Lielle (Los Angeles, CA)
Lielle Restaurant
9575 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90035
213-376-6574
www.lielle.la
Sat 06/20/2026, 06:00p-08:25p
I've dined at 9575 West Pico more than at any other location on this blog. The bottom floor of the building first came to prominence in 2012 when it hosted Test Kitchen (a rotating guest chef dining series), which I visited a ridiculous 23 times over the course of just four months. From there, the subterranean spot was home to Sotto, then Bicyclette, and when the latter shuttered at the start of March 2024, I wondered what was going to happen with the space.
Well, I didn't have to wait too long before it was revealed that the person taking over the address would be none other than Marcus Jernmark (in partnership with Sprout LA). Jernmark, of course, is a well-regarded Swedish chef who's most known for running the day-to-day at the hugely-lauded Frantzén in Stockholm. Lielle grand-opened on February 12th this year, and I'd wanted to check the place out sooner, but the restaurant's hesitation to seat single diners meant that I had to wait until I could gather a group.
About the Chef: Marcus Lars Jernmark was born in April 1982, and grew up in Askim, Sweden, part of the municipality of Göteborg. He got interested in cooking early on, and at age 14, started working in the kitchen of a local golf club. After graduating from Gothenburg's Burgårdens Gymnasium (a high school focused on vocational training), he apprenticed at Hotel Salzburgerhof in Austria and, from 2002 to 2006, attained his formal higher education at the Grythyttan School, achieving a bachelor's degree in the culinary arts.
From there, Jernmark immigrated to the United States, New York specifically, in order to serve a three-year Executive Chef contract at the Consulate General of Sweden. Once that gig was over in mid-2009, a friend got him a job at Aquavit, a longstanding Scandinavian eatery in Midtown Manhattan that was in need of some young blood. He was initially executive sous under Johan Svensson, but was quickly promoted to EC when Svensson departed the restaurant in late 2009; he was subsequently made a partner in the business in 2011.
However, Jernmark would leave Aquavit in 2014, and after a brief stint at Per Se, wound up in Stockholm. There, he joined the team at Björn Frantzén's eponymous Frantzén, and as Exec Chef, helped the restaurant achieve its third Michelin star, awarded in February 2018. In late 2018, he helped open Zén in Singapore for his boss, and would become its Culinary Director, later earning two stars from Michelin in September the following year.
Despite all this success, Jernmark left the Frantzén family in the middle of 2021, coming back to the US, but this time settling in Southern California (since his daughter moved here). Now in LA, the Chef's immediate goal was to create an invitation-only dining concept. He thus partnered up with fellow cook Robert Sandberg (Frantzén, Maaemo, Noma--he's also Mia Khalifa's ex-husband, curiously enough) and wine guy Max Coane (Saison, Fifty Seven), launching Habitué in Bel Air as a private dinner series, with the goal of turning it into a proper restaurant.
They held their first event in the summer of 2022, and Jernmark and Sandberg would later join the team at private cheffing app Srve as well. Habitué didn't end up having much longevity, though, and by the start of 2024, Jernmark was already thinking about a restaurant featuring "elevated home cooking," which is what eventually turned into Lielle (named after the Chef's daughter).
Supporting Jernmark at Lielle is Chef de Cuisine Matthew Bowden (Mentone, Manresa, Providence, Persimmon), while desserts and breads are the charge of Pamela Rivas (CUT, Pendry West Hollywood, Gwen, Soho House, Spago). Heading up the front-of-the-house are Restaurant Manager Lucas Duffy (Restaurang Brus) and Service Director Christian Philippo (Gucci Osteria, NoMad, Chateau Marmont, Otium, Redbird, Republique, Saam/The Bazaar, Patina), while libations are being handled by Phil South (The Lonely Oyster, Anajak Thai).
As mentioned above, Lielle resides in a below-ground space at the bottom floor of a Pico-Robertson edifice that previously held Walter Manzke's Bicyclette, which is supposedly the first place Chef Jernmark dined at after he moved to LA. The dining room was completely reworked by the Chef's wife Andrea Jernmark and the folks over at Lovers Unite, with the inspiration being a "modern wine cave." Total capacity should be around 42.
