Girl & the Goat
Arts District, Los Angeles
📍 555-3 Mateo St, Los Angeles, CA 90013
🍽 New American
📅 Visited: August 14, 2026
🍴 Forks Given: 🍴🍴🍴🍴🍴 (4.18 / 5.0)
A reliable Arts District regular where the shareable plates mostly deliver, even when a house cocktail or two swings and misses.
Overview
Girl & the Goat is chef Stephanie Izard’s Los Angeles outpost of her long-running Chicago original, planted in the Arts District with a menu built around shareable plates and a mix of global flavors: harissa next to hoisin, tzatziki next to chili crunch. The format rewards groups willing to order a lot and split everything down the middle.
First Impressions
The room does a lot of the work before the food even arrives. It’s a big, open space with light colors and high ceilings, built to feel airy rather than cramped even when it’s full. The bar sits front and center, and the bartenders are constantly turning out cocktails, which sets an energetic tone from the moment you walk in.
What We Ordered
Shrimp & Crispy Greens, Green Beans, Roasted Carrots
The shrimp and crispy greens is a standout every time we’ve had it, with a tangy dressing that hits the right amount without overwhelming the plate. The sauteed green beans are just as consistent: good texture and a sauce that’s balanced enough to eat on its own. The roasted carrots are the outlier. They’re fine, but forgettable, and they were the least memorable dish of the night.
Heirloom Tomato Salad
The heirloom tomato salad worked because the tomatoes were perfectly ripe, which is the whole game with a dish like this. When the produce is right, there’s not much else it needs.
Pork Belly Noodles
The pork belly noodles are the dish we keep coming back for. The pork belly itself is consistently excellent: a good crisp on the outside, well-seasoned, and paired with noodles that carry a ton of flavor on their own. This is the one dish on the menu that’s never let us down.
Grilled Kalbi Short Rib with Stone Fruit Salad
The short rib and stone fruit salad is solid on both fronts individually. The short rib is good, the fruit is good, but the pairing itself doesn’t quite land. It’s not a bad dish, it’s just one we wouldn’t necessarily order again.
Sesame Cookies and Cream, Mango Sticky Rice
Dessert is where the kitchen shows off. The sesame cookies and cream is a reliably great dish: the black sesame flavor is strong, the ice cream is well made, and the sweetness is high enough that it’s best shared or saved for a real sweet tooth. The mango sticky rice might be the best dish on the table. It’s fruity, tangy, and hits several different textures in one bite, which is hard to pull off in a dessert this simple-looking.
Forks Given Score Breakdown
| Category | Score (1–5) | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Food Quality | 4.5 | 40% |
| Value | 3.5 | 20% |
| Service & Experience | 4.0 | 15% |
| Ambiance & Environment | 4.5 | 10% |
| Execution vs Intent | 4.0 | 10% |
| Return Factor | 4.5 | 5% |
Final Forks Given Score: 4.18 / 5.0
The Quirks
The bar’s classic cocktails are dependable, and the Goat Fashioned works. Some of the house creations are more ambitious than successful: their take on a bee’s knees adds galangal and dandelion, and the result is a flavor that misses more than it lands. Credit for trying something different, but execution didn’t fully catch up to the idea. Stick to the classics on the cocktail list if you want a sure thing.
Also Worth Noting
Not pictured this visit: the pork shank and the branzino, both of which we skipped this time around but have had many times before. The pork shank is a must-order on a first visit — it’s arguably the best pork dish we’ve had in LA, and skipping it would be a mistake for anyone new to the restaurant. The branzino is normally excellent too, and in our experience it’s the second-best branzino in the city, behind only Bestia’s. Neither dish factored into this review’s score since we didn’t order them this visit, but both come recommended without reservation. Also worth starting with, if it’s not already on the table: the naan and dips. It’s an easy, crowd-pleasing way to kick off a meal at Girl & the Goat, and it’s never disappointed.
The Verdict
Girl & the Goat remains one of the more reliable shareable-plates spots in downtown LA. Most of the menu delivers, especially the pork belly noodles and both desserts, and the room itself makes for a good night out even before the food arrives.
Answer:
- Would you return? Yes, this is already a repeat spot for us.
- Would you recommend it? Yes, especially for groups who want to order broadly and share.
- Who is this place best for? Groups who like bold, mixed-cuisine shareable plates and don’t mind a room with some noise and energy.
