DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — Crispy fried quail paired with a fluffy waffle, a dish you will only find at the new Red Herring location in Downtown Los Angeles. Chef David Woodall created a more refined menu, compared to the one from his first restaurant.

“You know, Eagle Rock, we love it there. It’s our little baby. We built it,” said Woodall.

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He opened the original Red Herring with his wife, Alexis Martin Woodall, President of Ryan Murphy Productions, the team behind hit shows like Glee and American Horror Story. He said the work life balance was easier than expected.

“My wife and I are very lucky. We have a wonderful partnership and great communication. So, doing the restaurant wasn’t really a stretch for us as far as our relationship is concerned,” said Woodall.

Even though Martin Woodall is in the television world, she worked in restaurants her whole life while she was young and trying to break into the industry. Woodall says she took that, along with her eye for detail, and made Red Herring a success.

“Not only an aesthetic vision, but the people skills and the will to push it through, really see it come to fruition,” said Woodall.

But after only a year, they were presented with a new opportunity in DTLA that they couldn’t pass up. So, they closed the Eagle Rock staple in 2019 and recently opened their new, modern take. During their short closure, Woodall learned that locals couldn’t wait for the new space.

“When people actually missed us, that was really touching,” said Woodall.

He knows people work hard for their money and feels going out to eat should be special. So, he puts love and care into his refined, American comfort food.

“We want to honor the generosity of our guests with our own generosity and hospitality. Everything in the kitchen is made from scratch. We do as much from the ground up as we can, because we want to make this a unique one-off experience,” said Woodall.

From quail to duck and everything in between, check out the new and improved Red Herring at 770 S Grand Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90017.