"This was Hamburger Hamlet?" It's a common reaction for neighborhood locales flocking to Suzanne Goin's (Lucques, AOC) latest foodie landmark located in LA's posh Brentwood Village. Like the kind of Gastropub you'd find in London's Shoreditch neighborhood, the glass-roofed dining room has been dazzlingly revamped with ashy hardwood floors, slate-gray upholstered club chairs and long sofas arranged around generously portioned tables. The restaurant features a separate all white bar area as well as a small take-out counter of food staples and grab-n-go gourmet meals.
The Food
A playful bar menu offers bite-size portions of fried oysters with bacon, fava bean puree with toast dippers and half-and-half portions of tavern onion rings and herbed French fries. Those looking to dine in the bar grub on one of three burgers; turkey pork or niman ranch beef, with sliced of melted manchego or fontina on each. In the dining room is a fanicer affair as dinner is a mix of AOC-ish appetizers like asparagus with fried egg, duck sausage with frisee and spring vegetables with burrata. Main course is a heartier selection of slow-roasted salmon salad, hangar steak with creamed spinach and grilled lamb with salsa verde.
Last Word
LA's premiere chef debuts designer tavern in Brentwood with all-day menu of French-inspired gastro-faire, gourmet to-go counter and lively bar for 5pm foodie feasts. Any Goin restaurant is invariably about the food, a fine gourmet feast of French-inspired creations that have made her Lucques and AOC restaurant a hit with diners and Michelin critics.
