On December 6, the couple behind Met Her at a Bar, Met Him at a Bar, and Her Thai, debuted their fourth restaurant in Mid-Wilshire on La Brea Avenue and Eighth Street. The Night We Met co-owners Mindy and Vinny Kinne are a dominant presence in the neighborhood. Their new restaurant offers an Asian diasporic menu that spans multiple countries, featuring chicken satay, garlic noodles, crispy tuna rice, and Yangzhou fried rice in an opulent dining room.
If their restaurant names appear like a recurring theme, that’s because the Kinnes have fully committed to their romantic restaurant motif. The couple actually met at a bar in 2014, were engaged in 2016, opened Met Her in 2017, and married in 2019. “We had to name it The Night We Met,” says Vinny. “We were talking with the building for a long time and negotiating before we signed the lease. We met at a bar where they had live music and good food. So, I thought, let’s recreate it.”
The Kinnes recruited sous chefs Pornpawee Sussadeewong and Prasert Sussadeewong, who worked at the Bangkok Mandarin Oriental before moving to Los Angeles. The two collaborated with Mindy (who is a former food scientist) to build a menu that’s organized in three sections: cold, hot, and sweet. The Night We Met’s dishes are shareable, including the cold section’s salmon sashimi, soft shell crab with green apple salad, and crispy papaya salad. Kimchi fried rice, a whole deep-fried branzino with a basil chili sauce, and lemony herb chili Japanese scallops round out the hot mains. Order a side of tempura green bean fries or charred broccolini with the meal before finishing with both desserts for the table: a matcha doughnut or deconstructed, creamy mango sticky rice that happens to be vegan.
As for the interiors, Ashley Sutton’s designs appear straight out of a film or television set. The walls and ceilings are full of texture with wood and tiles, along with lanterns, hanging fringe, and custom artwork throughout. The room seats 100 and has live music on weekends, followed by a DJ until late-night hours, with additional nights planned for the coming months. Wine and beer options are also on the menu, while cocktails use Asian ingredients like the Pearl’s lychee martini with Haku Vodka and sea salt.
The Kinnes aren’t stopping at four restaurants. In 2026, they’ll debut a second all-day concept for Met Her At A Bar in Santa Monica. “It’s quite a moment for us. It was always Mindy’s dream to open a cafe or a small shop for her friends. She found a place, and we risked everything. But at the end, this is just a love story.”
The Night We Met is open at 788 S. La Brea Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90036 from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and until 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday nights.