For his first solo venture, chef Eric Bost – whose pedigree includes stints at République and Guy Savoy – has set up shop on a well-travelled stretch on Melrose Avenue.
Safeguarded by large glass doors with Olsen Grundig metal handles, the restaurant’s interiors are the work of husband-and-wife duo, Jon and Maša Kleinhample – of local studio Klein Agency – who made the most of the light-filled space by quietly inserting a stylishly calm neutral palette of natural materials like untreated white oak furnishings and wide Vermont floor planks.
Pockets of light bounce off the blue limestone bar area, where naked vegetable-tanned leather stools, supported by laser-cut steel frames that will patina with time, are the best place to perch and indulge in cocktails concocted using flavour profiles from rhubarb to Douglas fir and Japanese ume.
Floor-to-ceiling hardwood-framed windows frame the native landscape along with bringing in the Californian sun that casts shadows on the Roman clay-painted walls while, in the main dining area, open beam ceilings reveal a retractable roof.§
Bost switches up the fine dining rules by offering an informal tasting menu with the flexibility of ordering four, six or nine courses comprising a mix of land and sea dishes. Expect pretty plates from the asparagus served with razor clams, bone marrow, fava beans and green garlic to the deliciously rich wagyu with sweet vidalia onions, artichokes, orach and oxtail broth, all served in custom pottery and chunky wooden bowls by Luke Hope of London. §
