It's hard to keep up with all the restaurant and bar openings, closings, chef swaps and revamps that happen every day in this city. What's worth spending your money on and what's all just hype? We're here to help you out with that. At the end of each month, I'll give a recap of the most exciting additions to enter LA's dining and drinking scene, whether it's a new ice cream shop or a creative cocktail bar. Here are a few May openings that are worth a visit:
Catch & Release: Born from chef Jason Neroni's (Superba Food + Bread) childhood days spent eating lobster rolls and fried fish in Maine comes Catch & Release, a seafood restaurant in Marina del Rey. There's plenty of lobster here, both chilled on a plate and served in a roll, along with clams, oysters, scallops, crab and other sea creatures. Close your eyes, and you might be in Maine.
Madcapra: Grand Central Market's lineup has continued to evolve; Madcapra, a new falafel spot, is the latest to open this month. Sidle up to the counter and you might find chefs Sara Kramer and Sarah Hymanson plating their delicious creations for Downtown locals and tourists. Sure, there's been a lot of buzz about a few falafel spots lately (ahem, Dune), but I'm just happy LA is seeing more quality options pop up.
Barrel Down: Downtown's ever-growing beer scene just got bigger with the recent addition of Barrel Down, an American beer hall offering 40 taps, a curated selection of cocktails, wine and market-driven food. Everything from Bell's Brewing to Almanac Beer Co. to Left Hand Brewing is available here; so dedicated is the space to beer, that it also serves as the headquarters for the DTLA Homebrewers Club. Welcome to the hood, guys!
Maré: Hear the name Eric Greenspan and you'll probably think about grilled cheese, but the energetic chef opened something completely different in May: Maré, a dreamy Mediterranean restaurant right next door to Greenspan's Grilled Cheese. Seafood dominates here; one of the most interesting dishes is a kind of Mediterranean ramen—shellfish in a rich, thick broth that comes with noodles.
E.P. & L.P.: The name of this new West Hollywood restaurant and lounge doesn't exactly the roll off the tongue, but it sure is pretty. E.P. & L.P. is split into two parts: E.P., an Asian restaurant featuring Thai, Vietnamese and Chinese cuisine; and L.P., a rooftop lounge that overlooks the Hollywood basin, floors thumping as a heavy bass permeates through the space. On a recent visit, the lounge was still working out some issues—a boba drink was missing its boba pearls—but I'm sure the drinks will be smoothed out and the crowd will pick up as it begins to get warmer.
Did you miss our favorite openings from April? Check out the list here.