Hotel restaurants typically fall into two categories: Some try to be a one-stop shop that offer something for everyone. At best, they are technically satisfactory, but not particularly memorable.
Other hotels get transplants of beloved restaurants from other destinations to open a new location at their property. While these restaurants tend to be more popular with the local set, they’re not particularly local in their DNA or menu.
What’s much rarer is for a local institution to move its location into a hotel. And what’s even more unheard of is for that restaurant to be entirely plant-based. But that’s exactly what Plant Food + Wine did when it officially reopened at the Four Seasons Los Angeles at Beverly Hills on July 20, making it the first Four Seasons in the Americas to have a plant-based restaurant, and solidifying the property’s dedication to wellness.
Why Four Seasons L.A. Wanted to Open a Plant-Based Restaurant
For years now, Four Seasons Los Angeles at Beverly Hills has been catering to guests who prioritize wellness. The fourth floor — where the restaurant is located — is the property’s Wellness Floor, the first of its kind.
The floor features dedicated Wellness Guestrooms and Suites with special amenities, a Well Office space, a Private Fitness Suite, a spa offering organic facials, a pool and an outdoor fitness center.
A Wellness Guestroom located on the Wellness Floor
Credit: 2023 Four Seasons Los Angeles at Beverly Hills“Adding a plant-based restaurant rounds out and completes the Wellness Floor experience,” said Esther Oh Kostecky, the hotel manager of Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills.
And, according to Oh Kostecky, the property has been wanting to offer another all-day dining option to complement Culina Ristorante, its modern Italian eatery located on the first level of the hotel.
There just so happened to be a verdant, cozy nook on the fourth floor perfect for a second concept. While the hotel served breakfast and lunch in the poolside space, it always sat dormant at dinnertime. Now, with Plant Food + Wine at Four Seasons, guests can enjoy plant-based meals from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Matthew Kenney (right) and Scott Winegard, the culinary director of Matthew Kenney Cuisine, in their new location at the Four Seasons Los Angeles at Beverly Hills
Credit: 2023 Kim KesslerAnd when it came to choosing a vegan partner, celebrity chef and serial restaurateur Matthew Kenney was a natural choice.
The L.A.-based chef and the hotel began a partnership in 2018 with a vegan concept created by the chef called Folia, which was available poolside until 2020. (The Folia menu is currently still available at Four Seasons Hotel Kuwait at Sintoho,Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay and Four Seasons Resort Riyadh.
The new restaurant is part of an overarching culinary change at the property. Earlier this summer, Culina welcomed Mark Pollard as the new executive chef of that restaurant, where he is expected to marry Italy´s Amalfi Coast flavors with local California ingredients.
About Plant Food + Wine
For 10 years, Plant Food + Wine occupied an end lot on Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice, Calif. Created by Kenney, the restaurant put sophisticated vegan dining on the map with elevated, animal-free dining and natural, biodynamic wines, even earning a nod from the Michelin Guide as one of the best veggie-focused spots in California.
The breakfast tacos are on the new Plant Food + Wine breakfast and lunch menu.
Credit: 2023 Four Seasons Los Angeles at Beverly HillsBut when the time came to renew the lease, the restaurant was lured away by a new home.
"It’s an opportunity to step out of the box and move locations, and the poolside cafe is the perfect ambiance to pair with our cuisine,” Kenney said.
We have become good at being innovators, but we are nowhere near as strong and impeccable as Four Seasons are as operators. We want to focus on what we do best, put the two partners together and create something for the next generation of Plant Food + Wine and the future of food.
The chef also said that partnering with Four Seasons allows him and his staff to focus on the food.
"Four Seasons are amazing operators,” he said. “We have become good at being innovators, but we are nowhere near as strong and impeccable as Four Seasons are as operators. We want to focus on what we do best, put the two partners together and create something for the next generation of Plant Food + Wine and the future of food.”
What’s on the New Menu
A few favorite menu items from the former Plant Food + Wine in Venice will be reappearing at its new location, including the avocado tikka, served with curry yogurt, herbs and potato flatbread; the raw heirloom tomato and zucchini lasagna, topped with macadamia nut ricotta and pistachio pesto; and the banana cream pie with coconut mousse and macadamia nut crust.
The menu is always evolving, and we wanted to cater to the expanded audience of Four Seasons guests and Angelenos living in Beverly Hills, West Hollywood and around, versus just the Venice area.
During a media preview ahead of the restaurant’s opening, guests indulged in a mix of old and new offerings with a prix fixe menu featuring, among other items: kimchi wraps with napa cabbage, cilantro and kimchi foam; spicy harissa cauliflower served atop saffron rice and drizzled with fried caper tahini; and chipotle-glazed maitake mushrooms sitting on a pool of sesame mole, dotted with charred sweet corn.
Green gazpacho, garnished with chipotle sunflower cream, heirloom tomato and radish
Credit: 2023 Four Seasons Los Angeles at Beverly HillsThe chocolate cake with pistachio ice cream and rose water ended the night on a decadent note. And during the dinner, there were hopeful murmurings that the kelp noodle cacio and pepe — a fan favorite — would eventually return to the menu, as well.
Guests will have the chance to try numerous new items, such as a butternut squash fundido (dip) with charred broccoli and blue corn tostadas; a cornmeal waffle with fried maitake mushrooms and maple butter; and more. (Check out the full breakfast and lunch menu here, and the dinner menu here.)
"The menu is always evolving, and we wanted to cater to the expanded audience of Four Seasons guests and Angelenos living in Beverly Hills, West Hollywood and around, versus just the Venice area,” Kenney said. “We wanted a menu to appeal to a broader audience.”
