How This L.A. Restaurant’s Signature Dessert Ended Up in Beyoncé’s ‘Cowboy Carter’ Rollout
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Beyoncé’s rollout for her new album, Cowboy Carter, included all sorts of Easter eggs when it came to the track list and album art, but one L.A. restaurant garnered extra love from the icon herself.
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Uchi, a modern sushi bar-inspired restaurant, saw two of its desserts featured prominently on Beyoncé’s website, alongside inspiration images for the singer’s new album. Interspersed with Beyoncé’s candid portraits and western-inspired photoshoots were photos of Uchi’s signature fried milk dessert (a combination of vanilla custard, salted fudge and toasted blondies) and the restaurant’s warm banana cake with Kahlúa ice cream. The singer also posted a photo of herself sipping on a drink in Uchi’s private dining room.
Beyoncé and Jay-Z dined at the restaurant’s West Hollywood location on St. Patrick’s Day, and the two have also dined at Uchi Houston (where Solange is a regular as well).
As for how the dessert photos made it onto the singer’s website, reps for Uchi say it was a complete surprise to their team, noting that Beyoncé requested a private dining room but paid for her party’s entire meal. A rep also notes that the photos appear to have been taken by Beyoncé herself, as they are not part of any promotional pics for the restaurant.
Uchi’s executive pastry chef Ariana Quant says she “jumped” when she saw her desserts on Beyoncé’s site, telling Rolling Stone that she found out after receiving a text from a friend. “I let out a slight yelp and immediately showed my fiancé and we gushed for a few minutes before I shared with my sisters and friends,” Quant says.
A longtime Beyoncé fan, Quant says seeing the A-list star post about her desserts has been “bucket list worthy,” adding that “I hope it was because she loved it and had a memorable dinner.”
“Who isn’t a Beyoncé fan?” the chef exclaims. “She’s Queen Bey!”
Uchi West Hollywood is Hai Hospitality’s sixth Uchi location, following the openings of Uchi Austin, Dallas, Denver, Houston, and Miami. The brainchild of James Beard Award-winning Chef Tyson Cole, Uchi is known for its “non‑traditional” take on Japanese cuisine, which includes both hot and cool dishes, sashimi, makimono, yakimono (a style of grilled meats), tempura, and a changing omakase menu based on local and seasonal ingredients.
Translated from the Japanese word meaning “house,” Uchi L.A. opened in December on the bustling Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood.
Aside from Beyoncé’s recent visit, the restaurant has welcomed stars like John Legend, Chrissy Teigen, and Beyoncé’s Destiny’s Child bandmate, Kelly Rowland.
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