Monna

The inspiration

Monna by Gev's Kitchen was built around the idea of a contemporary Middle Eastern and steakhouse fusion, where bold regional flavor meets refined fire-driven technique¹ . The house style comes out of Chef Gev's years traveling through the Caucasus, learning from home cooks who passed recipes down through generations . The restaurant's own framing is simple: cook with fire, gather with intention, stay for the story¹ .

Who's behind it

Monna is an extension of Gev's Kitchen, run by Gevorg Zakaryan, who dreamed of being a cook and began selling his own recipes from a garage before growing the venture into a full kitchen² . His stated mission is preserving Armenian and Georgian food culture in Los Angeles with quality ingredients and time-honored techniques . Gev's Kitchen has become especially known for its khinkali and pelmeni² .

What to order

• Slow-roasted meats: part of the menu's blend of Middle Eastern flavor with steakhouse craft .¹
• Fresh seafood: listed among the seasonal offerings the kitchen plates alongside the meats .¹
• Khinkali: the handmade Georgian dumplings that made Gev's Kitchen's reputation and appear across its menus .²

What people are saying

Diners keep returning to the same themes: the ambiance and the food, often paired with praise for the service .

Why you should try it

The room is built for lingering, with jazz in the background and conversations meant to stretch past dessert¹ .