Back in February, I told you about a second location of Melrose’s glamourous purveyor of meringues and cakes, Bo Nuage, that was under construction in the old Shoe Wiz space at 9523 Santa Monica Blvd (near Rodeo) in Beverly Hills. Bo Nuage is now open and set to charm your knickers off with its adorable French pâtisserie themed décor and delightfully darling desserts on display. Pop by for a sample of their lighter than air confections and read more about this little slice of heaven here.
It wasn’t that long ago that the French cafe L’Amande quit the space at 9530 S. Santa Monica Blvd in Beverly Hills. And already, it looks like a new tenant has been lined up. Signs are up indicating that long-time Beverly Hills sushi restaurant Yu-N-Mi will be moving out of their current diminutive and dark digs a block away at 9475 Santa Monica Blvd and taking over the bright and cheery new space by late Fall, according to the sign.
Surely one of the loveliest places in LA to savor a balmy summer evening is on the patio at celeb fave Culina in the Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills. Recently, Culina got a serious Italian makeover. Under the direction of assistant general manager and sommelier Luca Bruno (Providence, Bouchon), the always crowded restaurant recently took on a new and talented young sous chef, Denis Dello Stritto. Originally hailing from Sardinia and after cutting his teeth for a year at Il Grano, the effervescent and creative Stritto has already begun to transform the menu. Look for serious Southern Italian flavors here, with an emphasis on Campagna; house-made pastas, fish, fresh and local ingredients. And if you’re extremely lucky, you just made get a chance to sample pizza montanara, which is a Neapolitan pie with toppings on deep-fried dough that Stritto serves as small, individual hors d’oeuvre. What could be better for a late summer al fresco dinner?
Dennis Dello Stritto & Luca Bruno
Pizza Montanara
I recently noticed that signs are up in the window of a tiny space at 412 N. Bedford in Beverly Hills that used to house a hair salon announcing that West Hollywood’s Rawberri will soon be bringing raw acai bowls to the land of Spago, Cut, and Mr. Chow. Rawberri offers a menu of superfruit bowls that are organic, dairy free, gluten-free, and soy free. But that’s not all. They will also be the first vendor in the US serve Australia’s CocoWhip. What’s CocoWhip, you ask? A vegan and bio-fermented coconut soft serve frozen yogurt that comes in flavors such as matcha slim, and cacao bliss. No word on when this temple of Hygeia will open, but in the mean time, check out their website here.
Looks like Beverly Hills’ ambitious jazz club H.O.M.E. (House of Music & Entertainment) has just hit a sour note. According to this subtle poster affixed to a front window, their liquor license has been suspended until, well… “indefinite”. I can’t find any indication that they have actually closed, but sadly, I’m afraid you won’t be having any martinis to accompany your blues any time soon.
While we’re on the subject of closures… I recently noticed that longtime neighborhood sandwich shop Papa Jake’s Sub Shop at 9527 Santa Monica Blvd. in Beverly Hills has closed its doors. And it looks like they haven’t lined up a new tenant yet as evidenced by the “for rent” signs posted in the window. I’ll keep my eye on it.
I didn’t see this coming… But it appears that my go-to place for last-minute holiday gifts has given up the ghost. Vosges Haut-Chocolat is now closed at 311 N. Beverly Dr. in Beverly Hills. No word on if they plan on opening elsewhere or what will replace the chocolatier, but I’ll keep watching…
When BierBeisl vacated the space at 9669 Santa Monica Blvd. in Beverly Hills back in November of 2013, people were left scratching their heads wondering what was going to take over. Originally a pizza joint was scheduled to move in, but that fell through. Then in March of 2014, Eater LA uncovered an ABC license application suggesting that a Japanese restaurant was destined for the space, but that couldn’t be confirmed and the old license application has since disappeared. Shortly thereafter, a new ABC license was issued to Yazawa Meat Inc., and signs recently went up on the awning informing us all that the new restaurant will indeed be Yazawa. Whether or not this is the same Yazawa as the international chain, I can’t speak with any authority but it certainly looks possible…
Update: A reader sent me more information… Yes, this IS the same Yazawa as the international chain. Currently, they are having difficulties with the owners of the space which is holding up their progress. According to the reader, they are still far from opening…
Back in November, I told you about the impending arrival of a new café to the then-empty former Crumbs space at 9465 South Santa Monica Blvd. in Beverly Hills. On Thursday, Basanti Tea Bar held its official grand opening. Included in the festivities were free drinks, prizes, and yes, a Charlie Chaplin impersonator. Not much to see on their still-developing website, but if your Spanish is good, you can find more info about the Mexico-based company here.
Melrose’s darling little charmer Bo Nuage appears poised to descend upon Beverly Hills in a pink cloud of confectionary magic very soon. I recently noticed that the Parisian-themed purveyor of meringues and cakes is taking over the old Shoe Wiz storefront at 9523 Santa Monica Blvd (near Rodeo). No word on when this little chunk of fabulousness will be open, only that they’re predicting some time this year. Until that enchanting day, read more about them here and in this interview in Eater LA.
According to a rep, Canon Club, the new cocktail and mesquite-grilled seafood restaurant moving into the space at 340 N. Canon Dr. in Beverly Hills won’t make their original projected February opening, but will be pushing back the big day until March 1st, and the word “hopefully” was added to that. As you can see from the photo, they are still heavily into their build-out. But the plywood murals are really cool… Read more (but not much more) about them here.
After what seemed like an extraordinarily lengthy remodel of the space that used to house long-gone salad joint Choppe Choppe at 368 N. Camden, smoothie and juice shop Liquid Nutrition has recently opened in Beverly Hills. This is the first US branch of the popular Canadian chain. You can expect a menu of proprietary specialty drinks with protein, herbal, or vitamin supplements as well as wraps, treats, and house-grown wheatgrass served by extremely friendly and helpful staff in a bright, cheery environment.
Toddrickallen 