875 E Mariposa St, Altadena, CA 91001
www.betsyaltadena.com
Fri 02/13/2026, 08:15p-11:05p
A recent search for a suitable dinner spot in the San Gabriel Valley brought me to Betsy, a restaurant located in a section of Altadena ravaged by the fires of last January. Although fire can very easily destroy, it can also create, and perhaps fittingly, the focus here is on live-fire cooking. The brainchild of coffee maven Tyler Wells, Betsy opened back in August last year and has since garnered quite a bit of attention, so I was certainly curious to check the place out.
About the Chefs: Tyler Jeremy Wells was born in July 1978 and hails from West Virginia, though he would eventually make his way to Colorado. Post-high school, he pursued a career as a mechanic, completing his training at Denver Automotive and Diesel College and working at an Audi dealership. After a few years, he decided to transition to the restaurant biz, and from 2002 to 2003, attended the Pennsylvania Culinary Institute (a.k.a. Le Cordon Bleu Institute of Culinary Arts in Pittsburgh). Things didn't quite go according to plan though, and Wells instead started up a bike messenger service in Austin, Texas called Marathon Messenger, which he later sold.
From there, he took on a construction manager role, which proved unsatisfying, so in 2005, when Progress Coffee's Joshua Bingaman offered him a job at the café, he accepted, and quickly got to work learning all about coffee. His next move came in April 2009, when he took on the opening GM position at Frank, an Austin hot dog specialist launched that June. In addition to wieners, Frank also served Intelligentsia coffee, and Wells got so good at preparing it that he ended up being hired away by the Chicago-based company in April 2010.
He was subsequently sent to Southern California to open Intelligentsia's new outpost in Pasadena. The cafe bowed in August 2010, and it was there where Wells would meet future business partners Michael Phillips and Chris Owens. In 2011, the trio started work on Handsome Coffee Roasters, and the Downtown Arts District spot would open in February 2012. During this period, Wells (along with Alex Jermasek) also operated Buenos Buenos, a catering company that first stoked his love of live-fire cookery. Wells and Owens ended up leaving Handsome in 2014, and in April that year, it was announced that Handsome was being acquired by Blue Bottle as part of its expansion into Los Angeles.
Earlier in 2014, Wells had started a consultancy firm called Nice Coffee, and his first project was to develop the coffee program at Superba Food + Bread, which dropped that April. April also saw the debut of Wells' Blacktop Coffee in the Arts District, created in partnership with Joseph Pitruzzelli and Tyler Wilson of Wurstküche fame. Further consulting gigs included Civil Coffee in Highland Park and The Wheelhouse in the AD.
Wells ended up decamping from Blacktop in 2016, and in April 2017, opened Nice Coffee at City National Plaza in the Financial District. Interestingly, the café initially served doughnuts from Hot Fat Donut Situation, a short-lived collaboration with none other than Lincoln Carson. To close out the year, 2017 saw further consultancy work with La Colombe and Goodboybob.
January 2018 witnessed the birth of All Time, an all-day eatery set in the former Twenty40 space in Los Feliz. The spot was opened by Wells in partnership with his then-girlfriend Ashley Ragovin (b. June 1983), a beverage professional and alumna of Marvin, Superba, Scopa, Trois Mec, Animal, and Osteria Mozza. The two ended up getting married a few years later, and in early 2024, even released a cookbook together: The Cook Book of All Time.
Shortly afterward, it was revealed that the pair were working on a new restaurant by the name of Bernee, which would open on December 5th, 2024. And if you're wondering about its moniker, it stemmed from Ashley Wells' full name: Ashley Bernee Wells. That fact proved rather unfortunate, as by that point, the couple's marriage was on the rocks, and they wound up separating at the start of the following year. However, that wasn't the only tragedy to strike Wells in 2025.
In January, the Eaton Fire swept through Altadena, destroying his home and possessions, though the restaurant suffered only minimal damage. With Bernee shuttered for the foreseeable future and unsure of his next steps, he started driving north, stopping in Ojai and living with friends for two months. He was later recruited by The Ecology Center, an organic farm in San Juan Capistrano, to serve as culinary director and take over the on-site eatery, Campesino Café (he'd previously worked with the farm during their Outstanding in the Field shindig in 2022).
Wells then brought on board former staff from Bernee, and the team put together a series of farm-to-table dinners that proved rather successful. Newly reinvigorated, Wells decided that he'd relaunch Bernee as Betsy (named after his late mother), and the new restaurant would grand-open on August 30th, 2025. Betsy has since been very well-received, and was even named one of Esquire's "Best New Restaurants in America" last December.
Running the day-to-day at Betsy is Executive Chef Paul Downer, who previously held similar positions at both Bernee and All Time. He's joined in the kitchen by a couple of other Bernee alumni: Kamran Gill (Bernee, Pijja Palace, Tikka Taco) and Masahiro Murao (Sushi Kokoro, Bernee, Kodo).
Betsy is set in a Mariposa Junction storefront that, of course, previously held Bernee, but also the longstanding Photography by Walt before that. The decor really hasn't changed much at all since the Bernee days, as the focus is still on that hearth. There's room for about 40 guests indoors, while a few tables are also located outside by the entrance (where we sat).
