On any given night at Kato, you’ll find diners enjoying artful plates crafted by chef-owner Jon Yao, whose highly curated and expertly polished fare draws from his Taiwanese heritage. But on Wednesdays, a single party of eight can experience a lavish new large-format meal with over a dozen courses—a take on the traditional Taiwanese-style banquet that Yao grew up enjoying with family and friends. The price for this exclusive, celebratory menu: $4,000, with a custom flight of six full bottles by co-owner and sommelier Ryan Bailey costing an additional $1,800.
Pān toh (or banzhuo in Mandarin) is a feast traditionally reserved to celebrate weddings, significant milestones, religious holidays, or community gatherings. In lieu of its familiar roadside setting, Yao’s elegant update is served in Kato’s light-wood-toned private dining room in the shadow of the James Jean artwork Quenelles. But he has preserved some traditions: There are still 13 dishes, and the meal is bookended by tea services, beginning with a sparkling Wen Shan Bao Zhong from Unified Ferments and ending with Nantou Four Seasons.
Mushroom sticky rice is dotted with pieces of grilled eel.
Colleen O’Brien
The service is an answer to the many private-event requests the restaurant has received since moving to a larger space at the Row DTLA in 2022. But the relatively small team at Kato—which has retained a Michelin star for the past five years—wasn’t equipped to serve its tasting menu to large parties while keeping the quality (and temperature) of the food high.
“We wanted another creative outlet that was more traditional, because our tasting menu has generally leaned more modernist,” Yao says. So he, Bailey, and managing partner Nikki Reginaldo sourced bigger ceramics, designed a service model centered around the larger dishes, and trained dedicated staff for the…