A look into one of our favorite audiophile-minded spaces to emerge in Los Angeles.

As listening bars continues to rise in popularity across the United States and around the world, here in our hometown of Los Angeles, it’s strangely quiet. Since closing our bar in the Arts District back in 2020, there has surprisingly yet to be a new kissa inspired hi-fi bar for music lovers to gather, drink, and listen.

Yet, the growing influence of audiophile culture can be clearly felt throughout the city: Homage Brewing’s dancefloor is powered by vintage Klipsch La Scala’s, The Airliner (where the Low End Theory nights used to happen) now has a pair of Tannoy speakers at the bar, Wax on Hi-Fi is a Japanese-Creole restaurant in DTLA sporting a McIntosh and JBL combo, Established Today on Melrose is a record store + cafe with a set of custom-built wall-mounted speakers… The list goes on.

One of our favorite audiophile-minded spaces to emerge in recent years is Zizou in Lincoln Heights. Founded by childhood friends Maati Zoutina and Boris Macquin, Zizou is a French-Moroccan restaurant / beer & wine bar that has music and sound built into its DNA. Launched in June 2024, the lush, plant-filled space was built intentionally around a pair of custom-built JBL-Altec inspired speakers, and hosts a number of amazing music events throughout the month including a residency from El Marchante, The Record Club album listening parties, Mathieu Schreyer’s Khamsa nights, as well as live performances.

We caught up with Maati and Boris to learn more about their beautiful space, inspiration for Zizou, Lincoln Heights, the sound system, and more!

Hello Maati and Boris! To start, I would love to learn more about you two. Can you share a little about yourselves, where did you meet, and how did the idea come together to create Zizou?

We met when we were ten years old, in middle school in Lyon, France. Our friendship started with hip-hop, skateboarding, and just hanging out on those long, aimless days where music played a big part in shaping who we were. After high school, Boris moved to the U.S. and worked in hospitality across the country, learning everything from the ground up while also developing a deep passion for sound design and music. Maati stayed in France to study architecture, but when he came to the U.S. in 2016, he got into hospitality almost by necessity and ended up falling in love with it. Zizou came from years of conversation and a shared desire to create a space that felt honest. Not themed or over-designed, just real. A place where sound matters, the food is grounded, and people feel something when they walk in.

“You can feel traces of Low End Theory in the air, like the neighborhood still remembers how to take risks. Zizou just wants to be part of that rhythm. A space where food, sound, and conversation can unfold naturally.”

Zizou is located in Lincoln Heights, not far from where the legendary Low End Theory nights used to be. How did you decide on this space, and what can you say about Lincoln Heights’ surrounding scene?

We were on our way to grab lunch when a shuttered storefront caught our eye; dusty windows, a quiet presence, something about it just made us stop. The previous build had been done without permits, so we ended up taking everything down to the slab and starting from scratch. But we kept its footprint and ceiling height, which felt good from the start – open, unforced. Lincoln Heights has that same kind of energy. It’s still evolving and a little rough around the edges in the best way. You can feel traces of Low End Theory in the air, like the neighborhood still remembers how to take risks. Zizou just wants to be part of that rhythm. A space where food, sound, and conversation can unfold naturally.

What’s the concept behind the menu? I understand that it’s French Moroccan? I really enjoyed every dish I tried last time, and also really appreciated how affordable everything was.

The menu is rooted in the flavors we grew up with, French and Moroccan dishes that feel familiar but aren’t trying too hard to be traditional. It’s less about fusion and more about flow: what makes sense together, what feels good on the table. Some recipes are passed down, others are built from memory, and a lot of it evolves naturally from what’s in season or what we’re excited about. We want the food to be approachable not just in price, but in spirit. This isn’t a place that should feel exclusive. Whether someone stops in for a quick bite or settles in for a long dinner with friends, the idea is the same. Zizou is meant to be an open and inclusive space where anyone can feel at home.

The decor feels really personal and includes elements from all around the world. I noticed French and Arabic posters, a newspaper article of French futbol player Zidane, Syrian singer Omar Souleyman, and even what looked like a Chinese movie poster. What was the inspiration behind the decoration of Zizou?

The decor is just a collection of things that matter to us images, memories, references that feel like part of our personal and cultural DNA. There wasn’t a master plan. We brought in pieces over time, most of them tied to music, film, or places that shaped us. Zidane is in there, of course not just for who he was on the pitch, but for what he represents culturally. It’s less about curating and more about surrounding ourselves with things that feel familiar and real. If it looks like it came together naturally, that’s because it did.

“The programming isn’t about genre or trend. It’s about feeling. Some nights it’s low and slow, other nights it moves. Either way, it’s about building a space where people can connect through sound, whether they’re sitting, dancing, or somewhere in between.”

I read that one of you has a background in architecture? How did that expertise shape the design of the space?

Maati studied architecture in France, and while he didn’t end up practicing in a traditional sense, that mindset definitely carried into how we approached Zizou. There was a lot of attention paid to proportions, flow, and how people move through the space not in a technical way, but more from instinct. We wanted it to feel open without being empty, layered without being cluttered. The idea was to create a place that encourages people to stay; a room that holds sound well, feels good at every hour, and doesn’t try too hard to impress.

Now onto the sound system… It’s beautiful! I read that the space was actually designed with the speakers first in mind? Who built these speakers and what is your connection with hi-fi audio in general?

We built the speakers ourselves, and they were at the heart of the project from the start. The space was designed around them, how they sound, how they sit in the room, how they shape the atmosphere. It wasn’t about adding a sound system to a finished space; it was about building everything with the system in mind. Boris has spent years exploring hi-fi, learning through experience, and developing an ear for how music should live in a room. We wanted a system that could handle a full spectrum of sound; something responsive and honest, no matter the genre or energy. For us, the way the room carries sound was more important than the price tag on any piece of equipment. The materials, the acoustics, the overall balance those were the real priorities. We wanted the music to feel warm, present, and close – something you experience fully, not just hear in the background.

Zizou functions mainly as a restaurant, but also transforms into a music space and dancefloor on various nights including El Marchante’s monthly residency and The Record Club’s album listening events. How would you describe your approach to the music programming side of Zizou?

We treat music at Zizou the same way we treat food, intentionally, but without overthinking it. The goal is to create moments that feel natural and unforced, whether it’s someone playing records on a quiet night or the room turning into a dancefloor later on. We work with people whose taste and energy we trust, not just DJs or selectors with a following. It’s more about how they contribute to the atmosphere and how their sound feels like part of the space, not something added on top. One of our favorite nights is Khamsa, presented by our friend Mathieu Schreyer. It brings together a deep sense of curation with a feeling of openness and generosity. It’s a night that really captures what we want Zizou to be. The programming isn’t about genre or trend. It’s about feeling. Some nights it’s low and slow, other nights it moves. Either way, it’s about building a space where people can connect through sound, whether they’re sitting, dancing, or somewhere in between.

What’s coming up next for Zizou?

We’re taking our time. There’s no rush to scale or shift. We’re focused on refining what’s already here. More thoughtful programming, new dishes as the seasons change, and continuing to build with the people around us.