Here we see Betsy's menu, which reads wood-fired seasonal American with a bit of Italian influence. Click for a larger version.
To drink, there's a respectable wine list that definitely leans Old World, while corkage is $50, limit two (though the fee was waived tonight, probably because we ordered so much). Click for larger versions.
DAILY CRUDO [$23.00] | citrus, chiles
Tonight's crudo highlighted Japanese hamachi, a firm, fatty fish that had its brininess well-offset by hits of spice, citrus, and salt.
SNAP PEAS [$14.00] | almond crunch, Mariana
Naturally, I couldn't resist the peas, and thankfully the dish turned out to be my favorite of the evening. The key was how the crisp, refreshing qualities of the sugar snaps were so deftly juxtaposed with both the salty cheese shavings and the nutty crunch of almonds, all while this sweet-tartness permeated and integrated the dish.
Given that we were in a celebratory mood, some bubbly was called for, so I brought along a bottle of the 2012 Perrier-Jouët Champagne Belle Epoque Brut Luminous. The nose here was all about juicy apples, with a backing of pears, layered over a yeasty underpinning. Tasting the wine, I found more of those ripe orchard fruits commingled with earthy, nutty, citrusy nuances, with a tinge of astringency lurking beneath. Overall, quite fresh and lively and easy-drinking, though on the young side--I'd give it a few more years to develop.
RICOTTA GNOCCHI [$29.00] | lemon, black pepper, parmesan
Gnocchi did a nice job contrasting their tenderness with a lovely touch of sear, while flavors were unabashedly buttery and lemony, with a sweet-ish backing. Interestingly, while eating this, I was somewhat reminded of lemon pie.
ROASTED WINTER VEGETABLES [$31.00] | Rancho Gordo beans, house made focaccia
Next up was a dish apropos for the cold weather we'd been having, one that played homey heirloom beans against cozy root veggies and the sharpness of those greens. That toasty bread served as a bit of a moderating element, and I wouldn't have minded more of it.
KING SALMON [$45.00] | weiser potatoes, caper brown butter, greens
Salmon arrived silky soft with a pleasingly rare, luscious cook. The fish was further invigorated by a caper-boosted beurre noisette, while bitter veggies and taters helped tone things down.
TALLOW ROASTED POTATOES [$15.00] | charred onions
Roasted potatoes were pretty much just what you'd want, coming out hefty and hearty, with a touch of onion-y zing.
It was now time to move into something red, so I ordered a bottle of the 2008 Chianti Classico "Doccio a Matteo" - Caparsa - Sangiovese - Tuscany, Italy [$195]. Aromas here were all about dark berries intertwined with spice and smoke and earth. On the palate, think plenty of tannins and acidity, with more dark fruit flavors joined by floral notes, a palpable rusticity, and touches of herbaceousness. A brawny wine that stood up to the heavier dishes below.
HERITAGE PORK CHOP [$49.00] | roasted squashes, winter greens
Our pork chop was on point in terms of both taste and texture, and showcased a welcomed tinge of smoke to boot. The meat was certainly enjoyable on its own, but did marry nicely with all the other sweet, acidic, and mustard-y flavors going on.
WOOD OVEN CABBAGE [$14.00] | aged balsamic
The mild, vegetal bitterness of cabbage was presented alongside an assertive char, with the piquancy of that balsamic helping to bring it all together.
WANDERER NEW YORK STRIP [$59.00] | hotel butter
Our final savory brought an Australian striploin that largely delivered with regard to tenderness and depth. The steak was paired with an aggressively herby compound butter that, thankfully, didn't overshadow the beef.
WOOD OVEN CHEESECAKE [$12.00]
For dessert, a Basque-style cheesecake came out properly rich and creamy, its lactic tang well-matched by smidges of smoke.
BETSY'S COBBLER [$16.00]
The cobbler featured a tart blackberry-raspberry compote folded into a buttery cake with a rather sturdy seared crust. It was an effective combination to be sure, and I didn't mind the whipped cream and pinch of salt on top, either.
Dessert carried on at home with a bottle of the 2024 Horus Flames of Flammulation. Created in collaboration with Portland's Brujos Brewing, this was an imperial stout aged in Knob Creek 18 Year bourbon barrels with Auromar Estate Panama Geisha Firestone washed coffee, coconut milk sugar, coconut sugar, desiccated coconut, New Caledonia vanilla beans, raw coconut, and toasted coconut. The beer displayed boatloads of vanilla right up front before transitioning to a multifaceted presentation of coconut, layered over elements of malt, cacao, soy, and bourbon, though surprisingly little coffee.
Wells, Downer, and their crew delivered tonight, both food- and service-wise. It looks like they've got a good handle on the whole live-fire aspect, and overall, Betsy just seems like a neighborhood-y spot that's also a bit of a destination, and perhaps more importantly, might even serve as a beacon for resilience. As for what's next, the team's currently in the process of building out Bar Betsy just two doors down at 871 East Mariposa. It'll be a more casual, all-day affair, open early for coffee, breakfast, and brunch, but also late as a wine bar, so I'll certainly be keeping an eye out for that.
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