Pa'La Kitchen

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

Wood-Fire as a Philosophy

At Pa'La Kitchen in downtown Phoenix, fire is not a technique — it is the foundation. Chef Jason Alford, a seasoned veteran of open wood-fire grilling and robatayaki (the Japanese tradition of fireside cooking), brings over a decade of experience at the helm of ROKA AKOR to this project. The result is a restaurant where Japanese and Mediterranean sensibilities meet live flame, and where every plate begins with a high-quality extra virgin olive oil, a precisely balanced vinegar, and hand-harvested sea salt.

"I love to cook dishes that highlight the natural qualities of the food itself, and nourish not only my own family, but the community that we thrive in," Alford has said — and that intention is legible in every element of how Pa'La operates.

Determined by the Ingredient

The menu at Pa'La does not stay still. Because the kitchen sources ingredients at their peak — grains, vegetables, meat, and seafood from premium local and specialty imported producers — what's on offer changes daily. The format is built for sharing: tapas, small bites, and plates designed so that two guests might move through four or five dishes, encountering the full range of Japanese and Mediterranean flavors the kitchen draws from.

The current menu is best tracked on Instagram, which reflects the kitchen's commitment to real-time sourcing over fixed print.

The Wine Program

The beverage side of Pa'La carries its own weight. Wine director Gilles Kolakowski has assembled a list of more than 400 labels spanning 15 countries — from the American continent to coastal Mediterranean producers and across Europe — with a focus on organic and sustainably farmed wines. It is a program built to complement the menu's seasonality while standing confidently on its own. That depth earned Pa'La a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence in 2024, a recognition that reflects the list's range and curation rather than sheer volume.

Specialty cocktails and local draft beer round out a beverage program designed, like the food, to connect guests to the producers behind what they're drinking.

The Upstairs Lounge

The downtown location adds a second register entirely. The upstairs lounge — moody, softly lit, inspired by European hotel lobbies and New York bars — features grey, beige, and black tones punctuated by mural art: red dueling octopuses on the ceiling, an octopus's garden wrapping the center bar. A live jazz band plays Thursday through Saturday evenings, making Pa'La as much a place to linger as it is to dine.