THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Five Leaves Los Angeles Awards

THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Five Leaves Los Angeles Restaurant Review:

About the restaurant: Brooklyn darling Five Leaves has taken the leap from Greenpoint to the West Coast with Five Leaves Los Angeles in East Hollywood. NY chef Warren Baird brings some of the flagship’s favorites along to create menus suited for all-day Eastside dining, adapted somewhat to seasonal California ingredients.

The décor: Beneath the looming Scientology building on Fountain Avenue, this elegant, airy Moderne oasis has a long curving bar, banquette seating, and a patio for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The brunch and evening scenes are hopping with a handsome crowd of hip millennials and an eclectic mix of chic locals. HOME STUDIOS, the design team behind Hollywood’s swank restaurant Gwen, has both restored and updated the striking Art Deco space making this one of the most inviting spots on the Eastside. The sexy white marble bar is a destination unto itself, so get there early if you want a seat. And likely you do, to sip very pretty cocktails and slurp fresh oysters. During the day sunshine streams in to bathe the white room with light, and at night frosty glass orbs cast a peach glow on the sultry milieu.

Likes: One of the prettiest spots to drink and dine in town.
Dislikes: Inconsistent cooking and cocktails; slow service.

Food & Drinks: The California-Mediterranean menu is diverse and undeniably appealing to Eastside tastes with a slew of salads, sharable starters and sophisticated seasonal vegetable sides. However, the kitchen’s problem is inconsistency, and sometimes a heavy hand on the grill. Fresh oysters are very good. The grilled prawns are sensational when cooked perfectly, with a lovely lime-kissed slaw of green papaya, cucumber, tomatillo and fresh basil, but they can also be over-grilled to the point of being burnt; ditto with the roasted carrots. We also found the grilled barramundi with a nice nettle pesto to be just overcooked. Grazing is a strategy here, and we highly recommend an ethereal house-made ricotta with figs, fresh thyme and honeycomb on chewy toasted fruit-nut bread. There’s also a hanger steak and a Wagyu burger with grilled pineapple and house-pickled beet on brioche. Skip the soupy panna cotta and cool off with ice cream for dessert. House cocktails are mostly excellent, particularly the mezcal and green chartreuse based “Drop a Gem” and the “Dice of Life” featuring bourbon, absinthe and allspice. Look for a small, select wine list worth exploring, too.