LA STORIES

One of the most diverse metropolises in the world, Los Angeles remains a haven for every cuisine possible, its multicultural roots and peoples spread out in hundreds of enclaves between its infamous freeways. While LA’s casual and street food has long been among the best, its fine dining has up until now trailed behind much smaller cities such as San Francisco. Today, while casual fare still reigns, fine dining is growing fast in quality and innovation, thanks to a bunch of innovative sommeliers and beverage directors.

At hotspots like chef Evan Funke’s ever-mobbed Mother Wolf LA, wine director Sean Friel focuses primarily on Italian wines. “My selection process is somewhat different from many modern restaurants,” he notes. “Working with chef Funke, my thinking is that food should be the focus. While we in the US think of pairing as a fun option, this is deeply entrenched in Italian culinary culture. Wine and food should always be mutually enhancing, so every drop of wine at Mother Wolf is there to enhance the food experience.”

Pioneers like Caroline Styne, one of fewer than 300 Master Sommeliers in the world, and among roughly 25 women in the US with that all-too-rare title, have long been showing LA how it’s done. Since 1998 when now-closed Lucques opened, Styne and business partner and chef, Suzanne Goin, are behind multiple spots, including 22-year-old great A.O.C., as well as offerings at legendary Hollywood Bowl. Goin’s memorable dishes sing with Styne’s exceptional wine lists, both women winning James Beard Awards.

At the hip, boutique Downtown L.A. Proper Hotel and its restaurant, Caldo Verde, Goin’s CalMed cuisine pairs beautifully with Styne’s curated wine list. “No matter what direction my list is taking,” explains Styne, “I always hone my selections towards boutique, artisanal producers as I really want to support smaller wineries. I strive to offer guests an experience of something new, like wineries they’ve never seen before, versus a list of wines that they can find anywhere.”

Ever a leader, Styne clarifies, “I try hard to steer clear of trends and gimmicks. It’s easy to get sucked into focusing on popular wines or processes. But just because something is trending doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good.

I work hard to include only wineries practicing sustainable farming, preferably farming organically or biodynamically. We’ve always focused our restaurant menus on small, local organic farmers so it only makes sense for our wine lists to follow the same path.”

On the trail Styne has blazed, LA’s fine dining are now pushing boundaries in food with all-encompassing pairings, ranging from classic to trendy.

LAID-BACK VIBE

Four upscale restaurants, brand new to decades-old, exemplify the range of what is happening in the infamously casual LA. Mélisse has been a Santa Monica legend since 1999. Chef Josiah Citrin has impressively kept this two Michelin-star restaurant relevant for 25 years, as he has the neighboring, more casual, one Michelin-star Citrin. Yes, it’s fine dining, but 14-seat Mélisse feels like a home dinner party since its 2019 remodel, set to chef Citrin’s 1970 and 1980s album selection playing on vintage McIntosh amps and quality speakers, with wood-paneled walls and vinyl record plates.

Citrin, along with chef and partner Ken Takayama, evolve from their Cal-French base with Japanese influence and beyond to create joyful dishes like chilled sea kelp noodles and consommé accented with sea vegetables and mustard, or uni cromesquis, akin to croquettes with sea urchin and fermented yuzu honey. The one-bite Caesar salad under a tower of shaved parmigiano is a whimsical delight highlighting what Citrin does best in playful, fresh, California style. Head sommelier Maja Kümmerle pairs these dishes with rare sakes like IWA 5 Junmai Daiginjo or French wines from Jurançon and Bandol to Grower Champagnes.

Meanwhile, since the summer of 2022, chef Jordan Kahn of two Michelin-starred Vespertine has chosen a more relaxed approach at the Michelin-starred Meteroa. The verdant, green oasis – with a feel like a spa retreat in Tulum or Bali – centers around live fire cooking unlike any other restaurant. Think signature burnt murasaki yam with yeast butter, charred cucumbers, hazelnuts, smoked trout roe and pickled papaya seeds. Sommelier James Saidy deftly pairs Kahn’s visionary food with funky yet elegant wines from Sicily to Burgundy, heavy on islands like Corsica, Cyclades or Canary Islands.

Since its early Santa Monica strip mall days, chef Jonathan Yao’s Kato has made massive waves, topping LA Times’ best restaurants and named “The World’s 50 Best Restaurants” in the coveted Resy One To Watch 2023 (in the world). Kato’s huge downtown LA space illuminates Yao’s inventive modern Taiwanese food in bites like Longxia Shala, a lobster claw salad laced with horseradish mayo in a red fife “taco.”

Co-owner and sommelier Ryan Bailey veers from Germany to Jura, but also Kato’s own elegant house Kato x Cole Ranch Savagnin Ouille wine produced in Mendocino, California, with grapes planted from France’s Côte du Jura. Alternately, bar director Austin Hennelly thoughtfully pairs non-alcoholic and regular cocktails featuring ingredients like bitter melon or salted egg yolk.

And finally, having opened on Thanksgiving 2024, Somni has swiftly become one of LA’s most sought-after restaurants in ages. It’s a reopening of Spanish chef Aitor Zabala’s famed two Michelin-starred José Andrés group restaurant, four years after it closed. Serving only 14 diners at two curved counters in a gorgeous new space with garden and dining room, the pricy $495 tasting menu is one delicious art piece. From sardine tarts to oxtail curry buns, Zabala’s ambitions are clearly world-class, as is his experience cooking at history’s number one gastronomy temple, El Bulli, in Spain.

Wine director Caroline Costarella’s memorable non-alcoholic progression thrills with the likes of a sweet-savory cocktail of tomato espuma, celery salt and tabasco, while her wine list is international but blessedly heavy on Spain and California, a natural and historic partnership.

LA may not have the number of Michelin stars of San Francisco or New York, but as these examples show, what is here is mighty, world-class, changing LA’s dining landscape – and growing rapidly.

A note from the author: At the time of publishing, fires continue to blaze across Los Angeles. My heart is heavy for dear Los Angeles and the massive, widespread loss and scars this tragedy leaves in its wake.