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Hotel restaurants have come a long way from a bland room of booths you slide into for your two-egg breakfast. Today, these restaurants can be a destination unto themselves, whether you stay for the night or not (but of course: it’s best to!) Recently, my teen daughter and I dined at the incredible Ladyhawk by Charbel Hayek at La Peer Hotel restaurant—which was just named the No. 8 hotel restaurant in the U.S., according to the USA TODAY 10Best Readers' Choice Awards.
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Ladyhawk is chef Charbel Hayek's wonderland of Lebanese mezze for sharing around the table, with items like falafel, hummus and bbaba ghanouj accompanied by housemade bread. According to the menu text, Hayek's vision is to pair Eastern Mediterranean culinary traditions with the variety of California's agricultural abundance.
My vegetarian daughter found plenty to make her happy with the mezze, while I indulged in a half chicken from the wood grill, perfectly succulent with whipped toum (a garlic sauce), pickles and little gem lettuce. Our shared favorite of the evening was the Za'atar Manoushe, a pizza-like dish made of 48-hour fermented dough with herbs, vegetables and labneh (yogurt cheese) in the colors of the Lebanese flag, honoring chef Hayek’s heritage. I tried Gibran’s Philosophy, a delicious cocktail of Jun Lebanese gin, green Chartreuse, cucumber, thyme, lime, and soda, and the wine list includes several Lebanese, Californian, and French wines. My daughter had a lavender sage lemonade mocktail. We finished with an olive oil cake with orange and rosemary flavorings.
The restaurant offers a calming interior with dark tilework, natural wood walls, lush plants and moss-green seating. You almost feel enveloped in a forest.
USA Today suggests, “Finish your meal with a Turkish coffee experience, where the traditional brew is served in an Arzum Turkish coffee kettle or a copper cezve over hot sand, and enjoy the open kitchen workings of Charbel Hayek, the Lebanese chef who has worked in Michelin kitchens and won Top Chef Middle East & North Africa honors.” USA Today’s report points out that with the exception of Hawai’i, Ladyhawk is the highest-ranked hotel restaurant across the entire West Coast.
This boutique hotel itself is a haven (yes, we had a celebrity sighting in the lobby!) in Los Angeles's West Hollywood Design District neighborhood, with eye-catching art in the lobby and throughout the property. It felt totally, beautifully LA: our hotel window was shaded by a palm tree, and there’s a rooftop garden with a pickleball court. Bonus: it’s a five-minute walk to The Abbey, which is the real Pink Pony Club popularized by Chappell Roan.
Ladyhawk offers a lot of ways to indulge. There’s a current $65 Dine LA menu (prix-fixe with mezze, shared appetizer, main, and dessert), happy hour every day except Sunday, Wine Wednesdays with half-off bottles, and, of course, always-evolving seasonal dishes based on California's produce offerings.
