On July 9, Christina Rivera opened Gobi Mongolian BBQ with Michael Buch (Pazzo Gelato), Ruth and Carlos Ochoa. All four owners are Silver Lake residents. According to Rivera, “Carlos came up with the name and after looking at a world globe and doing a little research on Asian history, locations, flowers, etc.” Carlos Ochoa was especially drawn to images of the Gobi Desert.

Until recently, the space housed an upholstery shop. The quartet had to submit a change of use permit to Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety to restore the structure to its original form: a restaurant. The stylish space hosts painted flowers, dark wood and colorful glass drop-down lanterns.

As for the food and drink, Rivera described Gobi as “a traditional Mongolian BBQ restaurant wherein there will be a buffet style set up to allow the customer to choose from a array of fresh vegetables, meats, sauces and noodles to create a healthy dish which we cook on a large wok in the dining room while you watch.” Fill your bowl with four different thin-shaved meats (pork, beef, lamb, chicken) and fresh vegetables, then choose a sauce (lemongrass, Asian pesto, lemon mint, green curry, “smoky”) and pile on the noodles. Hand your bowl to a cook and they integrate your ingredients on the large grill, buffeting the ingredients with high heat. At lunch, your Mongolian noodle bowl costs $9.95. A larger bowl costs $13.95 at dinner. No matter when you eat, every dish of noodles comes with a basket of flat sesame rolls.

Gobi has a beer and wine license, so you’ll find craft beer and soju.