Let Them Eat Steak
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After a two-year closure, The Royce steakhouse at The Langham is open with new chef de cuisine Jorge Delgado. Expect returning favorites along with flavors from Morocco, Japan, Thailand, and the Mediterranean, plus grass-fed and Wagyu cuts of meat from Australia and Tasmania that can be topped with bone-marrow chimichurri and Tabasco béarnaise.
Continuing that theme, Mastro’s Ocean Club recently opened a sprawling 14,000-square-foot space that includes private rooms, patios, and a piano lounge just steps from L.A. Live. Popular staples include seafood towers, 16 different cuts of USDA Prime steak, lobster mashed potatoes, butter pound cake, signature martinis, and a wine list with 1,100 varietals.
The George is a proper new American restaurant in Pasadena on East Washington Blvd. that harkens back to the Golden Age of fine dining and elegant libations. This is the perfect perch for a three-olive martini and a shrimp cocktail or wedge salad, but the restaurant also hosts a weekly Sunday jazz brunch, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., featuring herb-crusted steak and eggs with frites.
Music for Your Ears—and Palate
Chess Park Lounge in Glendale, formerly Chess Park Tavern pre-pandemic, has reopened for live music with dinner and drinks seven nights a week. Fanny’s Restaurant at the Academy Museum has added the “Hello, Gorgeous” live music series by KCRW’s Jason Bentley. The Aster members’ club, Cabaret Room, and hotel in Hollywood has welcomed Lemon Grove by celebrity chef Marcel Vigneron —who was a Top Chef contestant, for dinner and weekend brunch. The farmer’s market menu will feature squash blossom pizza and 5 spiced French toast.
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A few blocks away in the Vinyl District, Lincoln Carson’s French-forward Mes Amis is finally open at the Thompson hotel featuring duck pâté en croûte with black truffle, fruits de mer, steak au poivre, and chocolate souffle, which can all be enjoyed in a lush brasserie setting by Martin Brudnizki Design Studio.
Nearby, chef Brandon Kida has flipped his former Go Go Bird spot (now in Culver City) in Columbia Square into the swanky Gunsmoke with a garden patio. Standouts on the Nikkei meets SoCal menu include tuna tartare and ham, fried quail, and mushrooms served in an escargot dish swimming in garlic and butter with French bread.
On the Move
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Acclaimed Hong Kong chef Tony Ho has expanded from Arcadia to Chef Tony Dim Sum in Old Pasadena, while Ramen Nagi from Tokyo (and Century City) by chef Satoshi Ikuta has opened in Arcadia at Westfield Santa Anita. Bestia alumnus Lord Maynard Llera, who started a pandemic pop-up out of the family home in Altadena serving Filipino crispy pork belly, noodles, and bowls, has opened brick-and-mortar spot Kuya Lord on Melrose near Western. Vivian Ku’s beloved Taiwanese café from Silver Lake, Pine and Crane, has expanded to DTLA with a modern, museum-quality café and patio.
 in Columbia Square into the swanky Gunsmoke with a garden patio. Standouts on the Nikkei meets SoCal menu include tuna tartare and ham, fried quail, and mushrooms served in an escargot dish swimming in garlic and butter with French bread.){kind=link}