Lielle's four-course "California bistronomy" menu is priced at $150 a head, with optional supplements, and ostensibly changes every five-to-six weeks (we were on the fourth menu). Beverage-wise, you'll find a respectable, albeit rather youthful wine list that leans French (especially Burgundy) and Californian, though other regions are certainly represented. Corkage is $75, limit one bottle per guest, but the fee can be waived for every bottle purchased from the restaurant, which is a nice policy to see. Click for larger versions.
Quick to arrive after we were seated was a set of moistened hand towels. I'm glad to see that more restaurants are implementing this feature.
Kicking things off was the time-tested pairing of sugary, juicy melon and salty ham, rendered in more concentrated form tonight thanks to the use of Weiser Family Farms cantaloupe and jamón ibérico, along with a spritz of what I believe was marigold.
Bread service began with a levain-style sourdough, made with Rouge de Bordeaux wheat and utilizing a 36-hour ferment, with breadso (bread miso) folded in after the bulk of fermentation had completed. It had that crisp, shattery crust and airy crumb I was looking for, along with a wonderfully nutty, toasty quality. The bread was paired with a tall dollop of well-salted, super-yellow, almost cheesy cultured butter, made in-house using a 48-hour, cold-churn process. Curiously, when taken all together, I couldn't help but be reminded of the Handi-Snacks of my childhood, which is a great thing in my book.
To take advantage of Lielle's option to waive the corkage fee, we started off with a bottle from the wine list, the 2021 Egon Müller, Riesling, Scharzhof, Mosel, Germany [$205]. Initial whiffs were reductive at first blush, with supporting aromas of petrol and tropical fruit. In the mouth, I found similar sensations, along with a nice amount of acidity. That funk dissipated after about ten minutes, allowing bountiful amounts of peach, pineapple, and citrus to really sing. Off-dry, with a touch of offsetting minerality and some white florals as well.
1a: Dry-Aged Blue-fin Tuna | wax beans, unripe peaches, green almond, gooseberry shoyu
Seven-day dry-aged bluefin appeared in two forms: scraped otoro on the bottom, and cubed akami in the middle. The tuna had all the depth and umami I was hoping for, kept in check by the brightness and tang of its various accoutrements: charred green wax beans, green under-ripe peaches, and green almond. Meanwhile, helping tie everything together cleanly was a dousing of gooseberry-boosted shoyu. Rather clever I have to say, with some great textures to boot.
1b: N25 Kaluga Caviar [+$45.00] | hen egg custard, aged pork broth, french sorrel
An alternate to the course above was one of the better chawanmushis I've had in a while. It balanced a rich, cozy egg custard with a healthy dosing of zesty greenery and the salty smack of caviar, all while that pork contributed a permeating heft. This is something you just want to demolish a big bowl of.
2: Koji Rice | lobster, artichoke barigoule, beurre noisette
Koji-fermented rice set the stage for the marriage of grilled-smoked lobster and grilled-fried artichokes. It was an effective combination, and I also appreciated the supporting roles provided by a marigold vinaigrette, brown butter broth, and especially all the herbs present. The dish even veered floral at times. Overall, a bit contemplative, yet still overtly pleasurable.
The Riesling above was quickly drunk up, so at this point we moved into some beer: the Sante Adairius, Les Enfants de la Côte, Saison brewed with bearss lime and spruce tips, Santa Cruz, California, 500 ml [$45], which was crafted specifically for Lielle. The ale smelled delightfully yeast and earthy, with juicy aromas of peach. Taking a sip, I found more of those stone fruits, along with a plethora of grassy, herby nuances and a good dosing of acidity, sourness, and peppery spices, all undergirded by a marked minerality. A fun fact: the beer's name translates to "the children of the coast." This appears to be the restaurant's motto, but I'm not sure why.
