Meet the chef behind the food at Soho House Holloway
Spotlighting dishes from our global outposts and a Mexi-Cali offering on the rooftop, Jose Dozal shares why eating at the House is such a special experience
Wednesday 5 June 2024 By Yasemin Celepi
An oasis in the heart of West Hollywood, Soho House Holloway has become a destination for food and drink, featuring a Mexican-Californian menu on the newly refurbished rooftop and signature dishes from around our global Houses in the club.
Behind these menus is Executive Chef Jose Dozal, who not only came up with the concepts but also sourced some of the wine. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Dozal grew up cooking with his Guadalajaran grandmother and fell in love with it at a young age. Later, he helped out at his family’s lunch truck making Mexican food, before starting his career as a chef at Soho House. Eight years on and he has worked at several of the Houses, including West Hollywood, Miami, Nashville, New York and now, Soho House Holloway.
Dozal’s goal was always to work at Holloway, because ‘the food scene is unrivalled; it’s really good and a unique experience,’ the chef tells us. ‘I’ve seen many clubs during my time with Soho House, but this one particularly feels like you’re at home – it’s so comfortable and welcoming.’
It came naturally to Dozal to create a Mexi-Cali menu for the rooftop. ‘The whole offering is based on my heritage and culture. It was easy for me to make, because I grew up on these flavours and sometimes I still call my grandma to discuss what we’re going to do next,’ he explains.
One of the club’s first and most popular dishes – the Carnitas Tacos – was based on Dozal’s grandmother’s recipe. ‘I thought, I’m going to make one type of taco, but it has to be better than everything you can get in the area, especially as LA is such a taco Mecca,’ he says. ‘To this day it’s still very popular and I’ve also added a few more dishes from some of her recipes.’
The drinks are worth stopping in for too, with a wine list featuring natural wine, some sourced by Dozal himself. ‘I contacted two wineries from South Mexico and started to collaborate – now we have four organic Mexican wines.’ Plus, there’s a selection of local cocktails such as the Holloway Spritz #2.
If you’re looking for something more eclectic, you’ll want to try the ‘around the Houses’ menu in the club. It features popular dishes from our outposts across the globe, including Grilled Meatballs (Soho House Istanbul) – which Dozal says are a ‘huge hit’ – Chicken Karaage (Soho House Hong Kong), Fish and Chips (Soho House 40 Greek Street), and Cacio e Pepe (Soho House Rome). ‘We try to reproduce these dishes authentically by sourcing the best produce and educating our staff on why we are making it this specific way. We want members to feel like, if they close their eyes, they’re in Rome eating Cacio e Pepe.’
And if that wasn’t enough, the House also serves seasonal specialities created two to three times a month, based around West Coast ingredients and local produce; think ‘peaches, nectarines and stone fruits in the summer, and apples, gourds and pumpkins in the winter,’ says Dozal.
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