RESTAURANT openings may have slowed to a crawl. But there's a flurry of openings on the horizon -- all restaurants in hotels.
The highest profile of the bunch is the Richard Meier-designed Wolfgang Puck steakhouse, tentatively called Cut, that is going into the Regent Beverly Wilshire hotel. (Meier, a New York-based architect with offices in Manhattan and L.A., designed the Getty Center.) Puck's foray into the crowded club of L.A. steak places was originally supposed to open late last year, but is now slated for early June. But before that opens, several other hotel eateries are set to premiere.
First up, early this month: Royale, just west of Downtown L.A. in the old Wilshire Royale Hotel (now an apartment building), dating to 1927. Chef Eric Ernest, who did stints at Boa and Citrine, will feature dishes such as crispy pork spareribs, foie gras with candied blood orange, and a selection of \o7crudos\f7, the Italian take on sashimi. The restaurant, which will include a wine bar, will have an ambitious wine program overseen by Thierry Perez (ex of Naya and Providence), with about 40 wines to be offered by the glass.
A week or two later, Tart opens in the Farmer's Daughter Hotel, the once divey hostelry on Fairfax Avenue that got groovy with an extreme makeover about three years ago. The chef is Claude Segal, formerly of the Sunset Room and Drai's on La Cienega. Tart will inhabit the space that was once home to the Olive, the uber-cool, early '90s hangout where Fred Eric (Fred 62, Vida) was chef. The plan is for straightforward American bistro fare.
West is next in line. The modern Italian dining room with a killer view atop Hotel Angeleno (the former Holiday Inn at Sunset and the 405) is scheduled to open in April. Chef Josh Moulton, who has worked at Union Square Cafe and Gramercy Tavern in New York, will be turning out \o7crudos\f7, homemade pastas, grilled fish and steaks.
Then in May, Simon L.A., sister restaurant to chef Kerry Simon's spots in Las Vegas and Telluride, is expected to open in the Sofitel. The restaurant will be similar to the other Simons (the same design team, Yabu Pushelberg, did the Vegas location at the Hard Rock Hotel and Nine Thirty in Westwood's W Hotel), and serve many of the chef's signature dishes such as steak tartare with ginger and sesame, yellowtail carpaccio with cilantro, mint and citrus vinaigrette, and tandoori salmon. But according to partner Elizabeth Blau, "it will have a little more of an Asian feel."