Sea Urchin Mafaldine [$58.00] | espelette, aromatic herbs
Naturally, we had to add on both supplemental pasta courses. Mafaldine was a joy texturally, with those wavy edges making for a great mouthfeel while also soaking up the piquancy from what I think was a preserved yellow tomato sauce. The uni imparted an enveloping lushness to the dish--though I do wish the urchin were sweeter, less mineral--while further interest was provided by an egg yolk jam and herby hits of holy basil and bronze fennel.
Veal Agnolotti [$62.00] | black truffles, gruyère
Stuffed pasta duties were taken care of by some rather spot-on agnolotti. Filled with ground veal, the parcels were deeply flavored, buttery, displaying an almost foie gras-esque richness, and matched up swimmingly with the woodsiness of both the truffles and those meaty morels.
Tonight's pick from my twentieth anniversary collection was the 2006 Poderi Aldo Conterno Granbussia Barolo Riserva. Made with grapes sourced from the oldest vines in the cantina's Bussia vineyards in Monforte d'Alba (Piedmont), the wine was reportedly Slavonian oak-aged for thirty months before spending a further six years in bottle before release. It comes to us from a producer founded in 1969 by the second son of legendary winemaker Giacomo Conterno, and celebrated its first vintage in 1971.
3: Liberty Duck | chewy beet, breadso, plum, wing jus
Dry-aged duck breast was glazed with fermented honey and bolstered by a duck wing jus, resulting in a wonderfully full-flavored presentation of the bird that boasted some especially delectable skin. On the side was a not-too-sweet dehydrated beet that was a textural treat, while the breadso and grilled duck heart were earthier contributors. Even better was the sweetness offered up by the stone fruit, but my favorite accompaniment was probably the zingy combo of shallot and endive. I quite liked all the bright, sharp, herby accents going on, too.
4a: Harry's Strawberries | iced elderflower, sake lees ice cream, lemon verbena
Dessert time. An aromatic elderflower granita and sweet, juicy strawberries both paired like clockwork with the heftier tones of sake kasu ice cream. However, what sealed the deal for me was the lemon verbena, which proffered this grassiness that really served as an impeccable accent piece.
4b: Comte aged 30 months [+$25.00] | honeycomb, danish rye bread
An optional fromage course brought slices Comté that were more robust-tasting than usual, the result of their 30-month aging I must assume. It melded easily with drizzles of olive oil, while honey certainly functioned as a fitting foil to the cheese. I was a fan of that nutty, date syrup-enriched rugbrød on the side, too.
Arriving with dessert was a marvelously soft, sticky, sugary brioche bun with a bit of a boozy funk to it (rum I think?). Straightforwardly satisfying and somehow quite alluring.
Since we were here for a birthday, the kitchen sent out a complimentary matcha tiramisu, one that did a lovely job combining the signature grassy bitterness of the green tea with classic notes of coffee and cocoa.
Along with our bill came a trio of green apple-chamomile pâtes de fruits that sort of reminded me of an extra-tart apple sauce.
Jernmark describes Lielle's cuisine as a Californian take on bistronomie, and I suppose that's a reasonable descriptor. The cooking feels highly seasonal, and has that sort of Nordic precision and panache that you'd expect, but also boasts a more laid-back, unfussy feel that's completely intentional. The short length of Lielle's menu supports that vision--straddling the line between high gastronomy and a neighborhood-y spot. It looks to be a winning combination thus far, and it appears I'm not the only one who thinks so, as the restaurant was awarded a Michelin star just days after this meal.
But Jernmark's not done yet. Later this year, he's also planning on debuting Marée in the upstairs portion of 9575 West Pico. It'll be a more casual eatery, a Cal-Parisian bistro that'll be open all-day. I'll certainly be looking forward to it.
9575 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90035
213-376-6574
www.lielle.la
Sat 06/20/2026, 06:00p-08:25p
I've dined at 9575 West Pico more than at any other location on this blog. The bottom floor of the building first came to prominence in 2012 when it hosted Test Kitchen (a rotating guest chef dining series), which I visited a ridiculous 23 times over the course of just four months. From there, the subterranean spot was home to Sotto, then Bicyclette, and when the latter shuttered at the start of March 2024, I wondered what was going to happen with the space.
