The wait for Simone is finally over—or, we should say, almost over. After at least three years of planning, preview dinners and menu teases, Jessica Largey’s first restaurant is set to open next Thursday in a historic Arts District building, an Art Deco-inspired dream complete with a tasting table, private dining rooms and a standalone high-concept bar.
There’s been national focus on Simone since Largey took home the James Beard Rising Star Chef award in 2015, and according to her business partner, Joe Russo, it’s taken them, and partner Bruno Bagbeni, roughly since then to assemble the staff and artisans to bring the restaurant to life. Next week, L.A. will finally taste the fruits—and vegetables—of Largey’s seasonal, produce-forward labor, a menu informed by the chef-owner’s Ventura County upbringing and fine-dining experience in Michelin-starred kitchens.
Simone is an ode to Southern California produce, but don’t expect meat to take a backseat. The final menu is still in the works, but a few certainties include grilled pork collars and dry-aged rib eyes; black cod with roasted corn and blistered shishitos; charred squash with nectarine and a macadamia salsa macha; pork with grilled long peppers, ’nduja and an olive tapenade; and brown-butter maitake mushrooms with turnips and a shallot miso.
Photograph: Courtesy Simone/Rob Stark Photography
Pole beans with chili crème fraîche, almonds and purple tomatillo
Expect the cuisine to be approachable but dotted with fine-dining tendencies. Shortly after the restaurant’s opening, you’ll see even more refined plating and technique at the chef’s counter, which will offer a tasting menu for six guests at a time who’ll be seated right at the edge of the kitchen.
And then there’s Duello: Helmed by barman Iain McPherson, of Edinburgh’s lauded Panda & Sons, this 25-seat bar greets guests with leather seats, leaded glass windows and antique mirrors and boasts a cocktail menu meant to transport them through time. Wine and sherry-based cocktails tip their hats to the neighborhood in the 1890s; tiki and citrus-forward sour drinks recognize the agriculture movements of the 1920s; artist-inspired cocktails nod to the Art’s District artist namesakes; and a more experimental selection of cocktails brings us up to the modern age.
Photograph: Courtesy Simone/Rob Stark Photography
Duello greets guests at the entrance to Simone.
The design is Deco to the core, a moody industrial-meets-glamour setting replete with leather, marble, concrete, velvet and bronze. It’s hard to say whether Simone has a defining centerpiece to it all its rooms and concepts, but the main dining room—at 75 seats—looks like a contender, with its tufted velvet banquettes beneath handmade brass chandeliers.
At the chef’s table, Deco-inspired leather seats pull up to a small stretch of walnut countertop, while tweed-and-leather chairs, brass-accented walnut tables and custom stained glass lend further drama throughout Simone’s spaces. For those looking for a bit of isolation, between the restaurant’s two private dining rooms (which hold 12 and 24 people), guests will find hand-painted malachite walls, hand-blown glass and custom artwork.
Catch a glimpse of the long-awaited Simone below then get lost in these Art Deco touches in person next week.
Photograph: Courtesy Simone/Rob Stark Photography
Photograph: Courtesy Simone/Rob Stark Photography
Farro with turmeric-pickled ginger, summer vegetables and cashew cream
Photograph: Courtesy Simone/Rob Stark Photography
Photograph: Courtesy Simone/Rob Stark Photography
Black cod in hoja santa with roasted corn and blistered shishitos
Photograph: Courtesy Simone/Rob Stark Photography
The chef’s counter
Photograph: Courtesy Simone/Rob Stark Photography
Charred squash with nectarine and a macadamia salsa
Photograph: Courtesy Simone/Rob Stark Photography
Simone opens Thursday, September 20, at 449 S Hewitt St, with hours of 5:30 to 10:30pm on Sunday and from Tuesday to Thursday; and 5:30 to 11:30pm on Friday and Saturday. Duello, the bar within, will be open from 4pm until "late," Tuesday to Sunday.