Vespertine (Culver City, CA) [6]
Vespertine Restaurant
3599 Hayden Ave, Culver City, CA 90232
323-320-4023
vespertine.la
Sat 07/18/2026, 05:50p-08:45p
Back in September 2024, I posted about the newly-reopened Vespertine, which had just earned back its two Michelin stars the month prior (the stars have since been retained twice). I came out of that meal rather impressed by Jordan Kahn's brand of neo-Mesoamerican cooking, finding it to be perhaps the most singular dining experience in all of Los Angeles. After two years, I felt that it was about time to file another dining report and see how things were progressing, especially since a few first-timer friends were keen to check the place out.
We arrived a touch earlier for our reservation, and were thus led to Vespertine's garden area to kill some time.
After not too long, we were taken inside the restaurant and up to the third floor to take a gander at the kitchen.
We then descended down a flight of stairs to the building's second level, where the main dining room is located. We were actually the first table to be seated, at the only four-top no less.
Tonight's 12-course menu was priced at $395 a head, with four optional supplements in the form of truffle/caviar/wagyu/uni--essentially your prototypical set of luxury ingredients. Beverage-wise, we have the standard Vinifera wine pairing at $295, the upgraded Optivus pairing at $550, the non-alcoholic Vitality pairing at $125, and the mixed Dynamic pairing at $175. Corkage is $100, though rather annoyingly, only one bottle is allowed per reservation, even for our party of four. Wine service tonight was handled by Sommelier Stephen Cox, who started here in September last year and previously worked at Carmel, Saffy's, and Bestia. Click for larger versions.
Upon being seated, we were soon given oshibori, appropriately chilled given the hot weather we'd been having.
1: WILD SCALLOP | passionfruit, aji amarillo
Our meal commenced with perhaps the most unconventional preparation of scallop I'd ever witnessed. At the bottom of the bowl was hand-dived day boat scallop from Deer Island, brushed with concentrated passion fruit juice infused with ají amarillo. On top was a frozen scallop juice-infused mousse, then white petunia flowers misted with horseradish juice, and finally a trio of horseradish butter crackers. The crux here was how well the brininess of the bivalves played with the dish's tropical fruit notes, with just a smidge of horseradish included for good measure. I also enjoyed the temperature contrast offered by the frozen mousse, while those crackers provided some textural variation. A clever, refreshing, largely monochromatic course that made for a strong start and set the tone for the rest of the dinner.
The evening's first wine was the Riesling Dönnhoff, Höllenpfad im Mühlenberg GG, Nahe, Germany 2023 [$360]. I found a piquant nose filled with pineapple, petrol, and mineral. The palate was zippy and invigorating, proffering green apple, stone fruits, and citrus, with an offsetting bitterness. Overall, quite enjoyable and a reasonable match with the food, though I think I'd prefer this with a bit more age on it.
2: HIDDEN MEADOW | spring tomato, wild forest berries
My favorite course of the night arrived upside down. Once we flipped our bowls over, we found currants, blueberries, and elderberries blanketed with sweet flowers grown in Vespertine's culinary garden. The vessel was lined with a custard made from almond milk and wild onion bulbs, and we also had tomatoes sourced from Coachella Valley. A vinaigrette containing concentrated tomato juice was also present, while the finishing touch was a sprinkling of puffed buckwheat for crunch. I loved all the unabashedly herbaceous, astringent, bittersweet flavors here, and how that all married with and was moderated by the dish's savory, tomato-laden base. Super smart.
At this point, the dining room was just about full.
3: DEEP OCEAN | sweet prawn, pink lady apple
Set inside perhaps the clearest block of hand-carved ice I've seen was raw deep-sea prawn, apparently caught off the coast of Hawaii by a single boat at depths of roughly 3,500 feet. The prawns were accompanied by ninja radish, poached quince seasoned with ají panca, salted cherry blossoms, and red seaweed, with a finish of poached quince vinaigrette as well as a broth incorporating the prawns themselves. I was a fan of the suppleness and sweetness and salinity of the shrimp, and an even bigger fan of how that meshed with the bevy of tangy, floral, savory, sweet, and astringent nuances going on. Really agreeably multifaceted.