Well, I didn't have to wait too long before it was revealed that the person taking over the address would be none other than Marcus Jernmark (in partnership with Sprout LA). Jernmark, of course, is a well-regarded Swedish chef who's most known for running the day-to-day at the hugely-lauded Frantzén in Stockholm. Lielle grand-opened on February 12th this year, and I'd wanted to check the place out sooner, but the restaurant's hesitation to seat single diners meant that I had to wait until I could gather a group.
About the Chef: Marcus Lars Jernmark was born in April 1982, and grew up in Askim, Sweden, part of the municipality of Göteborg. He got interested in cooking early on, and at age 14, started working in the kitchen of a local golf club. After graduating from Gothenburg's Burgårdens Gymnasium (a high school focused on vocational training), he apprenticed at Hotel Salzburgerhof in Austria and, from 2002 to 2006, attained his formal higher education at the Grythyttan School, achieving a bachelor's degree in the culinary arts.
From there, Jernmark immigrated to the United States, New York specifically, in order to serve a three-year Executive Chef contract at the Consulate General of Sweden. Once that gig was over in mid-2009, a friend got him a job at Aquavit, a longstanding Scandinavian eatery in Midtown Manhattan that was in need of some young blood. He was initially executive sous under Johan Svensson, but was quickly promoted to EC when Svensson departed the restaurant in late 2009; he was subsequently made a partner in the business in 2011.
However, Jernmark would leave Aquavit in 2014, and after a brief stint at Per Se, wound up in Stockholm. There, he joined the team at Björn Frantzén's eponymous Frantzén, and as Exec Chef, helped the restaurant achieve its third Michelin star, awarded in February 2018. In late 2018, he helped open Zén in Singapore for his boss, and would become its Culinary Director, later earning two stars from Michelin in September the following year.
Despite all this success, Jernmark left the Frantzén family in the middle of 2021, coming back to the US, but this time settling in Southern California (since his daughter moved here). Now in LA, the Chef's immediate goal was to create an invitation-only dining concept. He thus partnered up with fellow cook Robert Sandberg (Frantzén, Maaemo, Noma--he's also Mia Khalifa's ex-husband, curiously enough) and wine guy Max Coane (Saison, Fifty Seven), launching Habitué in Bel Air as a private dinner series, with the goal of turning it into a proper restaurant.
They held their first event in the summer of 2022, and Jernmark and Sandberg would later join the team at private cheffing app Srve as well. Habitué didn't end up having much longevity, though, and by the start of 2024, Jernmark was already thinking about a restaurant featuring "elevated home cooking," which is what eventually turned into Lielle (named after the Chef's daughter).
Supporting Jernmark at Lielle is Chef de Cuisine Matthew Bowden (Mentone, Manresa, Providence, Persimmon), while desserts and breads are the charge of Pamela Rivas (CUT, Pendry West Hollywood, Gwen, Soho House, Spago). Heading up the front-of-the-house are Restaurant Manager Lucas Duffy (Restaurang Brus) and Service Director Christian Philippo (Gucci Osteria, NoMad, Chateau Marmont, Otium, Redbird, Republique, Saam/The Bazaar, Patina), while libations are being handled by Phil South (The Lonely Oyster, Anajak Thai).
As mentioned above, Lielle resides in a below-ground space at the bottom floor of a Pico-Robertson edifice that previously held Walter Manzke's Bicyclette, which is supposedly the first place Chef Jernmark dined at after he moved to LA. The dining room was completely reworked by the Chef's wife Andrea Jernmark and the folks over at Lovers Unite, with the inspiration being a "modern wine cave." Total capacity should be around 42.
Lielle's four-course "California bistronomy" menu is priced at $150 a head, with optional supplements, and ostensibly changes every five-to-six weeks (we were on the fourth menu). Beverage-wise, you'll find a respectable, albeit rather youthful wine list that leans French (especially Burgundy) and Californian, though other regions are certainly represented. Corkage is $75, limit one bottle per guest, but the fee can be waived for every bottle purchased from the restaurant, which is a nice policy to see. Click for larger versions.
