Courtesy King’s Social House
King’s Social House, St. Moritz
Dining Out
From Cal-Asian to Swiss farmhouse foods.
BY IRENE RAWLINGS
King’s Social House (in collaboration with British chef and restaurateur Jason Atherton, below) opened last winter in Badrutt’s Palace Hotel in St. Moritz. A shared-plates menu takes its cue from Switzerland’s farmhouse foods: woodland mushrooms, whole roasted fish, and wood-fired meats. The truffle-and-Parmesan fries are addictive. As the evening progresses, the space is transformed into a high-energy nightclub. badruttspalace.com
Photo: The Petersham/Paul Craig
The Petersham, London
Photo: Nightshade/Wonho Lee
Nightshade, Los Angeles
A summery oasis, The Petersham, in London’s Covent Garden theater district, delivers a hyper-seasonal menu culled from the fruits of sister company Petersham Nurseries in Richmond. Toast with a rhubarb Bellini before artichokes with sage and lemon or roast venison with parsnips, braised red cabbage, and burnt onion. For dessert: lemon tart paired with a fruity wine from Italy’s Venato. petershamnurseries.com
The menu at oh-so-cool Edern (Paris) ranges from creamy burrata and flights of caviar to a seriously addictive marinated Black Angus beef prepared in an open kitchen. For a nightcap, find a secret bar and cigar lounge in the cellar where a DJ spins contemporary dance music all night. edern-restaurant.com
Top Chefseason 12 winner Mei Lin opens her first restaurant, Nightshade, in Los Angeles’ Arts District. The Cal-Asian menu offers authentic and seriously spicy best sellers like pork and tofu lasagna (go early before it sells out) and a lip-tingling Szechuan hot quail. nightshadela.com
Chef Jean Imbert (owner of three restaurants in Paris) debuts Encore, a wildly creative French concept in New York’s Meatpacking District. Try the deconstructed lobster roll, fluke tartar with ponzu sauce, or a clever riff on avocado toast (starring a perfectly poached egg). encorenyc.com
Courtesy Rooster
Rooster, Paris
Rooster, Frédéric Duca’s latest, offers a modern take on traditional Parisian bistro fare but informed by the chef’s Marseillaise childhood. The small, seasonal menu could include lamb-artichoke-anchovy casserole or sautéed squid with chorizo. The décor is inviting but minimal—unadorned walls, honey-colored pine tables, and mid-century chairs. rooster-restaurant.com
Courtesy Carna
Carna, Nassau
Celebrated Italian butcher Dario Cecchini brings his signature dishes to Carna steakhouse, his first restaurant outside Italy. The elegant Baha Mar location (Nassau, the Bahamas) features steaks that are dry-rubbed with Cecchini’s signature Chianti-infused salt, cooked over charcoal, and topped with a generous shaving of white Alba (thousand-dollar-a-pound) truffles. sbe.com
Photo: Noosh/Audrey Ma
Noosh, San Francisco
Chefs Laura and Sayat Ozyilmaz, a wife-and-husband team with Michelin pedigree, launch Noosh (bottom right). The San Francisco restaurant pays homage to the culinary heritage of the eastern Mediterranean. Regulars swear by the Late-Night Istanbul Dirty Burger topped with lamb bacon and the Greek Po’Boy Stuffed Pita with smoked tzatziki. To drink: handpicked teas, Old World wines, and herb-infused cocktails. 2001fillmore.com
Courtesy Fhior
Fhior, Edinburgh
On Edinburgh’s bohemian Broughton Street, Chef Scott Smith opened Fhior to showcase updated Scottish classics. Locals rave about the malted barley bread (baked on site and served with a tangy aged butter) as well as the pan-fried halibut with salt-marsh herbs and a gamey partridge breast on a fragrant bed of spruce and wild garlic. Four- or seven-course tasting menu. fhior.com
Photo: The Silver Bough/Joe Schmelzer
The Silver Bough, Santa Barbara
The Silver Bough (inside Santa Barbara’s historic Montecito Inn) launched in January—with only eight seats and a prix fixe $550 price tag. First, Champagne in the lobby. Then, a multicourse dinner of, perhaps, whipped Siberian caviar, aged New Zealand venison, and Japanese geoduck. The standout: Kobe rib-eye accompanied by white truffles, black truffles, and lobster claws. Linger after dinner for pours of cognac. Dinner tickets (sold a month in advance) are wine-and-spirits inclusive. silverboughmontecito.com
A vegan sushi bar lands in San Diego. NoW Sushi is the brainchild of eco-activists Monica Berki and Lindsi DeMik, who also own NoW Cafe, the adjacent vegan sandwich and smoothie shop. Specialties include a caterpillar roll made with shiitake mushroom “eel” and crunchy California rolls made with mock crab. noworriesmovement.org
Chef Thomas Keller’s much-anticipated outpost in New York City’s Hudson Yards is a throwback to the 1950s Mad Men era. A time, he says, when the United States was the most glamorous country in the world and “continental cuisine” was the fanciest food in America. Tak Room serves riffs on traditional Beef Wellington, chicken Kiev, and baked Alaska. takroomnyc.com
“Part Texas barbecue and part Alabama church picnic” is how chef-owner David Bancroft describes Bow & Arrow, his fast-casual restaurant in Auburn, Alabama. Tender brisket and beef-back ribs share the plate with collard greens, creamed corn, and butter beans. Pecan pie and brownies for dessert. bowandarrowbbq.com