4: OBSIDIAN MIRROR | smoked mussel, green meyer lemon
Another standout for me was inspired by an ancient Mexican tradition wherein shamans would peer into polished obsidian crystals for divination purposes. The curiously-looking course comprised mussel gel, smoked mussel panna cotta, salted plum, water chestnut, and green lemon peel, all set underneath a thin layer of roasted kelp oil. The dish captured the rich, smoky, saline nature of the mussels in such a powerful, delectable manner, and I very much liked how the crisp, fruity bits in there lightened things up. Do also note the use of a mussel shell as a spoon.
5: AGED KINMEDAI | red papaya, timur pepper
Golden eye snapper is undoubtedly one of my favorite neta when it comes to sushi, so I was glad to see the ingredient on the menu tonight. The splendid alfonsino arrived wonderfully juicy and meaty, its smoke and brine on robust display. Of course, the fish was delicious just on its own, but the cool, sweet tang of papaya also served as an unexpectedly effective counterpoint.
As you may have read, I'm focusing on drinking '06 wines this year as part of the blog's twentieth anniversary celebration, and tonight's selection was the 2006 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage. The bottle comes to us from perhaps the most legendary producer in Northern Rhône, one that reportedly traces its roots all the way back to 1481 and is now under the control of the family's 16th generation. Do note that the wine spent around an hour in the decanter before being served.
6a: COTURNIX QUAIL | waxflower, sacred pepper
Quail was prepared two ways, and first up was the dry-aged, waxflower-scented breast, certainly one of the tastiest renditions of the bird I've had thanks to its ultra-flavorful skin and juicy, gratifyingly-textured, consummately-seasoned flesh. It was delicious just by itself, but I didn't mind a swipe of that tangy, buttery egg yolk condiment either, which managed to be potent without ever becoming overbearing.
6b: COTURNIX QUAIL | waxflower, sacred pepper
Part two was a mousse of quail thigh stuffed into one of the largest morels I've seen, apparently sourced wild from the Sierra Nevadas. The mushroom was then grilled in a balsam fir kombucha, topped with wild chive blossom and quail egg yolk jam, dusted with Myrica gale, and drizzled with reduced birch sap. I was pretty smitten by the plethora of sticky, sweet, savory, herby flavors happening here, and how they all coalesced to present a totally different dimension of the quail.
7: SOURDOUGH PORRIDGE BREAD | heirloom peel-corn oats, quail fat
Accompanying the quail was a 48-hour sourdough porridge bread incorporating oats, fried in rendered quail fat. The roll featured a fluffy crumb along with a lightly crisp crust, and deftly blended salty and sweet. Interestingly, one of my dining companions was even reminded of Pizza Hut's pan pizza crust.
Due to the hands-on nature of the courses above, a moistened hand towel was soon provided.
8a: SPRING LAMB | yeast fudge, magnolia
A tender, juicy, delicately-flavored cut of grass-fed, free-range Napa Valley lamb was set atop an umami-rich caramelized yeast, then topped with a dollop of pungent magnolia blossom emulsion. Around the plate were purées of plantain, turnips, and husk cherries crowned with nasturtium, chrysanthemum, and ice plant, all of which provided some counterbalancing pops of fruit and veggie.
8b: TAKAMORI WAGYU [+$195.00] | yeast fudge, magnolia
I was also able to sample the course above with the lamb replaced by A5 wagyu, specifically an example from Yamaguchi Prefecture known was "drunken wagyu," called such because the cows are fed sake lees from the nearby Dassai brewery. I found the beef a bit distinct compared to your usual A5, being somewhat less fatty, sweeter, more rustic, and with more of a chew.
With the savory stuff dispensed with, we moved downstairs to the gallery for dessert.
9a: RED EARTH | sweet corn, cherry, temascal
Our first savory-to-sweet transitional course was inspired by a meditative experience that Chef Kahn had in Nayarit, where he was guided by a local shaman to visit a 1,000-year-old tree. In the bowl was a sweet corn custard, grilled cherries, dried strawberries, shallot, caramel, grilled jicama, almond-yeast mousse, almond crisps, and begonia flowers, all finished with a hydrosol of palo santo. This was a great amalgam of savory and sweet, with the corn really making itself known, especially in concert with the fruit. I quite like all the textural interplay going on here, too.
9b: RED EARTH + AUSTRALIAN BLACK TRUFFLES [+$75.00] | sweet corn, cherry, temascal
We also had the course above with first-of-the-season winter truffles from Tasmania replacing the palo santo, making for a headier, earthier dish.
Prior to our second transitional course, we were provided pours of a tea made from wild-harvested Douglas fir needles and rose hips. It was a cozy beverage that really captured the essence of the forest.