Quick to arrive after we were seated was a set of moistened hand towels. I'm glad to see that more restaurants are implementing this feature.
Kicking things off was the time-tested pairing of sugary, juicy melon and salty ham, rendered in more concentrated form tonight thanks to the use of Weiser Family Farms cantaloupe and jamón ibérico, along with a spritz of what I believe was marigold.
Bread service began with a levain-style sourdough, made with Rouge de Bordeaux wheat and utilizing a 36-hour ferment, with breadso (bread miso) folded in after the bulk of fermentation had completed. It had that crisp, shattery crust and airy crumb I was looking for, along with a wonderfully nutty, toasty quality. The bread was paired with a tall dollop of well-salted, super-yellow, almost cheesy cultured butter, made in-house using a 48-hour, cold-churn process. Curiously, when taken all together, I couldn't help but be reminded of the Handi-Snacks of my childhood, which is a great thing in my book.
To take advantage of Lielle's option to waive the corkage fee, we started off with a bottle from the wine list, the 2021 Egon Müller, Riesling, Scharzhof, Mosel, Germany [$205]. Initial whiffs were reductive at first blush, with supporting aromas of petrol and tropical fruit. In the mouth, I found similar sensations, along with a nice amount of acidity. That funk dissipated after about ten minutes, allowing bountiful amounts of peach, pineapple, and citrus to really sing. Off-dry, with a touch of offsetting minerality and some white florals as well.
1a: Dry-Aged Blue-fin Tuna | wax beans, unripe peaches, green almond, gooseberry shoyu
Seven-day dry-aged bluefin appeared in two forms: scraped otoro on the bottom, and cubed akami in the middle. The tuna had all the depth and umami I was hoping for, kept in check by the brightness and tang of its various accoutrements: charred green wax beans, green under-ripe peaches, and green almond. Meanwhile, helping tie everything together cleanly was a dousing of gooseberry-boosted shoyu. Rather clever I have to say, with some great textures to boot.
1b: N25 Kaluga Caviar [+$45.00] | hen egg custard, aged pork broth, french sorrel
An alternate to the course above was one of the better chawanmushis I've had in a while. It balanced a rich, cozy egg custard with a healthy dosing of zesty greenery and the salty smack of caviar, all while that pork contributed a permeating heft. This is something you just want to demolish a big bowl of.
2: Koji Rice | lobster, artichoke barigoule, beurre noisette
Koji-fermented rice set the stage for the marriage of grilled-smoked lobster and grilled-fried artichokes. It was an effective combination, and I also appreciated the supporting roles provided by a marigold vinaigrette, brown butter broth, and especially all the herbs present. The dish even veered floral at times. Overall, a bit contemplative, yet still overtly pleasurable.
The Riesling above was quickly drunk up, so at this point we moved into some beer: the Sante Adairius, Les Enfants de la Côte, Saison brewed with bearss lime and spruce tips, Santa Cruz, California, 500 ml [$45], which was crafted specifically for Lielle. The ale smelled delightfully yeast and earthy, with juicy aromas of peach. Taking a sip, I found more of those stone fruits, along with a plethora of grassy, herby nuances and a good dosing of acidity, sourness, and peppery spices, all undergirded by a marked minerality. A fun fact: the beer's name translates to "the children of the coast." This appears to be the restaurant's motto, but I'm not sure why.
Sea Urchin Mafaldine [$58.00] | espelette, aromatic herbs
Naturally, we had to add on both supplemental pasta courses. Mafaldine was a joy texturally, with those wavy edges making for a great mouthfeel while also soaking up the piquancy from what I think was a preserved yellow tomato sauce. The uni imparted an enveloping lushness to the dish--though I do wish the urchin were sweeter, less mineral--while further interest was provided by an egg yolk jam and herby hits of holy basil and bronze fennel.
