Here's a look at new restaurants, hotels, and a museum suitable for off-site meetings, client entertaining, or even intimate events in Los Angeles.
The Culver Hotel opened in 1924 during Prohibition, and its Velvet Lounge reopened in October with a list of cocktails inspired by the era. The hotel’s head mixologist, J.J. Weiner, and the Velvet Lounge’s head bartender, Phil Santos, are behind the new drink menu. The second-floor, speakeasy-style bar’s newly renovated decor also reflects the time period with plush couches, soft lighting, and vintage accents. A translucent bar, with a top lit from beneath, showcases the spirits selection.
Chef Akira Back opened Yellowtail Sunset Strip, a sister location of the Las Vegas eatery, in West Hollywood in October. The Japanese restaurant and lounge, a collaboration among Back, the Light Group, and the Lore Group, took over the former Mirabelle location and offers 4,500 square feet of indoor-outdoor dining space. A golden entry with Deco floor tiles leads to the main dining room, which includes a bar and lounge enclosed in glass. A curved staircase—with a sushi stage tucked beside it—leads to a second dining room that features an additional outdoor patio and options for private dining.
Barneys New York in Beverly Hills unveiled Freds Beverly Hills in October. The first of its kind in California, the restaurant follows in the footsteps of Freds in New York and Chicago. Executive chef Mark Strausman, who oversees Freds at both the Madison Avenue and Chicago locations, serves an Italian-inspired and contemporary American menu. Veggie- and vegan-friendly dishes include raw vegan cashew “cheese” dip, served with sliced fennel, celery, and carrots. The newly expanded space has modern furnishings, a custom onyx bar, and terraces with views of the city and the Hollywood Hills.
Modern Cantonese restaurant Hakkasan Beverly Hills closed and reopened in September with a new look designed to more closely reflect the experience of its flagship restaurant, Hakkasan Hanway Place in London. The space now features a dramatic entrance constructed with clefted ostrich slate paneling; intermittent bronze niches are filled with red candles. The blue backlit glass bar was expanded to accommodate larger crowds. The entire space, including the lounge and private dining room, seats 180 or holds about 500 for receptions.
Hospitality vets John Terzian, Brian Toll, Markus Molinari, and Adam Koral of the H.Wood Group opened the Nice Guy in August. Decorated to evoke the era of opulent mafia bars and restaurants, the space has a residential feel with a mix of intimate and larger booths. The design includes a custom cedar wall and ceiling design, wide-board black American walnut flooring, custom inlaid carpets, and classic lighting fixtures. There’s a small live performance area and a private chef’s table in the kitchen. The upscale lounge, which has a kitchen led by chef John-Carlos Kuramoto and a bar program helmed by mixologist Brian Stewart, seats 85; the venue holds 120 with lounge and back lounge seating removed.
Four Seasons Hotel Westlake Village and Malibu Family Wines opened the Tasting Room, a modern wine tasting space located within the hotel, in August. Located just a few minutes from the Four Seasons, Malibu Family Wines is featured as the Tasting Room’s resident winery and pours a variety of Semler and Saddlerock wines. Other Malibu Coast and California wineries will also be featured on a rotating basis. Small bites including a local cheese plate, house-made truffles, and a spiced nut selection are available to complement the wines.
Chef Vic Casanova and business partner Seth Glassman debuted Pistola, a new modern Italian steak house on bustling 3rd Street, in September. Interior designer Cliff Fong, who is also behind Michael Voltaggio’s Ink, designed the space. The menu incorporates ingredients imported from all over Italy combined with local, predominately organic ingredients. Pasta dishes include rigatoni alla vodka and squid ink agnolotti, plus steaks and chops from a wood oven. There’s also an extensive bar program. The space seats 120 or holds 200 for receptions.
Boulevard Nightlife Group and Project Club London's newest nightclub, Project Los Angeles, opened in June with interiors by Gensler. The space has 17 booths spread over 8,000 square feet and holds 400 people. Its signature lit cross is detachable for events. Projection screens and lighting panels wrap the space, and chandeliers hang from the high ceiling. V Squared provides a laser light show.
Bacari PDR, a new spot from Los Angeles restaurateurs and brothers Robert and Daniel Kronfli and chef Lior Hillel, opened in Playa del Rey in August. The restaurant offers international, esoteric wines and craft beers, a full-bar program with handcrafted cocktails, and a menu of Mediterranean-inspired small plates. Rustic decor includes floor-to-ceiling chalkboard walls adorned with the food and drink menus, polished concrete floors, and dark wood furniture. The 1,100-square-foot space also has a wine bottle ceiling: Guests are invited to sign their finished bottles to help complete the collection. There is also a half-circle cocktail bar located in the middle of the space and a patio. The restaurant is the first Westside offering from the Kronfli brothers and Hillel, adding to concepts like the downtown wine bar Bacaro LA.
In August, Soigné's Julian Cox and Josh Goldman officially opened their flagship bar and restaurant, Brilliantshine, in Santa Monica. The bar features a menu of primarily craft whiskey cocktails inspired by Cox’s travels around the world. Menus from executive chef Richie Lopez, formerly executive chef of Paiche, complement the beverage program and include comfort foods inspired by Lopez’s Peruvian roots. The rustic venue has saloon doors at the entryway, copper-topped tables, and a vintage piano in the dining room. There are approximately 46 seats for dining: 20 on the patio and 26 inside.
Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows and Robb Report Home & Style magazine collaborated on the newly renovated Bungalow One, a customized three-bedroom suite designed by Los Angeles-based interior designer Michael Berman with the participation of top-end retailers throughout the city and surrounding areas. The space includes a 1,000-square-foot private patio with access to the Miramar gardens and pool. It is available for full or partial buyouts.
The Loews Hollywood Hotel completed a $31 million renovation in spring 2014. The 628 guest rooms now include minibars with high-end wines and snacks all made in California, plus a new in-room dining menu. The new lobby has a dramatic outdoor curving staircase and a white marble floor and marbled-mirror columns. There is also a new lobby lounge concept, the H2 Kitchen & Bar, and redesigned meeting space.
Curtis Stone opened his 25-seat restaurant Maude in Beverly Hills in February 2014. Drawing inspiration from the chef’s table, it serves one refined, multicourse tasting menu that focuses on one peak seasonal ingredient each month. Designed by Bishop Pass and built by Ramland Construction, the space has an open kitchen separated from the dining room by a five-seat bar. There’s a mix of antique wooden chairs, modern leather banquettes, butcher-block tables, and brass metal shelves lined with tchotchkes and kitchenware.
Gracias Madre opened a West Hollywood location in January 2014. (The original opened in San Francisco in 2009.) It features an all-organic menu from executive chef Chandra Gilbert and an extensive bar program from beverage director Jason Eisner. The 5,000-square-foot space, designed by architect Victor Corona, reflects the Mexican influences that inspired the restaurant. There are vaulted ceilings with wood trusses, exposed brick walls, and an expansive outdoor space. The interior includes a large L-shaped bar and has room for 100. The adjacent patio, lined with 80-year-old olive trees, holds 130.
Texas-based Del Frisco’s Grille opened its first Orange County location at Irvine Spectrum Center in August. The restaurant has warm wood accents, acoustic panels embellished with brass beads, and clusters of glass bulbs that illuminate brass fixtures. A glass entryway showcases the collection of wine. An industrial curtain of steel mesh divides the island bar from the main dining room. The venue spans 8,000 square feet and holds 290 for both indoor and outdoor events.
