Bar Betsy (Altadena, CA)

Bar Betsy
871 E Mariposa St, Altadena, CA 91001
www.barbetsy.com
Sat 05/23/2026, 05:30p-08:45p





Back in February, I reported on a dinner at Betsy in Altadena. At the end of that post, I wrote that owner Tyler Wells was in the process of opening up an all-day café-slash-wine bar called Bar Betsy just two doors down. The spot wound up debuting sooner than I expected, on April 13th, and I was curious to check it out. Fortunately, the need for a post-Ahma meal gave me a perfect excuse to visit. As for who's running the kitchen, Betsy's EC Paul Downer is reportedly involved, but the day-to-day is the responsibility of a newer name in the biz: Avanthi Dev.

About the Chef: A Los Angeles-area native, Dev was born in December 1998 to an Indian-American family and grew up in Cerritos. As a teen, she struggled with figuring out what she wanted to do with her life, but at the urging of her mother, decided to pursue a culinary career. Thus, at age 15, she started staging at Bakersfield's Stockdale Country Club, where her father was a member (he helped make the introduction). She ended up spending two-and-a-half months at the club, learning the basics under Chef Erik Copeland, and continued to train in other kitchens following her tenure there. In fact, during her senior year of high school, Dev worked at Winsome in Echo Park on the weekends.

She graduated from Whitney High School (oft considered the best in California) in 2017, and subsequently spent her summer before college as a garde manger at Destroyer in Culver City. Dev began her studies at University of Massachusetts Amherst that September, majoring in Sustainable Food and Farming. During her freshman year, she was a banquet cook at local eatery 30Boltwood, and spent the summer of 2018 back in SoCal, working for Jordan Kahn at both Destroyer and Vespertine. 2019 saw Dev at Dan Barber's seminal Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Pocantico Hills, New York, while she wrapped up her time at UMass Amherst in 2020.

Dev made her way back to LA and continued working at restaurants before quitting and starting a pop-up by the name of Kala in September 2021. She had three collaborators initially, but after the foursome held their first event at Long Beach's Sala Coffee & Wine, two of them dropped out. The one who remained, interestingly enough, was Alex Bolar, whom we last encountered at Two Hommés. Kala operated out of Melody for a couple months, but by summer 2022, Bolar had decamped as well. The pop-up then made its way to Sesame Dinette and then secured a residency at Compound Long Beach, but said residency proved to be short-lived, and was no more by the end of August 2022.

Dev then took a break from Kala and started working at a restaurant in Echo Park in early 2023, though pop-ups under the Kala banner would still appear now and then over the next year or so. By the end of summer 2024, she was heading up the kitchen at pizza spot Grá in Westlake, and by December that year, was slated to be opening Executive Chef for LAPizza, a new project from the ilcaffè team that was going to take over the old Woodspoon space in DTLA. That venture never came to fruition, though, thus paving the way for Dev to wind up here.


Bar Betsy occupies a Mariposa Junction storefront that was previously home to Mary Falkingham Floral Designs, and Miller Hawkins Productions before that. The space has been completely remodeled, and now sports a warm, inviting look that I liken to a more laid-back iteration of Betsy's aesthetic.


Here we see Bar Betsy's menu, sort of a more casual version of Betsy's bill of fare, so we're talking market-driven American with some Italian inclination. Beverage-wise, you'll find a respectable wine list that leans towards Italy and France. Corkage is also an option, though I didn't end up being charged for the bottle I brought (I'm assuming because I shared with the staff and also bought something off the list). Click for larger versions.


Rockfish Crudo [$???] | Avocado, Jalapeño
We commenced with one of the daily specials, which featured briny, satisfyingly-textured cuts of ikejime-dispatched rockfish, amped up by pinpoints salt. Mellowing things out was the creaminess of avocado, while the jalapeños imparted a welcomed heat on the back end. A good start.


I had no complaints with the complimentary olives (Castelvetranos I believe).


