Ladyhawk's Charbel Hayek Covers L.A. Magazine's Best New Restaurants Issue
Ladyhawk chef Charbel Hayek prepares his Za’atar Man’oushe, made with 48-hour fermented dough, wild thyme, olive oil, tomatoes and herbs.
Irvin Rivera
“For me, food brings people together,” says chef Charbel Hayek, who was brought in to helm signature restaurant Ladyhawk at the Kimpton La Peer Hotel — our #1 Best New Restaurant — after someone from the team had seen him on Top Chef Middle East & North Africa (which he won at age 24, in 2021).
“I think the market really needed it,” says the Lebanon-born, French-trained chef, who spent years at Josiah Citrin’s Mélisse. While he loved Bavel and Saffy’s, Hayek aspired to bring an elevated take on Middle Eastern cuisine to West Hollywood. “There are 10 to 15 Italian restaurants around us,” says Hayek, whose first restaurant opened at a tenuous time — in the weeks following the Oct. 7 attacks.
“That’s why I wanted to have dishes from everywhere — we wanted to be Eastern Mediterranean,” says Hayek, who shows food to be a unifier. “Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, Syria, it’s a very similar cuisine. But each country does it a little bit differently: The Lebanese falafel are a bit different than the Israeli or Jordanian. The Israeli hummus is heavy on tahini. … I want to showcase a bit of every country. Like the chicken wing dish: Harissa is a Tunisian sauce, and Zhoug is Yemeni. So we were able to mix the region in a very beautiful way.”
Since Ladyhawk’s debut, L.A. has seen a proliferation of Middle Eastern newcomers — from nearby Israeli spot Carmel to Michael Mina’s Egyptian-inspired Orla, to Layla in Santa Monica and even Hayek’s latest project, Laya in Hollywood (think sexy skewers in an al fresco garden). “I think people want to be healthy but also want good flavors,” Hayek explains. “It’s a very clean food. We only use good fat, like olive oil, great produce from the farmers market. And it’s a very fun cuisine. You get together and you enjoy a bunch of dishes at the same time.”
Of the four to five Middle Eastern entrants he’s seen pop up, Hayek decrees, “All of them are great. While the war was happening, I was eating at Carmel — I know the owner, and they’re friends. And I would love to have everybody at Ladyhawk,” he says. “Everybody — I don’t care where you are from. I don’t care what you believe. Everybody is welcome here, and that’s what the restaurant business is.”
PHOTOGRAPHER
Irvin Rivera
CREATIVE DIRECTION
Ada Guerin
EDITOR
Jasmin Rosemberg
LOCATION
Ladyhawk
DIGITECH
Phil Limprasertwong