10: CARAMELIZED PANCAKE | lamb fat, brown butter
This multi-part course was anchored by a somewhat herbaceous, airy-on-the-inside, crisp-on-the-outside caramelized sourdough pancake topped with a thin sheet of salted lamb fat. Also present were a light cream beautifully infused with the sweet-peatiness of Laphroaig 10-year, a brazenly sugary brown butter jam, and three types of wild blackberries (Chester, Kiowa, and some other cultivar). Taking all these components together made for some pretty marvelous bites.
More wetted napkins arrived, which was fitting given that we used our hands for the course above.
11: ICY BIRCH | parsnip, reduced milk
In our first "proper" dessert, a frozen disk of birch water sat atop rock parsnip ice cream and a caramelized milk fudge, while poured tableside was a distillate of aloe vera juice and wintergreen. Think super fresh, woodsy, and minty, with a restrained sweetness; everything really did come together quite swimmingly.
12: LAYERS | black raspberry, sheep's milk
Last up was a thoroughly reimagined entremet cake incorporating strata of frozen black raspberry, roasted almond praline, sheep's milk yogurt, arctic rose, and a crisp of roasted beets. A fun, inventive take on the layer cake that highlighted the back-and-forth between tart, seedy fruit and the dessert's creamier elements.
Since we had some birthdays coming up, we were also given edible candles composed of an almond marzipan wick set in an Amazonian cacao body.
I'm glad to report that this dinner was an improvement over my last meal here, as much as I enjoyed that one. I didn't have any concerns with the service this time around, while the actual cooking was even stronger. Clarity and harmony were seemingly given a boost, while the food's meditative, nueva-naturalistic, almost otherworldly ethos has remained firmly intact. However, my concern is that tonight's meal was uncomfortably similar to what I ate here nearly two years ago. At a restaurant of Vespertine's caliber, I'd expect to see more evolution of the menu over such a time span, so hopefully the kitchen can work on that.
3599 Hayden Ave, Culver City, CA 90232
323-320-4023
vespertine.la
Sat 07/18/2026, 05:50p-08:45p
Back in September 2024, I posted about the newly-reopened Vespertine, which had just earned back its two Michelin stars the month prior (the stars have since been retained twice). I came out of that meal rather impressed by Jordan Kahn's brand of neo-Mesoamerican cooking, finding it to be perhaps the most singular dining experience in all of Los Angeles. After two years, I felt that it was about time to file another dining report and see how things were progressing, especially since a few first-timer friends were keen to check the place out.
We arrived a touch earlier for our reservation, and were thus led to Vespertine's garden area to kill some time.
After not too long, we were taken inside the restaurant and up to the third floor to take a gander at the kitchen.
We then descended down a flight of stairs to the building's second level, where the main dining room is located. We were actually the first table to be seated, at the only four-top no less.
Tonight's 12-course menu was priced at $395 a head, with four optional supplements in the form of truffle/caviar/wagyu/uni--essentially your prototypical set of luxury ingredients. Beverage-wise, we have the standard Vinifera wine pairing at $295, the upgraded Optivus pairing at $550, the non-alcoholic Vitality pairing at $125, and the mixed Dynamic pairing at $175. Corkage is $100, though rather annoyingly, only one bottle is allowed per reservation, even for our party of four. Wine service tonight was handled by Sommelier Stephen Cox, who started here in September last year and previously worked at Carmel, Saffy's, and Bestia. Click for larger versions.
Upon being seated, we were soon given oshibori, appropriately chilled given the hot weather we'd been having.
1: WILD SCALLOP | passionfruit, aji amarillo
Our meal commenced with perhaps the most unconventional preparation of scallop I'd ever witnessed. At the bottom of the bowl was hand-dived day boat scallop from Deer Island, brushed with concentrated passion fruit juice infused with ají amarillo. On top was a frozen scallop juice-infused mousse, then white petunia flowers misted with horseradish juice, and finally a trio of horseradish butter crackers. The crux here was how well the brininess of the bivalves played with the dish's tropical fruit notes, with just a smidge of horseradish included for good measure. I also enjoyed the temperature contrast offered by the frozen mousse, while those crackers provided some textural variation. A clever, refreshing, largely monochromatic course that made for a strong start and set the tone for the rest of the dinner.
