Travis Lett Opens the Japanese Izakaya RVR in Los Angeles

As the opening chef of Gjelina and Gjusta, Travis Lett had a lot to do with our modern conception of SoCal cuisine. But after selling off his stake in the Gjelina Group in 2019, Lett was absent from the California culinary scene—until now, that is.

Lett has returned with RVR, a Japanese izakaya in Venice that opened on Tuesday, Eater L.A. reported. The new restaurant shares DNA with the now-closed MTN, which Lett initially headed up in the same space, but it’s been adapted…