Today's wine from my twentieth anniversary stash was the 2006 Henri Boillot Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru, reportedly made with grapes from Aloxe-Corton. At first blush, the Chardonnay smelled of yellow fruit with a bit of a vegetative bent, along with oxidative, almond-y nuances. In the mouth, I found a surprisingly strong acidity followed by more of that stone fruit, as well as a honeyed backbone and touches of mineral. After 45 minutes, the nose turned markedly richer, sweeter, offering notes of peach and lemon. Palate-wise, things became rounder, lusher, and even more fruit-forward, with a palpable spiciness making itself known. All in all, the wine presented itself in a matured manner, but still boasted a certain vivacity, and showed better than I expected given Boillot's predisposition for premox.


Asparagus [$16.00] | Avocado, Basil
Being the asparagus fiend that I am, this was a must-order for me, and didn't disappoint. The stalks had the crunch and bittersweetness I was looking for, and meshed handily with the tanginess of lemon rind-boosted avocado butter.


Tuna Crudo [$21.00] | Schaner Citrus, Black Lime
Supple shards of tuna displayed the oceany, umami-laden elements I expected, juxtaposed against the brazenly piquant punch of those dried lime shavings. The juicy suprêmes of citrus, meanwhile, actually served to moderate the flavors at play.


Burger [$25.00] | Black Hawk Wagyu, Parker House Bun, Fixins
Cooked on the rarer side, an American wagyu patty arrived delectably seasoned, melding seamlessly with the lactic funk of that melty cheese, all while the pickles/greens/mustard offered up much-needed points of contrast. Nice job with the bun, too.


Red duties were handled by a bottle off the wine list, the 2023 Mercurey 'Les Montots' – Domaine de Villaine | Pinot Noir – Burgundy, France [$195], which comes to us from a Bouzeron-based producer owned by none other than Aubert de Villaine of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti fame. Initial aromas were dominated by cherry, with supporting notes of roast, rice, and barnyard. On the tongue, think powerful tannins joined by plenty of strawberry, subtle florals, and a healthy dosing of black pepper towards the finish. An hour in, those aforementioned cherries on the nose turned more into strawberries, lusher, jammier ones at that, with further hints of that black pepper. In terms of the palate, I got softer tannins and flavors of juicy red fruit, countered by smoke, earth, and tobacco-y spice. Overall, I'd say that the Pinot noir fit the bill tonight, though I'd probably prefer to drink it with some more age.


Cavatelli [$26.00] | Smoked Pork Belly, Zucchini, Walnut Pesto, Preserved Lemon
Cavatelli had that chewiness I was hoping for, and worked out swimmingly as a stage for the back-and-forth between salty bacon and the much lighter nature of zucchini. Just as important was that pesto--with its very familiar nuttiness and savor--that helped bring everything together.


Almond Cookie [$4.00]
Time for the sweet stuff, which at Bar Betsy is the charge of Dahlia Gomez (former Pastry Chef at Farmhouse at Descanso Gardens and Henry Parsons Project). A spherical almond cookie met the mark with its pleasingly sweet, nutty, almost amaretto-like flavors, and was spot-on in terms of texture, too.



Cookies & Milk [$10.00]
Closing things out were quite simply the blackest cookies I'd ever seen. They showed off the combo of crisp edges-chewy interiors I was expecting, and had a smoky, roasty, salt-pricked sort of flavor profile that was well-tempered by the soft, sweet-ish cup of milk on the side.

I'd call this a largely successful meal. I had no real complaints with the food or the service, and even though the place just opened, it appears that Bar Betsy is well on its way to establishing its own identity--more casual, more off the cuff--and isn't just serving as an overflow space for its bigger brother. As for what's coming up next for the team, apparently Wells is working on a much larger, more ambitious restaurant in Melrose Hill that should be opening within the next year. I'll no doubt be looking forward to that.