Wednesday – Saturday: 5:30pm – late
Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday: Closed
Mom of Pearl
(opening later this month)
Past a wall adorned with vibrant pink bougainvillea and beautiful wrought iron gates lies Mom of Pearl, a champagne & oyster bar from Chef Joshua Gil. Additionally positioned at Stage 8’s out of doors terrace, Mom of Pearl showcases the best regionally sourced components, creating revolutionary variations of conventional flavors which are positive to captivate discerning palates. Dishes embody seafood towers, Crab Bouillabaisse with saffron rice crisps, Lobster Egg Salad Tea Sandwich topped with caviar, and Chilled Shrimp and Octopus Tom Yum – all dishes showcase the love of custom reinterpreted by modern method. Libations highlight champagnes, Outdated and New World wines, cocktails created with fresh-pressed juices, and martinis full with caviar bumps.
Designed as a Spanish Colonial gazebo, an intricately curved wrought iron and glass overhang frames the bar beneath, which is confronted with hand-troweled stucco inlaid with Talavera tile of cobalt blue borders and blue, yellow, and white florals.
Reservations aren’t required.
www.motherofpearldtla.com | @motherofpearldtla
Wednesday: 5:30pm – 11 pm
Thursday – Sunday: 5:30pm-10pm
Monday and Tuesday: Closed
Sinners y Santos
(opening later this month)
As revelers step into the realm of Sinners y Santos, they encounter a mesmerizing journey that begins with a “confessional sales space,” an enigmatic gateway the place secrets and techniques are unveiled and souls are laid naked. Right here, a second of profound reflection awaits, as those that enter should confess their sins to unlock the world past. A nightclub that guarantees a night of pleasant intrigue, Sinners y Santos celebrates the legendary El Santo, the revered Mexican luchador and folks hero. Whereas savoring specialty agave cocktails served in ornate chalices, clubbers are mesmerized unexpectedly performances that pay tribute to El Santo’s extraordinary profession in the course of the Fifties and 60s.
Imagined as a repurposed Nineteenth-century cathedral, the membership beckons guests into an awe-inspiring setting, paying homage to a reimagined historic cathedral. The venue showcases partitions adorned in Venetian plaster, revealing patches of unique brick beneath, alongside wrought iron chandeliers and distressed oak millwork. Dripping prayer candles encompass the stained-glass bar while a cleverly disguised DJ sales space, customary as a pipe organ, hides inside arched, barrel-vaulted ceilings, inviting all guests to give up to the mesmerizing beats of the night time.
www.sinnersysantosdtla.com | @sinnersysantos
Thursday – Saturday: 10pm – 2am
Sunday – Wednesday: Closed
Brothers Mark and Jonnie have created a distinct segment market of luxurious scorching spots. Their want to bridge the hole between a dive bar and a nightclub in LA led them to create their very own first-of-their-kind speakeasies and golf equipment. Starting with the launch of Piano Bar in 2007, a flurry of further ideas adopted, every extra creative than the final. Through the years, spanning from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, the additions to the Houston Hospitality household have included: Cuban-themed bar La Descarga, American-themed dwell music venue Harvard & Stone, Parisian cocktail lounge Pour Vous, speakeasy-style No Emptiness & Soiled Laundry, Seventies-inspired Good Instances at Davey Wayne’s, On the Report at Park MGM Las Vegas, 80’s oasis Break Room 86, and disco-deco dreamscape Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.
Identified for his or her transportive, distinctive experiences their numerous ideas have attracted prime expertise and celebrities throughout town together with Woman Gaga, Olivia Rodrigo, Billie Eilish, Drake, the Weeknd, Diplo, Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters, and Bruno Mars.
At Stage 8, a tapestry of extraordinary experiences awaits. Every distinctive idea, crafted beneath the inventive imaginative and prescient of the Houston brothers, Mitchell Hochberg, and their chef companions, invitations company to embark on journeys by realms of taste and tradition that transcend the abnormal. From the alluring world of Mr. Wanderlust to the colourful vitality of Qué Barbaro and the revelry of Sinners y Santos, Stage 8 is a symphony of senses. Because the doorways open to disclose these outstanding locations, we invite all to hitch on this unparalleled voyage, the place each second is a celebration of the extraordinary.
Handle: 1254 S Figueroa St, Los Angeles, CA 90015
www.level8dtla.com | | houstonhospitalityla.com | @level8.dtla
www.moxydtla.com | www.achoteldtla.com | @Moxy_AC_losangeles
ABOUT MOXY & AC HOTEL DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES
With a large number of experiences beneath one roof, Moxy and AC Lodge Downtown Los Angeles are DTLA’s new vacation spot for guests and locals. Situated within the coronary heart of Downtown, immediately throughout from the Los Angeles Conference Heart and Crypto.com Enviornment, the 2 inns provide a complete of 727 guestrooms; an unprecedented 12 eating and leisure choices, together with Stage 8, a set of eating places, bars, and lounges that spotlight the neighborhood’s various cultures and cuisines; a Miami-meets-Copacabana pool deck; and over 13,000 sq. ft of versatile assembly and social occasions area with a design impressed by DTLA’s industrial heritage. The property, which opened earlier in 2023, was developed and is owned by Lightstone.
About Houston Hospitality
Based in 2007, with the launch of Piano Bar, fraternal twins Mark and Jonnie Houston have cornered a distinct segment market of excessive finish nightlife ideas. Every location extra creative than the final, their initiatives and ideas span from Los Angeles to Las Vegas and past. The present Houston Hospitality household consists of cuban-themed bar La Descarga, American-themed dwell music venue Harvard & Stone, Parisian cocktail lounge Pour Vous, speakeasy-style No Emptiness & Soiled Laundry, Seventies-inspired Good Instances at Davey Wayne’s, On the Report at Park MGM Las Vegas, 80’s oasis Break Room 86, and disco-deco dreamscape Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, and multi-layered culinary and nightlife vacation spot, Stage 8.
