One aspect of the post-pandemic landscape that isn’t talked about enough is the hotel restaurant. Due to a variety of factors during the pandemic — from staffing shortages to more eating in and less traveling — many hotel restaurants didn’t make it or had to be majorly refreshed post-pandemic. Plus, the current travel boom has been marked by sky-high average daily rates and high occupancies at hotels, meaning that many properties have had the ability to launch ambitious new concepts.
In Los Angeles alone, there are three new hotel restaurants worth noting for locals and visitors alike. Occupying different parts of town and dishing out different cuisines, there’s something exciting — and tasty — for everyone.
For Fine Dining: Espelette at Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills
In May, Espelette replaced Jean-Georges, the L.A. outpost of the NYC restaurant named for French chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, which occupied the lobby-level space for six years. Steve Benjamin, chef and culinary director for Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills, oversaw the new menu and, worry not, high-end diners will be equally impressed with the Mediterranean-inspired menu. On a recent visit, the menu’s namesake, the French espelette pepper, added just the right amount of spice — and sunset-orange flair — to a butter and full baguette appetizer. Indeed, everything was served beautifully, from a full artichoke sporting a head of citrusy mixed greens to a bowl of truffle fries topped with shredded parmesan and a garden of herbs.
Espelette features a Mediterranean-inspired menu.
Credit: 2023 Vanessa Tierney PhotographyEntrees ranging from wood-grilled Wagyu F1 Ribeye Score 9 and John Dory (imported from the Mediterranean) to eggplant parmesan and steamed mussels highlight the restaurant’s breadth of influences — loosely defined as the European coast — and ensure that meat-eaters, pescatarians and vegetarians alike will have something both delicious and transporting on their plate.
For Fusion Fun: The Surfing Fox at Pierside Hotel in Santa Monica
Pierside Hotel is a brand-new property located, well, pier-side. Just steps from the famous landmark in bustling downtown Santa Monica, the restaurant’s open-air patio is a peaceful place to take in the sometimes-crazy scene. The food at The Surfing Fox is equally breezy, drawing from executive chef David Yamaguchi’s Japanese and Mexican heritage, and his most recent role at Michelin-awarded Chulita in Venice, Calif.
The menu at Pierside Hotel’s The Surfing Fox is influenced by both Japanese and Mexican flavors.
Credit: 2023 The Surfing FoxFavorites from a recent meal included the burrata with salsa macha, peach and arugula; the koji-brined hot chicken sandwich; the grilled hangar steak topped with Japanese chimichurri and egg yolk; and the Mexican chocolate pot de creme. A sprawling bar whips up tasty “Foxtails” such as the Prickly Pear, a tequila cocktail topped with black lava salt.
For Refined Vegan Cuisine: Plant Food + Wine at Four Seasons Los Angeles
Four Seasons Los Angeles has long wanted to open a second all-day restaurant to complement its modern Italian Culina Ristorante. The property — which offers a wellness floor and other health-oriented programming — was also hoping to attract a plant-based option and become the first Four Seasons in the Americas to house a vegan restaurant. Enter chef Matthew Kenney’s Plant Food + Wine, a beloved eatery that recently closed its Venice, Calif., restaurant after a 10-year run.
Plant-based dishes are inventive and fun at Plant Food + Wine.
Credit: 2023 Plant Food + WineAt Four Seasons, the Plant Food + Wine experience gets a glow up thanks to the hotel’s impeccable service and the outdoor location’s verdant, poolside ambiance. Angelenos and guests alike will be pleased to see entrees that are inventive, vibrant and seasonal, as well as tasty — from the spicy harissa cauliflower served atop saffron rice and drizzled with fried caper tahini to the butternut squash fundido (dip) with charred broccoli and blue corn tostadas.
