A Downtown LA Restaurant Is Now Charging a Fee to Cover Increased Security Costs

Longtime rooftop restaurant and bar Perch in Downtown Los Angeles has begun instituting a 4.5 percent security fee on checks, according to a viral post on Reddit and a recent report in Los Angeles Magazine. Perch’s website explains the security charge saying it’s added to all checks for the “additional security measures in place for staff and guests. The restaurant retains the entire charge for security resources. This charge should not be considered a tip.”

Perch also says the location on a rooftop requires more security personnel than a ground-floor restaurant. Los Angeles Magazine spoke with restaurateur Bill Chait, who said this was the first time he had heard of such a charge and blamed increased labor costs: “This is going to be the death of a lot of small businesses who are going to have to eliminate service and cut jobs or they will close. There are no menu prices that can absorb this.”

Perch’s sister restaurant, Mrs. Fish, is located in the same Downtown building but operates in a subterranean space. It does not appear to charge a security fee.

Wine bar rebuild

Augustine Wine Bar in Sherman Oaks has shared on Instagram that it will begin rebuilding after receiving all the necessary permits from the city. The beloved neighborhood wine bar, which was known for serving some of the oldest and most difficult-to-find vintages around the world by the glass at reasonable prices, was destroyed in a fire in May 2023.

West Hollywood Sunday Suppers

Years ago, Lucques restaurant became one of West Hollywood’s most beloved places for Sunday Suppers, designed by chef Suzanne Goin. Now recent Michelin Guide addition Amour is reviving the Sunday deal with a weekly $55, three-course menu and an optional $40 wine pairing. The dinners start April 7, and this week features choices of prawn carpaccio or snap pea soup, summer truffle pasta or beef bourguignon, and millefeuille or cheesecake. A larger a la carte menu is available as well.

Chicago dogs in Downtown

When Rita’s Deluxe reopens tomorrow on 7th Street in Downtown, it’ll feature a new menu special for the month that should get Chicago transplants excited. Chef Luke Reyes is doing his version of a Chicago hot dog with a Vienna all-beef hot dog, sport peppers, relish, tomato, celery salt, and tomato in a poppy seed bun for $9. Rita’s had temporarily closed for weeks due to a permitting issue, but that’s all been squared away.

Uber Eats

A New York chef pops up in Hollywood

Yuu Shimano, chef of Brooklyn’s Michelin-starred Restaurant YUU, will appear at Shirley Brasserie with in-house chef Craig Hopson inside Hollywood’s Roosevelt Hotel on April 24 and 25. The multi-course French Japanese dinner will feature white asparagus with parmesan fondue and dashi; lamb saddle with asari clams; and a black tea savarin with blood orange sauce. Tickets, which start at $135, are available here. For a full look at Shimano’s restaurant, check out this incredible Eater video.

A kebabs collab in Buellton

Buellton’s popular Thai restaurant Na Na Thai is doing a special dinner with Mini Kabob co-owner and chef Armen Martirosyan on May 28, beginning at noon until sold out. Walk-ins only, so be sure to show up early for this lunch.