3 Reasons You Should End Your Night at Church and State in Downtown LA
Walking out of my car and in the direction of the restaurant, I looked to my left and then to my right.
I repeated the head gesture as I led myself to an answer of a question I didn’t realize I asked. It was the thought that there wasn’t much to do in this part of town. In no way was the restaurant ahead of me less interesting because of its location, but it did make me wonder how long I would actually be there. Stepping inside and finding the table of welcoming company, and the concern about its coordinates was no longer an issue. I was eager to let the night begin and allow it to take me as it saw fit. As the plates quickly arrived it didn’t take long for me to find at least three reasons why Church and State in Downtown Los Angeles would be a great place to end the night.
The minute your feet say goodbye to the city and hello to the interior of the restaurant, you’re welcomed into such comforting beauty. So much so that you instantly begin to feel at ease. Once your shoulders drop as you’re greeted by the hostess, you quickly get the sense that you’ve been there before—even if you haven’t. Moving between tables of guests chatting over paper table cloths covered in the splatter of food that escaped the fork, you start to think the space feels like home. Possibly a much more expensive home by square foot, but home nonetheless.
It’s then that you’re seated and begin to explore the menu to discover the second reason why Church and State should be your evening destination: the cocktails.
As a person who has drastically decreased my alcohol intake, I can honestly say that Church and State is a restaurant whose cocktails make me want to reverse that. It’s hard to say no to their drinks as they are absolutely delicious. The bartenders balance the ingredients nicely, they devise a way to display them beautifully, and most of all they pair well with the plates across the menu. Find a favorite and there’s a good chance you won’t want to explore any others. Sure you can try a few if it calls your name, but why bother when you have something so good in between your fingertips?
If there were a single reason why you should dine at Church and State, it would have to be for the food. A beautiful interior and incredible cocktails could all disappear, but if the menu still remained you could find me there. That might be a tad exaggerated because both of those are important, but you get the gist. From their gazpacho, steak tartare, and even their salad, Church and State has a way of aligning flavors so well that you can easily discover a dish that your taste buds will gladly explore. That was the experience I had on my visit. Everything across the menu seemed so perfect, but with limited space to eat them all I was thrilled to get a bit of each dish to find the one I liked most. If you don’t have the same luxury, describe your preferences and interests to the waiter and they’ll lead you down the right path. Spoiler alert: all paths lead to something delicious.
Sure there may not be a lot to actually do when you visit Church and State. You may not be able to walk outside of the restaurant and into something worthwhile like a movie or a museum. But the restaurant is designed and situated to encourage you to linger over the beautiful interior, cocktails, and plates. They make you want to sit in close proximity to the people you love with your arms extended to lean in to a plate to grab something that calls you. Or to clink your cocktail glass with a person whose smile is as bright as yours. Although you may not find yourself wandering into the next nearby adventure, you will find yourself unaware that hours have passed and plates have cleared all while in the restaurant and that in itself is more than worthwhile.
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Address: 1850 Industrial Street, Los Angeles, CA 90021
Phone: (213) 405-1434
Hours: Monday through Thursday – 5:00pm to 10:00pm, Friday & Saturday – 5:00pm to 11:00pm, and Closed Sundays.
Social: Website, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
