Jinya West Hollywood Opens Live-Fire Restaurant on La Cienega

Jinya opened a live-fire restaurant in West Hollywood on April 17, quietly signaling that the Japanese chain has bigger ambitions than ramen bowls.

The new spot, simply called Jinya, sits at 826 N. La Cienega Boulevard, just south of Santa Monica Boulevard, in the former MXO space that closed in 2025. It’s a sharp pivot for the company behind Jinya Ramen Bar, Robata Jinya, and Saijo, built over 16 years of business. The menu still carries familiar sushi-house anchors like edamame, crispy rice, and shishito peppers, but the real draw is the wood and charcoal fire section, which produces some genuinely ambitious cuts.

Think 16-ounce dry-aged rib-eye. There’s also an 8-ounce Japanese wagyu filet, a short rib slow-smoked for 24 hours, and a gochujang-glazed double-boned lamb chop served with yuzu chimichurri, broccolini, and oyster mushrooms. That lamb chop alone tells you this kitchen isn’t playing it safe. The fire treatment doesn’t stop at protein: charred romaine, cauliflower, bluefin otoro, and miso black cod skewers all come off the same wood and charcoal setup.

If you want something in the carb column, the lobster garlic noodles and charred mushroom ramen both look like strong bets, and the Shiso Collins is there if you need a drink to pace the evening. Jinya is open 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. daily, with happy hour running from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., as Eater LA first reported.

Elsewhere in the steakhouse beat, a couple of other stories deserve attention.

Lawry’s, the longtime red-meat landmark in Los Angeles, has introduced what it’s calling the tiny prime celebration package for $49. The package leans into the GLP-1 moment: reduced-size portions across the board, including a savory meat-and-potatoes martini and a petite prime rib slice modeled after what’s served at Lawry’s Tokyo locations. Spinning salad, Yorkshire pudding, spinach, and corn round out the sides. It’s a clever read on where restaurant culture is right now, though I’ll admit I have complicated feelings about shrinking a prime rib.

Gone, for good.

Clifton’s Republic is fully closed. Owner Andrew Meieran told the Los Angeles Times that operating out of Downtown’s historic core had become too difficult to sustain. Meieran bought the historic cafeteria in 2010 and opened it in 2015, running multiple floors and concepts including a tiki bar and steakhouse. What followed was years of closures, partial reopenings, and special event announcements that never quite held. The building has real history, and that closure stings.

On the opposite end of the energy spectrum, All’Antico Vinaio is doing something genuinely exciting. The Florence-born sandwich chain is launching the Florence Underground dinner series starting April 24, running through June 26, 2026. The format is tight: 30 seats per night, reservations only, and a focus on bistecca alla Fiorentina prepared in the Florentine tradition. Dinner runs $130 per person. The National Restaurant Association tracks this kind of limited-format dinner experience as one of the fastest-growing models in American dining right now, and it’s easy to see why. Thirty seats creates real scarcity. Bistecca alla Fiorentina, done right, needs almost nothing else.

For readers who prefer to stay in the Valley rather than fight WeHo parking, BLVD Steak on San Fernando Boulevard deserves more credit than it gets. I’ve eaten there multiple times and the kitchen consistently delivers, especially on the heavier cuts. It’s the kind of place where you don’t need a reservation three weeks out, which matters on a Tuesday.

What ties all of these openings and announcements together isn’t just beef, though there’s plenty of that. It’s that restaurants are trying to create reasons to commit, whether that’s a 30-seat underground dinner or a happy hour window that runs exactly 90 minutes. The California Restaurant Association has noted that post-pandemic diner habits still skew toward shorter, more deliberate visits rather than long-haul dinner parties, and smart operators are designing around that reality. Jinya’s 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. happy hour window fits that pattern exactly, as does All’Antico Vinaio’s reservation-only format. The live-fire menu at Jinya gives diners a reason to spend, and the tight happy hour window gives them a reason to show up early.