Building on the incredible success of Santa Monica’s revered JiRaffe, Chef Raphael Lunetta continues to cast a spell over the Los Angeles culinary scene by elevating New California cuisine to new heights with Lunetta Dining & The Moon Bar. You’ll enjoy a singular dining experience within a wall-to-wall ceiling treatment of ornate foliage, while a skylight centers the room and the night sky is revealed in the constellation-inspired tiling. Begin your meal with a tossed-to-order rock shrimp & baja scallop ceviche, served with fresh homemade guacamole and lime chips, matched with a signature handcrafted cocktail. If you prefer wine, indulge in eclectic varietals offered by the glass and by the bottle. For date night, you can’t go wrong with the mouth-watering 22 oz. dry aged New York strip, which is meaty enough for two, and features potato banana gratin, Castelfranco, and confit tomato. Top off your evening with desserts both edible (try the strawberry pistachio bombe or the divinely decadent Manjari chocolate crème brulée) or drinkable (perhaps an Italian classic such as an Sambuca Romana or an Amaro Montenegro). You won’t forget your evening here.
Lunetta Dining & The Moon Bar
Now let us tell you all about Eve American Bistro. Executive Chef Scott Commings, the champ of Hell’s Kitchen season 12, is at the helm of this fascinating new restaurant, described as a feminine take on the traditional European-style bistro, which takes its name from a character in a Raymond Chandler mystery. Located in the newly renovated Mayfair Hotel in downtown L.A., there’s nothing mysterious about the menu, which includes such perfectly prepared staples of Modern American cuisine as duck confit, braised octopus carpaccio and lobster truffle mac & cheese.
If animal-based cuisine isn’t part of your diet, stop by Yarrow Café. Chef Royce Burke, owner of Secret Lasagna, delivers once again with this essential vegan/vegetarian eatery with its inventive menu that opened in the Fairfax District in mid-summer. Also boasting a growing roster of amazing small roasters, Yarrow also pours the most exceptional cup of coffee in the neighborhood.
