Just down the street from La Dolce Vita, on a quieter end of Santa Monica Boulevard in Beverly Hills, a new supper club-style restaurant from Bravo TV’s ‘Top Chef’ winner Chef Mei Lin and owner Francis Miranda is now open. This venture is a tribute to the prosperity, success, and good fortune symbolised by the number 8 in Chinese culture, and this is Lin’s first fine dining project since her award-winning restaurant Nightshade in Los Angeles’ Arts District.
Wallplaper* dines at 88 Club, Los Angeles
The mood: hidden Chinatown speakeasy
The venue has been designed by Los Angeles-based firm Preen, which has an office in Chinatown and has worked on many local favourite restaurants, from Pine & Crane to Akasha. For this project, the designers wanted the space to look and feel like a private club, or that you just stumbled upon a secret – and they nailed the concept.
The dimly lit, intimate space is a mix of leather and dark woods, with lighter moments from the pink stone bar top and scalloped chairs to the retro-futuristic bar lamps, and round booths that also add a touch of glamorous Hollywood ‘golden era’ nostalgia. The team wanted a subtle nod to Lin’s Chinese menu, hence the black lacquered dining room panels and wall sconces.
The food: elevated Chinese classics
88 Club’s menu is very personal for chef Lin as it is rooted in the Chinese flavours she grew up cooking with her parents, all while focusing on elevated comfort favourites and a modern take on time-honoured Chinese cuisine – she is joined in the kitchen by long-time collaborator, chef de cuisine Nick Russo.
Dishes are placed on a marble rotating ‘lazy Susan’ for guests to share, with main highlights including a sweet and sour squirrel fish and Nam Yu roasted chicken, a version of one of Lin’s childhood favourites, served with ginger scallion oil, and aromatic soy. To accompany, add three-cup crispy Maitake mushrooms (a plant-based twist on the classic Taiwanese dish) or scallion rolls served with butter. The primarily French wine list is by sommelier and general manager Diana Lee, with Kevin Nguyen consulting on cocktails, which spotlight fun classics with a twist, such as Mai Tai and Long Island iced tea.
88 Club is located at 9737 S Santa Monica Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90210, United States; @88club
-
From The Fat Badger to The Bull, how Public House are redefining the British pubInside the design-driven food group putting provenance, craft and community back at the heart of pub culture
-
Honor brings the bling with this special edition of the new Magic V Flip2A clamshell foldable with a sprinkle of fashion industry magic, the Jimmy Choo-branded Honor Magic V Flip2 is pocketable, powerful and personable
-
Pretty in cactus-inspired pink, this Mexican desert house responds to its arid contextCasa Cardona, a pink house by architects Sensacional Dinamica Mexicana, is a multigenerational home that celebrates colour and changing light
-
Why everyone in LA is talking about Café TondoHelmed by chef Valeria Velásquez and designed by Aunt Studio, this new spot delivers Latin American buzz all day long
-
Size doesn’t matter at Now Now, a micro-hotel for solo travellers in New YorkCan you pack style into 32 square feet? We find out
-
At this LA dining hotspot, go Spanish or Japanese as you pleaseA dual-concept dining destination designed by the Rockwell Group brings Mediterranean warmth and Japanese precision to Century City
-
The Benjamin’s chic new upstairs bar is Hollywood’s hottest hideawayAt Bar Benjamin, speakeasy mystique meets elevated snacks, cocktails and views
-
More is more at Bar Issi, a maximalist new dining destination in Palm SpringsFettle studio fuses eco-conscious materials with bold design gestures in this playful space inside the new Thompson Hotel
-
Do luxury hotels need a farmer-in-residence?From Ibiza to Indonesia, hospitality brands are cultivating a new travel experience, where wellness begins in the soil and ends at the table
-
A local’s guide to AtlantaDrawn by the city’s diversity and queer community, life coach and writer Cator Sparks returned to Atlanta after 25 years away. He shares his favourite haunts
-
Philadelphia’s ‘Grande Dame’ reopens with a dazzling French twistThe Bellevue Hotel has been restored to its former glory through a stylish renovation by design studio Ward + Gray
