By 
I’m so excited to talk about Leora, a hidden cafe nestled among the offices of the massive corporation, United Talent Agency on Civic Drive.
If you’re not familiar, United Talent Agency (UTA) is an entertainment agency that represents some of the most well-renowned A-list clients and musicians in the industry: Charlize Theron, Johnny Depp, Gwen Stefani, Harrison Ford, Will Ferrell… the list goes on and on.
I thought Leora was a brand new cafe, but they’ve been open since September 2022!
In 2020, couple Leor and Laura started Klein Kitchen, which is described by them as a “full-service, white-glove, and completely bespoke private chef matchmaking service serving all of Los Angeles.”
After the pandemic, one of the private events they catered was a private dinner where UTA’s CEO, Jeremy Zimmer, was in attendance. After meeting him, Leora Cafe officially opened at the headquarters of UTA in September 2022. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the cafe serves up free daily lunches to the employees. So, if you’re an employee, consider yourself lucky. But if you work nearby, Leora offers a 20% discount to city workers and select Beverly Hills businesses. It is estimated that the cafe serves about 600 meals a day, for which they start prepping at 6am.
Zimmer shared to the Hollywood Reporter that the idea of serving free lunches was to promote going back to the office. If your employer said that every day you’d get a free delicious nutritious lunch made by chefs, wouldn’t that idea motivate you to go back to the office rather than working from home? Although it’s also important to note that it’s different to offer this perk to an A-list agent versus the average Joe who makes minimum wage.
According to Leora, the menu changes almost every day and they’re continually doing research on the employees’ food preferences. Laura said to The Hollywood Reporter:
“It was really important for us to have as much variety as possible because, obviously, if you eat at the same place every day, it gets tired and old. So we have three daily specials every day for the employees to pick from, and the menus change every single day.”
“We are aware of who we are serving, here in Beverly Hills and especially at UTA, and we know that our clients want organic food. Fresh, delicious, healthy, nutritious … we are serving [UTA employees] in the middle of their workday, so we want to give them kind of a ‘power lunch,’”
I went there on a sunny Friday afternoon. I highly recommend parking your car on Civic Dr. There are also a few spots on the property, but they’re extremely limited.
After parking right across from UTA’s parking entrance, I saw a sign that directed me to Leora. I walked down the alley and made a failed attempt to open a closed door before realizing that there was another sign suggesting that I had to keep walking. Finally, I saw a girl heading up to an outdoor patio where people were and enjoying their lunches under the shades. On their website, Leora also has a very creative cartoon map with detailed instructions on how to get there.
Thankfully, inside it wasn’t very busy and I was able to order right away. I asked the cashier what he recommended. “We have everything. What are you in the mood for? Salad, burger?” “Salad”, I said. I was debating on whether to order the caesar salad or the turkey chopped salad. He recommended the turkey chopped salad because in his opinion, it had more depth of flavor. I also added the soup of the day, which was ginger carrot. He asked me what size and I said the smallest one.
While I was trying to find a place to sit inside, I was surprised to see that most tables were “reserved”. Then, after reading about Leora’s write-up on The Hollywood Reporter, I realized that it was probably reserved for an executive lunch meeting.
UTA’s CEO shared with the Hollywood Reporter: “Lunch meetings have been a part of entertainment industry culture for as long as I can remember. We still do plenty off-site, but I really enjoy hosting clients and executives at Leora.”
The prices are above average (my order was $24), but considering how big and hearty the portions are, I think it’s fairly priced. Also, unlike other establishments, the food here is made by chefs. Plus, you can’t forget the famous 90210 zip code. Don’t expect to find cheap restaurants in Beverly Hills.
The people were a mix of non-employees who were working on their computers, people in business attire and people that, like me, looked like they were first-time visitors. You could tell who worked at UTA because of the employee badges attached to their belts or jackets. Seeing the assistants carrying bags with the orders reminded me so much of The Devil Wears Prada (2006), a movie that depicts an assistant working for the most prestigious fashion magazine editor. Some of the people that walked in were wearing wireless earphones. Could you imagine working for one of the biggest entertainment agencies in the world? I peeked at some of the reviews on Glassdoor and one of them said that the interview process took about 8 months.
I was lost in my thoughts while people-watching when the server snapped me back out of my trance with my two orders. I took a sip of the soup first, but it was too hot, so I first dove into the salad, which was so hearty.
As you can see in the picture above, it was a run-of-the-mill chopped salad with roasted turkey, olives, shredded manchego cheese, chopped veggies and lettuce. The main highlight for me was their red wine vinaigrette, which was tangy, but added the perfect amount of acidity and complemented the veggies really well.
While I was eating, my eyes were continually fixating on the delicious menu items coming out of the kitchen: smash burgers, heaps of fries, mouthwatering sandwiches and plastic boxes with generous amounts of shredded lettuce and golden pan-seared salmon on top. I questioned whether or not I should have ordered the salad or something a bit more substantial. Salads are my go-to meal at my job because they’re easy to prepare and do the job of satiating me while I’m on my shift. But two hours after this salad and the soup, I was hungry.
A couple with two dogs sat next to me and had the shredded lettuce with the pan-seared salmon. “Mmmm”, said the guy.
The ginger carrot soup was fantastic. It was very smooth and creamy. Although the carrot flavor was more predominant, I could taste the subtle hints of ginger. Overall, it was super comforting, especially on these cold days in LA. I wish it had come with some bread to make it more substantial. I’ll definitely go back to try other menu items!
If you’re thinking of visiting Leora, the cafe is open Monday through Thursday from 8AM- 4PM and Friday from 8AM-3PM. Saturday is their only day off, and Sundays they’re open from 9 AM to 2PM. They also do catering and have a wine club membership, where each month you’ll get two bottles curated by the Leora team.
Address: UTA Plaza, 9346 Civic Center Dr Suite 125
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
While I was compiling the photos from Leora’s IG, I found out that Hailey and Justin Bieber are regulars at Leora.