Veal Agnolotti [$62.00] | black truffles, gruyère
Stuffed pasta duties were taken care of by some rather spot-on agnolotti. Filled with ground veal, the parcels were deeply flavored, buttery, displaying an almost foie gras-esque richness, and matched up swimmingly with the woodsiness of both the truffles and those meaty morels.
Tonight's pick from my twentieth anniversary collection was the 2006 Poderi Aldo Conterno Granbussia Barolo Riserva. Made with grapes sourced from the oldest vines in the cantina's Bussia vineyards in Monforte d'Alba (Piedmont), the wine was reportedly Slavonian oak-aged for thirty months before spending a further six years in bottle before release. It comes to us from a producer founded in 1969 by the second son of legendary winemaker Giacomo Conterno, and celebrated its first vintage in 1971.
- Initial Impressions: I tasted the Gran Bussia right after it was opened, near the start of dinner, and noted boatloads of strawberries on the nose, along with tar and dried herbs. On the tongue, think tight and tannic, but with still plenty of that strawberry.
- After 105 Minutes: Immediately prior to decanting, the Nebbiolo was still showing off those aforementioned berry and tar notes, but now I detected this almost cereal-like quality. Palate-wise, things hadn't really changed much, though herbs were becoming more and more apparent.
- After 140 Minutes: With some time in the decanter, the Barolo really did evolve. I got loads of red fruit--but cherries and currants more than strawberries now--while that bouquet garni character became more intimately entwined. Taking a sip, I found an even jammier rendition of fruit, while tannins were much more integrated. In addition, some earthier, more floral hints began to make themselves known, making for a rather gratifying drinking experience overall.
3: Liberty Duck | chewy beet, breadso, plum, wing jus
Dry-aged duck breast was glazed with fermented honey and bolstered by a duck wing jus, resulting in a wonderfully full-flavored presentation of the bird that boasted some especially delectable skin. On the side was a not-too-sweet dehydrated beet that was a textural treat, while the breadso and grilled duck heart were earthier contributors. Even better was the sweetness offered up by the stone fruit, but my favorite accompaniment was probably the zingy combo of shallot and endive. I quite liked all the bright, sharp, herby accents going on, too.
4a: Harry's Strawberries | iced elderflower, sake lees ice cream, lemon verbena
Dessert time. An aromatic elderflower granita and sweet, juicy strawberries both paired like clockwork with the heftier tones of sake kasu ice cream. However, what sealed the deal for me was the lemon verbena, which proffered this grassiness that really served as an impeccable accent piece.
4b: Comte aged 30 months [+$25.00] | honeycomb, danish rye bread
An optional fromage course brought slices Comté that were more robust-tasting than usual, the result of their 30-month aging I must assume. It melded easily with drizzles of olive oil, while honey certainly functioned as a fitting foil to the cheese. I was a fan of that nutty, date syrup-enriched rugbrød on the side, too.
Arriving with dessert was a marvelously soft, sticky, sugary brioche bun with a bit of a boozy funk to it (rum I think?). Straightforwardly satisfying and somehow quite alluring.
Since we were here for a birthday, the kitchen sent out a complimentary matcha tiramisu, one that did a lovely job combining the signature grassy bitterness of the green tea with classic notes of coffee and cocoa.
Along with our bill came a trio of green apple-chamomile pâtes de fruits that sort of reminded me of an extra-tart apple sauce.
Jernmark describes Lielle's cuisine as a Californian take on bistronomie, and I suppose that's a reasonable descriptor. The cooking feels highly seasonal, and has that sort of Nordic precision and panache that you'd expect, but also boasts a more laid-back, unfussy feel that's completely intentional. The short length of Lielle's menu supports that vision--straddling the line between high gastronomy and a neighborhood-y spot. It looks to be a winning combination thus far, and it appears I'm not the only one who thinks so, as the restaurant was awarded a Michelin star just days after this meal.
But Jernmark's not done yet. Later this year, he's also planning on debuting Marée in the upstairs portion of 9575 West Pico. It'll be a more casual eatery, a Cal-Parisian bistro that'll be open all-day. I'll certainly be looking forward to it.
posted by kevinEats at
6:00 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home