Men & BeastsChinese Restaurant & Tea Lounge in Echo Park

Our Story

This restaurant and the cuisine we will serve is extremely special to me because it represents a journey that Alex and I made together as partners.

After moving to the US, I struggled to find food I liked, and would often skip meals out of total disillusionment with whatever I had tried to eat or cook. Homesickness definitely played its part and I found myself constantly ordering New York Chinese food to obtain some semblance of nostalgia. After I met Alex, he quickly introduced me to a plant-based diet, which sort of unlocked a love for food and cooking that I had lost since my early childhood.

So, once I embraced the plant-based diet, I immediately started to fantasize about how I could continue eating Chinese food, and started asking Alex to make plant-based versions of all kinds of my favorite Chinese dishes.

I see the food that Alex & I created for Minty Z, and now Men & Beasts, as the embodiment of our own unique and shared experiences: Chinese food, adapted to be plant-based, created by a highly talented and passionate chef.

Many of our regulars at Minty Z considered the restaurant to be a small cornerstone of their lives: where they met their partners, had their first date, got engaged, had their wedding dinner, or simply somewhere they felt really comfortable, like a home away from home. We hope that we can bring the same vibe to Men & Beasts.

We want our guests, especially locals, to come to consider M&B something that belongs to them, to Echo Park and greater LA. Similar to a sports team, the establishment may be a privately-owned company, but the place and the experience belong to the community.

-Minty Zhu, Co-Founder