Cafe Triste

The perks of going to Cafe Triste are twofold: you get to drink eclectic natural wines, and you get to do it at neon-lit Mandarin Plaza in Chinatown. This bar from the team behind Psychic Wines has quickly become the “it” spot for 20-somethings, wine drinkers, and anyone who can pull off spray-painted jeans. On weekends, the sidewalk out front is a packed, see-and-be-seen scenario where people stand around with glasses of gamay till midnight.

photo credit: Jessie Clapp

photo credit: Jessie Clapp

photo credit: Jessie Clapp

photo credit: Jessie Clapp

photo credit: Jessie Clapp

If you'd rather grab a table, sit inside their moody, low-lit dining room, and look around at the paintings on the walls. You'll probably see a few people who regularly get paid to look bored in Eckhaus Latta ads doing the same thing. Whether you’re a self-certified expert or don’t quite know how liquid can be described as “chewy,” the staff will help you find something exciting and affordable on their condensed wine list.

As for the food, Cafe Triste mostly serves snack-sized items, and you may find that aggravating until you try a few—they'll remind you why you still bother with small plates. The rotating menu leans into the kind of stuff you'd expect to find on a gourmet charcuterie board, and there’s usually some kind of tartare on the menu. Get it. It might arrive in a pool of deep-green olive oil, or it might come topped with thinly sliced cucumber that, somehow, you're excited to eat. Pair that with some gouda and a bottle of Pinot Gris, and this place becomes one of the best spots to hang out in Chinatown, full stop.

Food Rundown

photo credit: Jessie Clapp

Tuna Crudo

Hiding under slices of cucumber is the antidote to the boring crudos currently haunting LA menus: The sheet of raw tuna has a kick of spice from green harissa, mellowed out by a bed of buttery olive oil. Use the free table bread to mop up any remaining sauce.

photo credit: Jessie Clapp

Cheese

Cafe Triste changes their cheese selection often (and lists them all on a mirror above the bar). But your server will pair whatever’s in stock that week with the wine on your table, which might mean a plate of comte to pair with your riesling or funky blue cheese to cut through the acidity of your grenache.

photo credit: Jessie Clapp

Salami

Nothing too wild happening here. Just some ribbons of cured meat to have on the table alongside the bread and cheese. At $14, it’s not quite worth it.

photo credit: Jessie Clapp

Pear & Plum Plate

This is the kind of lovely dinner party dish you’d expect to eat at Gwenyth Paltrow’s pied-à-terre. And we mean that in a good way. The combination of tart plum and refreshing pear juice dances around in your mouth long after the last bite.

photo credit: Jessie Clapp

Bean Salad

This is a party grab bag of dish: shelling beans, creamy farmer’s cheese, tomatoes, and chopped bell peppers, covered in a few fistfuls of fresh herbs. It’s essentially a fancy farmers market verison of seven-layer bean dip, so get this if you want something hearty to share.

photo credit: Jessie Clapp

Bread Pudding

With this dish alone, the pastry chef at Cafe Triste could open a brand new baking business that we'd support on a weekly basis. It’s mildly sweet, slightly sticky, and covered with a soft whipped cream so fresh it melts down the plate within minutes of arrival.