Dave Chang is on top of the global food scene. Since opening the first Momofuku in the East Village of New York in 2004, he has opened restaurants in New York City, Las Vegas, Washington DC, Toronto, Sydney and Los Angeles. His food ranges from the deliciously simple to lavish tasting menus, but the result is always the same – an exceptional meal.
His most recent major undertaking, along with Executive Chef Jude Parra-Sickels, has been the 2018 launch of Los Angeles’ Majordōmo on the east side of Chinatown near Downtown LA. We’ve been Dave Chang fans since the early days of Momofuku Noodle Bar and Ssäm Bar and our recent dining experience was very much anticipated.
One great thing about Dave Chang is his accessability. Not actual conversations mind you, but the ability to know a lot about him through his interactions with the media and his fans. In addition to interviews in the normal food-centric publications, he has also joined the Ringer network, as a podcast host and regular contributor, he has starred in two of his own Netflix series “Ugly Delicious” & “Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner”, and has done cross-over appearances on shows like “The Chef Show” and PBS’s “Mind of a Chef”. To top it all off he was featured on the cover of Time Magazine as one of the “Food Gods” along side legends René Redzepi (of Noma) and Alex Alta (of D.O.M.).
Majordōmo is a family-style place, to be sure. Lots of seating, indoor-outdoor options, and many plates that HAVE to be shared, based on quantity and price, alone.
The menu is basically broken up into 6 categories
- Bing (flatbreads with spreads/dips)
- Appetizers & Raw Bar
- Market (Veges)
- Noodles & Rice
- Main Courses (individual)
- Main Courses (shared)
From other reviews we’ve read and from what we saw, some of the very best items are on the “Main Shared” part of the menu. Unfortunately, since there were only two of us, it didn’t work for us to try any of these standouts. We really recommend going with a big group so that you can try some of these larger items, specifically the 45 Day Dry-Aged Holstein Ribeye (with B.S. fries and cheese sauce), the Spicy Bo Ssäm (roasted pork with Bibb lettuce and condiments), the Boneless Chuck Short Rib (braised with Asian pear & daikon, with rice cakes, sweet potato and melted raclette), and the Whole Plat Short Rib (smoked in the style of APL (Adam Perry Lang) with beef rice, shiso, rice paper, ssämjang & condiments).
Not to say we didn’t eat well without those larger items! For the two of us, we had a little bit from each part of the menu:
- From the “Bing” section, we choose the Bing with cave-aged butter and caviar, but other great dip/spread pairing included the duck liver mousse or the spicy lamb.
- From the “Market” section, we choose the heirloom tomato salad with stone fruit, basil and sesame. Other good options are the marinated mushrooms with pistachio & radish, or the Bounty Bowl (Dōmojang, koji mascarpone)
- From the “Raw & Appetizers” we choose the Diver scallop with cucumber, serrano & yuzu. Other options that looked great were oysters (with kimchi & lemon) and the Baja California Uni (with broken tofu, yuzu & sorrel)
- From the “Noodles & Rice” we choose a bastardized mac’n’cheese that is Macaroni and fermented chickpea (that tastes like and has consistency of cheese) – truly remarkable. Other good options are the Tapioca Lo Mein or the Mafaldine (crab, breadcrumb, lemon)
Bing Bread with aged butter & caviar 
Heirloom tomato salad with stone fruit
Diver scallop with cucumber 
Macaroni & chickpea
From there, we moved on to the main courses:
- From the fish part of the “Main” menu, we had the marinated Black Cod with hozon, boky choy and plum.
- From the meat part of the “Main” menu, we had the crispy pork belly with kohlrabi, lettuce and Dōmojang. Other good options were the Denver Steak and Pork Chop.
Black cod with bok choy & plum 
Pork belly lettuce wraps
Chefs at work in the kitchen 
Outdoor dining space
The bar at Majordōmo 
Amazing art all around the space
Recap:
Majordōmo is a great addition to an already thriving LA restaurant scene. It’s a place were we are looking forward to going back to, in order to try some of the dishes we had to pass up and to revisit some of our favorites. Although the location isn’t really near anything else, it’s close to everything and easily accessible. Super glad we went and can’t wait to come back!
- Majordōmo (1725 Naud St., Los Angeles, CA 90012)
- majordomo.la
- Asian (modern and family style)
- $$$$ ($200 – $300 for two, but we recommend going with a large group, which may cut down on cost per head)
- Overall Rating (w/o price): ★★★☆ (Very Good)
- Four Star Rating (w/ price): ★★★☆ (Good Deal)