The evening's first wine was the Riesling Dönnhoff, Höllenpfad im Mühlenberg GG, Nahe, Germany 2023 [$360]. I found a piquant nose filled with pineapple, petrol, and mineral. The palate was zippy and invigorating, proffering green apple, stone fruits, and citrus, with an offsetting bitterness. Overall, quite enjoyable and a reasonable match with the food, though I think I'd prefer this with a bit more age on it.
2: HIDDEN MEADOW | spring tomato, wild forest berries
My favorite course of the night arrived upside down. Once we flipped our bowls over, we found currants, blueberries, and elderberries blanketed with sweet flowers grown in Vespertine's culinary garden. The vessel was lined with a custard made from almond milk and wild onion bulbs, and we also had tomatoes sourced from Coachella Valley. A vinaigrette containing concentrated tomato juice was also present, while the finishing touch was a sprinkling of puffed buckwheat for crunch. I loved all the unabashedly herbaceous, astringent, bittersweet flavors here, and how that all married with and was moderated by the dish's savory, tomato-laden base. Super smart.
At this point, the dining room was just about full.
3: DEEP OCEAN | sweet prawn, pink lady apple
Set inside perhaps the clearest block of hand-carved ice I've seen was raw deep-sea prawn, apparently caught off the coast of Hawaii by a single boat at depths of roughly 3,500 feet. The prawns were accompanied by ninja radish, poached quince seasoned with ají panca, salted cherry blossoms, and red seaweed, with a finish of poached quince vinaigrette as well as a broth incorporating the prawns themselves. I was a fan of the suppleness and sweetness and salinity of the shrimp, and an even bigger fan of how that meshed with the bevy of tangy, floral, savory, sweet, and astringent nuances going on. Really agreeably multifaceted.
4: OBSIDIAN MIRROR | smoked mussel, green meyer lemon
Another standout for me was inspired by an ancient Mexican tradition wherein shamans would peer into polished obsidian crystals for divination purposes. The curiously-looking course comprised mussel gel, smoked mussel panna cotta, salted plum, water chestnut, and green lemon peel, all set underneath a thin layer of roasted kelp oil. The dish captured the rich, smoky, saline nature of the mussels in such a powerful, delectable manner, and I very much liked how the crisp, fruity bits in there lightened things up. Do also note the use of a mussel shell as a spoon.
5: AGED KINMEDAI | red papaya, timur pepper
Golden eye snapper is undoubtedly one of my favorite neta when it comes to sushi, so I was glad to see the ingredient on the menu tonight. The splendid alfonsino arrived wonderfully juicy and meaty, its smoke and brine on robust display. Of course, the fish was delicious just on its own, but the cool, sweet tang of papaya also served as an unexpectedly effective counterpoint.
As you may have read, I'm focusing on drinking '06 wines this year as part of the blog's twentieth anniversary celebration, and tonight's selection was the 2006 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage. The bottle comes to us from perhaps the most legendary producer in Northern Rhône, one that reportedly traces its roots all the way back to 1481 and is now under the control of the family's 16th generation. Do note that the wine spent around an hour in the decanter before being served.
- Initial Impressions: Aromas of dark fruits intertwined with roast meats. Silken on the tongue, with loads of fruit and funk accented by bitter, herbaceous elements.
- After 10 Minutes: After a short time, the Syrah's nose brimmed with olive, berries, and sous bois, while the wine's meatier sensations waned. In the mouth, I found more apparent tannins and a heightened sensation of mint.
- After 65 Minutes: An hour-plus in, the bouquet became even earthier, even sweeter, with a marked underpinning of garrigue. Taste-wise, things were more overtly savory, with the wine's acidity making itself known more forcefully to boot.
6a: COTURNIX QUAIL | waxflower, sacred pepper
Quail was prepared two ways, and first up was the dry-aged, waxflower-scented breast, certainly one of the tastiest renditions of the bird I've had thanks to its ultra-flavorful skin and juicy, gratifyingly-textured, consummately-seasoned flesh. It was delicious just by itself, but I didn't mind a swipe of that tangy, buttery egg yolk condiment either, which managed to be potent without ever becoming overbearing.
6b: COTURNIX QUAIL | waxflower, sacred pepper
Part two was a mousse of quail thigh stuffed into one of the largest morels I've seen, apparently sourced wild from the Sierra Nevadas. The mushroom was then grilled in a balsam fir kombucha, topped with wild chive blossom and quail egg yolk jam, dusted with Myrica gale, and drizzled with reduced birch sap. I was pretty smitten by the plethora of sticky, sweet, savory, herby flavors happening here, and how they all coalesced to present a totally different dimension of the quail.
