The Bazaar by the Spanish-born chef José Andrés in the SLS Hotel is the proverbial "place to see and be seen" in Beverly Hills. One quickly loses count of the number of Italian and German supercars coming and going at the entrance to the hotel. Inside, the eclectic jumble of a decor, vaguely organized into different art- or culinary-themed areas, would give a minimalist a conniption.
As part of the blue-splate special crowd (in by 5:30pm, in bed by 9pm), I found the place deserted, hence the practically unobstructed views of the place. On some tables (left), in the bar area called Bar Centro, circular projections of old movies would play. In the Moss Room, the main art area/gallery/store, some t-shirts. This one (pictured right) says, in the simplest postmodern ironic way, "photography is not allowed."
There's also a patisserie, a place to buy, among the enormous variety, small $6 cupcakes. (Admittedly, they were exquisitely delicious cupcakes, as I found later when I opened my to-go bag back at the ranch.) But what you see on the left, in streak-free glass domes, are candle creations made to resemble cakes and macaron stacks. Psych! It's actually part of the art gallery. Then (left), there's the rest of the wall-less gallery/store called Regalo with its staunchly unclassifiable objets d'art on exhibit—and for sale.
Eventually, we sat down and received a menu (pictured left, below), leatherbound in a Corvette red hue. Right: one of the fancy drinks with gold.
Before I even begin here, some advice: if you're planning to go, make sure you order mostly from the avant-garde menu or "modern tapas." The traditional menu, though good, contains plates that you can get at most any decent tapas bar or restaurant. Left: grilled squid and, in foreground, papas Canarias with mojo verde. Right: buñuelos (cod fritters) with aioli dip.
The Bazaar is famous for its cotton-candy foie gras and for good reason: it's quite a sensation. Below: cotton candy on skewers surrounds a hidden piece of cold foie gras, which tasted like ice cream. Notice the serving method: a small resin block which looked like ice.
Left: croquetas de pollo (chicken and bechamel croquettes), stuffed piquillo peppers. Right: jamon Iberico de bellota in the background, pa'amb tomaquet (bread with tomato and manchego cheese) in the foreground. Don't get me wrong, the ham has a gorgeous texture and its hype is much-deserved for being several levels above (and much more expensive than) regular jamon, even regular jamon Iberico. But it's really now available at almost any mid-priced Spanish tapas bar.
Below, l-r: Another croquetas dish; a salad with foam; kua pao with pork.
The Bazaar is much-lauded and ravely reviewed, most famously by the restaurant critic of the L.A. Times, S. Irene Virbila. Part bar, part restaurant, part art gallery and gift shop, it's a beautiful, quirky space that melds both contemporary and retro design touches. The disappointment with the food came from ordering too many traditional tapas, though for the price, those items should have been extraordinary also. Service paused for too long between courses. But if you find yourself here, you must order the foie gras cotton candy, the highlight of the evening. We came early when there was hardly anyone there, but by the time we left, it was a madhouse with a din worthy of a rock concert, definitely an L.A. scenester hangout. All well and good, if you and your agent are into that.
Dinner was expensive: two cocktails, a bottle of wine, and all of the food above, plus service charge came out to about $300 per person.
465 South La Cienega Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90048
T: 310.246.5555
Comments
Post a Comment
Please keep comments clean and relevant to the article or discussion. The Dineocrat, in his infinite wisdom, will delete profanity-laced and irrelevant comments, as well as those with poor grammar.