The Dish: Chi Dynasty to expand

Chi Dynasty, the 27-year-old Chinese restaurant that helped give rise to the hopping restaurant row on Hillhurst Avenue in Los Feliz, is heading to the Valley. Owner Jonathan Chi has teamed up with restaurant and nightlife mogul Mike Israyelyan of Muse Lifestyle Group to open a second location in Studio City next week.

Israyelyan, a longtime Chi Dynasty customer, is also behind the decadent nightclub Playhouse Hollywood as well as a number of slick and fashionable restaurants, including Ninethirty and the Backyard. The new Chi Dynasty will be marked by a Muse-style hipness while retaining the same demure, upscale sensibility as the original (lots of rich reds, midnight blacks and gold detailing).

The menu will be much the same as it is in Los Feliz, including the restaurant’s signature Chinese chicken salad (tossed with ginger, scallions and ground peanuts in a special vinaigrette); Dynasty chicken in ginger-curry sauce; Hunan lamb sautéed with leeks in garlic sauce; kung pao tofu; and walnut shrimp in a rich white sauce.

A friends-and-family party is planned for the weekend, but the general public can get their mu shu on midweek.

Chi Dynasty, 12229 Ventura Blvd., Studio City. (818) 753-5300; https://www.chidynasty.com.

Intelligentsia now open in Pasadena

The newest L.A.-area Intelligentsia Coffeebar opened Wednesday morning on Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena. The light-filled space, painted in bright blue, will serve not only coffee and pastries but also a roster of dishes at lunch and dinner from chef Matthew Poley’s catering company Heirloom-LA. There also eventually will be beer (four taps and plenty of hoppy stuff in bottles) and wine (a list curated by Covell general manager Matthew Kaner).

Mass Architecture transformed what once was a Wok ‘n’ Roll (in a 19th century building) into a space that features exposed brick walls, a coffee counter made with reclaimed wood, both high and low tables, church pews from Illinois, strung lights and a couple of three-group Synesso machines. Michael Phillips, the 2010 world barista champion and Intelligentsia’s director of education, has been training the staff. “It’s a crack team,” he says. “They’re ready.”

55 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, Twitter @intellipasadena.

K2 nears completion in Silver Lake

Sure, it was loud and the music was often bad, but Eat Well in Silver Lake was one of the largest and most affordable restaurants for brunch on Silver Lake’s Sunset Boulevard brunch strip. When it closed a few years back, it left a huge, empty piece of real estate in its wake.

That’s about to change as its successor, a restaurant called K2, nears completion. The owners of Kokomo Cafe own the space and have been working on it for a while now.

A rep for the restaurant didn’t have a solid opening date but shared the following:

“The restaurant is a sister to Kokomo Cafe and will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The menu will consist of some Kokomo classics like Catfish & Eggs and the signature coffee cake. The dinner menu is being finalized this week so I don’t have exact food items, but there is certainly a New Orleans influence.”

K2, 3916 W. Sunset Blvd., L.A.

Also

Santa Monica Place — the breezy new Westside shopping center — will see two new restaurants open Friday. Zengo and La Sandia Mexican Kitchen and Tequila Bar are both owned by chef and restaurateur Richard Sandoval. La Sandia will serve classic Mexican cuisine and Zengo will mix Asian and Latin flavors. 1453 Third Street Promenade, Santa Monica.