7: SOURDOUGH PORRIDGE BREAD | heirloom peel-corn oats, quail fat
Accompanying the quail was a 48-hour sourdough porridge bread incorporating oats, fried in rendered quail fat. The roll featured a fluffy crumb along with a lightly crisp crust, and deftly blended salty and sweet. Interestingly, one of my dining companions was even reminded of Pizza Hut's pan pizza crust.
Due to the hands-on nature of the courses above, a moistened hand towel was soon provided.
8a: SPRING LAMB | yeast fudge, magnolia
A tender, juicy, delicately-flavored cut of grass-fed, free-range Napa Valley lamb was set atop an umami-rich caramelized yeast, then topped with a dollop of pungent magnolia blossom emulsion. Around the plate were purées of plantain, turnips, and husk cherries crowned with nasturtium, chrysanthemum, and ice plant, all of which provided some counterbalancing pops of fruit and veggie.
8b: TAKAMORI WAGYU [+$195.00] | yeast fudge, magnolia
I was also able to sample the course above with the lamb replaced by A5 wagyu, specifically an example from Yamaguchi Prefecture known was "drunken wagyu," called such because the cows are fed sake lees from the nearby Dassai brewery. I found the beef a bit distinct compared to your usual A5, being somewhat less fatty, sweeter, more rustic, and with more of a chew.
With the savory stuff dispensed with, we moved downstairs to the gallery for dessert.
9a: RED EARTH | sweet corn, cherry, temascal
Our first savory-to-sweet transitional course was inspired by a meditative experience that Chef Kahn had in Nayarit, where he was guided by a local shaman to visit a 1,000-year-old tree. In the bowl was a sweet corn custard, grilled cherries, dried strawberries, shallot, caramel, grilled jicama, almond-yeast mousse, almond crisps, and begonia flowers, all finished with a hydrosol of palo santo. This was a great amalgam of savory and sweet, with the corn really making itself known, especially in concert with the fruit. I quite like all the textural interplay going on here, too.
9b: RED EARTH + AUSTRALIAN BLACK TRUFFLES [+$75.00] | sweet corn, cherry, temascal
We also had the course above with first-of-the-season winter truffles from Tasmania replacing the palo santo, making for a headier, earthier dish.
Prior to our second transitional course, we were provided pours of a tea made from wild-harvested Douglas fir needles and rose hips. It was a cozy beverage that really captured the essence of the forest.
10: CARAMELIZED PANCAKE | lamb fat, brown butter
This multi-part course was anchored by a somewhat herbaceous, airy-on-the-inside, crisp-on-the-outside caramelized sourdough pancake topped with a thin sheet of salted lamb fat. Also present were a light cream beautifully infused with the sweet-peatiness of Laphroaig 10-year, a brazenly sugary brown butter jam, and three types of wild blackberries (Chester, Kiowa, and some other cultivar). Taking all these components together made for some pretty marvelous bites.
More wetted napkins arrived, which was fitting given that we used our hands for the course above.
11: ICY BIRCH | parsnip, reduced milk
In our first "proper" dessert, a frozen disk of birch water sat atop rock parsnip ice cream and a caramelized milk fudge, while poured tableside was a distillate of aloe vera juice and wintergreen. Think super fresh, woodsy, and minty, with a restrained sweetness; everything really did come together quite swimmingly.
12: LAYERS | black raspberry, sheep's milk
Last up was a thoroughly reimagined entremet cake incorporating strata of frozen black raspberry, roasted almond praline, sheep's milk yogurt, arctic rose, and a crisp of roasted beets. A fun, inventive take on the layer cake that highlighted the back-and-forth between tart, seedy fruit and the dessert's creamier elements.
Since we had some birthdays coming up, we were also given edible candles composed of an almond marzipan wick set in an Amazonian cacao body.
I'm glad to report that this dinner was an improvement over my last meal here, as much as I enjoyed that one. I didn't have any concerns with the service this time around, while the actual cooking was even stronger. Clarity and harmony were seemingly given a boost, while the food's meditative, nueva-naturalistic, almost otherworldly ethos has remained firmly intact. However, my concern is that tonight's meal was uncomfortably similar to what I ate here nearly two years ago. At a restaurant of Vespertine's caliber, I'd expect to see more evolution of the menu over such a time span, so hopefully the kitchen can work on that.
posted by kevinEats at
5:50 PM
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