This LA-Based Restaurant Focuses On Plant and Hemp-Based Eats

Downtown Los Angeles’ Gusto Green was first announced in 2018, but it’s taken some time to get the ball rolling. The multi-story space is meant to be more than a restaurant, according to founder Janet Zuccarini, a successful Canadian operator also known for overlooking operations in Felix in Venice. 

Because the restaurant is linked to health, wellness, and cannabis-related motives, it also shows a unique kind of cannabis entrepreneurship. Located in the Hill Street building, Gusto Green will be run by Gusto 54 with a remarkable menu from renowned chef Michael Magliano.

Although the restaurant does have an affinity with cannabis, it is not a consumption lounge and will not infuse its goods with psychoactive compounds derived from cannabis. However, Gusto Green is tied into an exclusive partnership with Ziese Farms, the only federally approved hemp grower.

Because of the partnership, Gusto Green will offer mostly plant-based foods and some that lean towards the use of hemp, like its standalone leaf battered with chickpea flour, an earthy and savory appetizer. In terms of the restaurant’s future in retail, Magliano will also create a variety of hemp-made goods to be sold to the public in a retail manner at a later date.

Most of Gusto Green’s menu will comprise plants like beluga lentils bathed in coconut milk to spicy roasted cauliflower, with mostly vegan pastas, some sourdough pizzas, hearty mains like ora king salmon, and a turmeric-rubbed roast chicken. The restaurant will also offer natural wines, housemade kombucha, adaptogenic teas, and cocktails—both alcoholic and virgin.

Studio Untld is in charge of building the restaurant. They will create the space to look like a greenhouse in the main dining room, alongside an atrium-style lofted glass ceiling stocked with banquettes, booths, oakwood tables, and more. 

The Green Street Agency is also located in the Hill Street Building. It’s a creative firm run by entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuck, which is exclusively dedicated to the cannabis industry. In partnership with Gusto Green, both establishments will create a rooftop bar, lounge, and private event space in 2022. 

The Gusto Green menu will be available at the rooftop bar and will have a capacity of 150. The lounge is perfect for evening get-togethers or dinners with a view of the Downtown landscape and will even host live music, events, and installations. 

Gusto Green opens on Saturday, December 18, at 718 S. Hill Street in Downtown Los Angeles. It will be open Wednesday through Sunday from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.