Celadon closed. Heart broken. Need substitute...

[rogermexico]

Celadon was our favorite place.

Does anybody have any substitutes other than Orris and Bar Hayama for an inventive small plates spot with an asian fusion twist? We love Orris but the plates are more on the simple side. Hayama we found less impressive (read: same aioli on all the dishes). Any other ideas?

Secondly, anyone know if Danny Elmaleh plans to do any more cooking in the future?

[soniabegonia]

Kiriko is technically a sushi joint but has a great selection of small plates. I like it much better than Orris, although Kiriko leans more traditional than Orris. They also have nightly specials. I really liked their fried gobo last time.

Check out their menu. They also have homemade ice cream.. Their sesame ice cream has been discussed many times on this board and is one of my favorite ice cream flavors.
http://www.kirikosushi.com/menu/

[js76wisco]

Ronin on La Cienega is worth a try. It's not quite as refined as Celadon but the food there is very good.

[diggable eater]

Dude!! We went there once and LOVED IT. the food was great.service great.wine recommendations, great. then we drove by a few weeks after and were thrown off by the crappy "global tapas" grafitti on the doors. what happened? I agreee with chowmominLA - Musha is pretty bomb. the pork belly was amazing. more asion than fusion though.

[Servorg]

Have you tried Mako in Beverly Hills? Similar feel to the food and very good (and fairly priced). Not as nice a room as Celadon had (and whose closing also left us feeling sorry for the people who we met there - as well as missing the food) which was a beautiful space. But Mako is probably your best local bet.

http://www.makorestaurant.com/index_f...

[Nicole]

Agree that Mako is a great pick for asian fusion small plates.

[condiment]

Yatai on the Sunset Strip would probably fill the bill. Very decent fusion ``tapas'' and a good sake list, a nice patio, a decent hang. Bar Hayama is good for traditional sushi, but the fusion dishes do tend to suck.

[chowmominLA]

oh that's too bad... Had a lovely Valentine's dinner there.

Well not really Asian fusion but Japanese with a contemporary flair, have you tried Musha? Izakaya in small portions, delicious and inventive; I prefer Musha to Orris or Celadon ever so slightly. Most prefer the Torrance location to Santa Monica, but I've really enjoyed both locations.