BizBash Best 2020 - 85

los angeles

top Chefs
Los Angeles saw several new
openings from high-profile chefs.
Renowned Border Grill chefs Susan Feniger and
Mary Sue Milliken opened Socalo in late December
2019 at the Gateway Hotel in Santa Monica. The
restaurant, which focuses on SoCal Mexican
cuisine, seats 99 at a mix of communal tables and
booths; a street-facing retractable wall can create
an indoor-outdoor feel. A patio seats 12, and the
semiprivate Cork Room seats 16. (1920 Santa
Monica Blvd., Santa Monica, socalo.com)
Nightshade, chef Mei Lin's flagship restaurant, opened in January 2019. Located in the Arts
District downtown, the airy, industrial space has
white-washed brick walls, marble details, emeraldgreen banquettes, and hanging greenery. The semiexposed kitchen is located behind a 10-seat bar
counter; overall, the Chinese eatery seats 60. (923
East 3rd St., nightshadela.com)
Chef Joshua Skenes-founder of San Francisco's
two Michelin-star Saison-opened Angler at the
Beverly Center in June 2019. The menu offers raw
bar courses, salads, and a selection of seafood entrees;
another treat is caviar with grilled banana waffles.
The main dining room seats 70, while the bar and
lounge holds 18. A private dining room seats 16.
(8500 Beverly Blvd., anglerrestaurants.com)
Chef Melissa Perello and co-owner Robert
Wright, owners of the Michelin-starred Frances
and Octavia restaurants in San Francisco, opened

photoS: the ingallS (Santa Monica proper hotel), courteSy oF VenueS and SupplierS (all otherS)

photoS: Wonho Frank lee (1 hotel WeSt hollyWood), courteSy oF VenueS (all otherS)

gifts

M.Georgina at the Row DTLA in November 2019.
The 4,500-square-foot eatery combines Nordic
architecture with French farmhouse-inspired details;
it seats 68 in the dining room, 10 at the bar, and 36
each on two outdoor patios. A private dining room
seats 20 or holds 30 for receptions. Perello plans to
open the Slip, an adjacent lunch-focused venue, in
2020. (777 South Alameda St., mgeorgina.com)
Gone West hospitality group opened
1 Warrior in November 2019. The lounge and
rooftop venue serves Asian fusion food from
executive chef (and Top Chef winner) Hung Huynh
and chef de cuisine Daniel Mallett, plus a cocktail
program from Sweet & Chili. The stylish space
includes a hand-painted wall depicting female
fighters, plus hand-drawn wallpaper, 200-year-old
doors imported from China, and an eclectic mix of
velvet furniture, gold tones, distressed wood, and
landscape illustrations. (8909 Sunset Blvd., West
Hollywood, warriorlosangeles.com)
2 Olivetta opened in West Hollywood in early
January 2020. The restaurant is helmed by restaurateurs Matt and Marissa Hermer, plus executive
chef Michael Fiorelli of popular Manhattan Beach
eatery Love & Salt. The menu and decor take inspiration from Italy, Greece, France, and Spain. Four
dining areas seat a combined 150 people. (9010
Melrose Ave., West Hollywood, olivetta.la)
Onda, a collaboration between chefs Jessica
Koslow and Gabriela Cámara, opened in November
2019. The 120-seat eatery, which serves Los
Angeles- and Mexico City-inspired food, is housed
inside the new Proper Santa Monica hotel, a 1930s
Spanish Colonial landmark building. (700 Wilshire
Blvd., Santa Monica, onda.la)

Endless Summer
These new spots offer beachy decor
sure to please out-of-town guests.

Cannabis wholesale membership club
Flower Co. (flowercompany.com) is now
selling cannabis bouquet kits across
California. Each kit, which costs $40 for nonmembers, includes a wooden box, a glass
vase, six joint holders, and a letterpress card.
Pre-rolled joints are sold separately.

The 271-room 1 Santa Monica Proper Hotel
opened in June 2019. Designed by Kelly Wearstler,
the luxury property blends historic Spanish architecture and Moorish details with beachy textures
and natural sunlight. The hotel features more
than 24,000 square feet of meeting and event
space, including four meeting rooms, a ballroom,
and several courtyards and terraces. There are
three on-site restaurants-including Onda, the
first collaboration between chefs Jessica Koslow
and Gabriela Cámara. There's also a 2,500-squarefoot fitness center and a 7,700-square-foot rooftop
pool deck with panoramic ocean views and space
for 500 people. Proper Hospitality plans to open
the 148-room downtown Los Angeles Proper
Hotel in summer 2020. (700 Wilshire Blvd.,
Santa Monica, properhotel.com)
The Cliffdiver, a new restaurant and bar
in Malibu, opened in August 2019. The stylish
space, located along the Pacific Coast Highway,
was inspired by a 1960s beach house; decor

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includes vintage art, rattan seating, and plenty
of greenery. There's also a vintage jukebox and a
shuffleboard court, plus a patio with a retractable
roof and a seafood-focused menu. The venue can
hold private parties or provide catering for offsite
events. (21337 Pacific Coast Hwy., Malibu,
thecliffdiver.com)
The historic Hotel Atwater on Catalina Island
reopened in August 2019 after a full renovation,
which included the addition of a new meeting
and banquet space that seats 56 people or holds
65 for receptions. Originally opened in 1920, the
95-room property has new island-inspired decor
with a color palette of bright coral and pale teal.
(125 Sumner Ave., Avalon, visitcatalinaisland.com)
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bizbash.com 2020 bizbash best

http://www.mgeorgina.com http://www.socalo.com http://www.warriorlosangeles.com http://www.nightshadela.com http://www.olivetta.la http://www.anglerrestaurants.com http://www.onda.la http://www.thecliffdiver.com http://www.visitcatalinaisland.com http://www.flowercompany.com http://www.properhotel.com http://www.bizbash.com

BizBash Best 2020

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