The season’s hottest new openings and pop-ups, from Bar Benjamin to Moody Tongue Sushi, have equally important cocktail components
Chicago’s Michelin-starred Moody Tongue brewery launches the Moody Tongue Sushi pop-up at Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles.Credit: Courtesy Moody Tongue/Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills
This season, a new wave of lively dining options place equal weight on beverage offerings. The world’s only Michelin-starred brewery — Chicago’s Moody Tongue — pairs premium beer with sushi at Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles. Two trendy restaurants (Mother Wolf and the Benjamin Hollywood) expand their brands with cocktail lounge offshoots. Pasjoli’s popular bar menu items inspired the French restaurant’s redesign, and SBE’s sprawling new space at Westfield Century City houses Katsuya and Casa Dani restaurants and a trio of bars. Drink it all in.
1. Moody Tongue Sushi
On the heels of debuting a new poolside Mexican restaurant, La Ola, Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills is partnering with Moody Tongue Brewing Company — the world’s only Michelin-starred brewery, with restaurant counterparts in Chicago,
New York and Palm Beach — on a sushi pop-up running in the lounge through Sept. 14. Pair chef Hiromi Iwakiri’s signature nigiri with Japanese-style lagers.
» 300 S. Doheny Drive, Beverly Grove, fourseasons.com
Credit: Robiee Ziegler
2. Bar Avoja
The team behind Mother Wolf (chef Evan Funke and managing partner Giancarlo Pagani) transformed the clandestine space just past the restaurant into one of the most coveted new cocktail bars. Inside the Italian villa-inspired interiors, Bar Avoja (Roman slang for “hell yeah”) serves reimagined classic cocktails alongside Funke’s take on Roman street food — plus his famed focaccia and squash blossoms.
Scroll to continue reading
» 1545 Wilcox Ave., Hollywood, motherwolfla.com
Bar Benjamin’s The Odd Couple cocktailCredit: Marcus Meisler
3. Bar Benjamin
The Benjamin Hollywood owners Ben Shenassafar, Jared Meisler and Kate Burr teamed with beverage experts Jason Lee (n/soto, Baroo) and Chad Austin (The Mulholland, Bootlegger Tiki) to open an art deco-inspired cocktail bar above their buzzy restaurant. Try playful concoctions like the Odd Couple (with white chocolate and olive oil tequila) alongside bar bites such as shrimp rolls and steak tartare.
» 7174 Melrose Ave., Fairfax, barbenjamin.com
Casa Dani moves into Westfield Century City.Credit: Jakob Layman
4. Katsuya and Casa Dani
Sam Nazarian’s SBE is expanding its culinary empire at Westfield Century City. Casa Dani comes from three-Michelin-starred Spanish chef Dani Garcia, who’ll be serving colorful paellas and Mediterranean classics, like Iberico ham croquetas and seafood pasta. The 17,000-square-foot space designed by David Rockwell also includes an adjacent Katsuya — the fourth L.A. outpost of chef Katsuya Uechi’s beloved sushi brand — and a trio of bars, including an open-air Katsuya Beer Garden.
» 10250 Santa Monica Blvd. #1799, Century City, sbe.com
Credit: Wonho Frank Lee
5. Pasjoli
Inspired by the popularity of the bar offerings, Michelin-starred chef Dave Beran decided to transform his nearly six-year-old elevated French restaurant into a more casual neighborhood bistro. The approachable à la carte menu served at the bar and in the dining room includes new comfort dishes like French onion souplette and steak frites. His signature pressed duck — prepared tableside on a rolling cart — will still be available, and an expanded beverage program enables guests to design bespoke cocktails.
» 2732 Main St., Santa Monica, pasjoli.com