Barbara Lazaroff, Wolfgang Puck's wife at the time of the restaurant's debut, designed Chinois, which Puck owns and operates with her. Combining Asian dishes with fresh local California cuisine—which Puck is so noted for—that is prepared in a French culinary fashion, this staple of Puck’s empire has been open for nearly 25 years. As a matter of fact, manager Bella Lantsman has been a staple in the dining room since opening the restaurant with Puck in 1983.

Located on Main Street in Santa Monica, Chinois on Main is a striking restaurant. If you dine at night, the outside of it is highlighted by multiple spot lights, hung by wires that appear to be attached to the wiring on the street, bringing life to the triangular white awning on which is printed the fuchsia, celadon and black Chinois on Main logo, lit up from lights on the awning's bottom edges. French glass doors, which are typically closed, separate the restaurant from the sidewalk; they feature wooden frames and a swirling bar that cuts across the middle of the doors, undulating like a wave in its representation of energy. The doors are a reddish, fuchsia-like hue, which combines with the lights and the white awning to create a very red and very Eastern feeling on the outside of the restaurant. It is quite dramatic against the evening sky.