Los Angeles-based restaurant Kato, run by chef Jon Yao and sommelier and director of operations Ryan Bailey, is today named as the recipient of the Resy One To Watch Award 2024 from The World’s 50 Best Restaurants. The award recognizes a rising-star restaurant that is making waves in the gastronomic scene worthy of international acclaim.
Taiwanese-American chef Yao first opened Kato in 2016 in a non-descript West LA strip mall, serving a tasting menu spanning Asian-American cuisine, heavily influenced by his mother’s Taiwanese cooking. In early 2022, Yao and Bailey moved Kato to new, expanded, fully licensed premises at the ROW DTLA in the Arts District of Los Angeles, promoting long-time general manager Nikki Reginaldo to managing partner and bringing onboard seasoned bar director Austin Hennelly in the process.
The industrial-luxe restaurant is home to a fresh take on fine dining, with Yao’s dishes incorporating the essence of classic Taiwanese cuisine with a distinctly contemporary edge. A custom wood-fired hearth and grill anchors the kitchen, which serves a tasting menu of 12 standout courses, including dishes such as caramelized sablefish with abalone and basil, grilled lobster with lobster toast and a sauce of roasted shells, and Dungeness crab custard with fish maw and crab vinegar. Sweet courses include the likes of bonito yam boba with fresh cheese and sable, as well as roasted Taiwanese pineapple mille-feuille. The menu speaks to Yao and his team’s unwavering vision to elevate Taiwanese cuisine and educate LA diners as to its myriad merits.
William Drew, Director of Content for The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, says: “Kato is blowing diners away with its blend of original flavors and old-school hospitality on the West Coast, and this award will bring Jon Yao’s cooking to a wider international audience. We are delighted to reward the team’s dedication, passion, skill, and originality with this hugely deserved accolade.”
Yao says, “On behalf of myself and my team, I want to thank our fantastic support system and diners, as none of this would be possible without you. We are excited, honored, and grateful to be recognized internationally.”
Pablo Rivero, CEO of Resy and VP/GM of American Express Dining, says: “Resy is thrilled to present the One To Watch Award to Kato and the team, led by Jon Yao, Nikki Reginaldo, and Ryan Bailey. Kato has been at the forefront of Los Angeles’ incredible dining scene since they introduced their inspired, contemporary Taiwanese concept in 2021. We look forward to championing Kato as they continue to be an agent of change in the culinary world.”
The Resy One To Watch Award winner is selected by the 50 Best team as a rising-star restaurant that the organization believes has the potential to make it onto the annual global ranking in the future. It is also one of several awards to be revealed ahead of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2024 awards ceremony, which will be held at Wynn Las Vegas on the evening of Wednesday, 5 June.
This year’s program will include a series of key events that have become the cornerstone of 50 Best Restaurants celebrations: thought-leadership forum #50BestTalks; the 50 Best Signature Sessions series of collaborative dining events open to the public; a Chefs’ Feast showcasing superlative Las Vegas fine dining, all culminating in the awards ceremony and countdown itself, as well as the official 50 Best Closing Party.
50 Best works with professional services consultancy Deloitte as its official independent adjudication partner to help protect the integrity and authenticity of the voting process and the resulting list of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2024. See more details on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants voting process here.
The awards ceremony for The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2024 will also be streamed live on the 50 Best Facebook channel via the link here and the YouTube channel via the link here. The announcement of the list and individual awards can be followed via the 50 Best social media channels, with the live stream beginning at 20:25 (Las Vegas time) and 04:25 UK time.
