He has returned
Bill Chait has arguably made more of a mark on the Los Angeles dining scene in the last 10 years than any other restaurateur. Exhibit A: Bestia, chef Ori Menashe’s Arts District restaurant that helped turn the area into an actual destination. When Chait was part of the Sprout Restaurant Group (he left the company he founded in 2015), he helped create Walter Manzke’s La Brea Boulevard French restaurant République, the Rose in Venice, Ray Garcia’s downtown L.A. restaurant Broken Spanish and Timothy Hollingsworth’s Otium, next to the Broad. And now he’s set to open Tesse, his first L.A. restaurant in more than two years, next to the Fred Segal store on Sunset Boulevard at La Cienega Boulevard, on Tuesday. Chait said the restaurant’s origin story was twofold: a request from Creative Artists Agency to create a concept that merged food and fashion, and a meeting with chef Raphael Francois, who previously cooked at Le Cirque in New York City and at Le DeSales in Washington, D.C. Tesse will be loosely tied to fashion, in that it’s next to Fred Segal, but Chait says that based on a suggestion from Decades vintage store founder Cameron Silver, you can expect to see more of a through-line once it opens, with a possible adjacent salon that will host talks on fashion.
The restaurant, named for the French word “délicatesse,” which means “delicacy,” is based on Francois’ idea to create a bar that serves charcuterie. While his housemade pâtés and sausages will be at the core of the menu, expect to see dishes inspired by our local farmers markets and pastries from chef Sally Camacho Mueller. Managing partner Jordan Ogron is also behind Boutellier, a wine store adjacent to the restaurant, opening later this year.
“Like with all my restaurants, I try to say is this something that could live for 30 years,” said Chait, who believes the restaurant represents a new wave for this stretch of Sunset Boulevard. “We’re doing what I think is the most serious restaurant on Sunset Boulevard. I think Night + Market is a great restaurant down the street and Kris [Yenbamroong] is a spectacular young chef. It’s the beginning of another new leg of what Sunset could be.” Tesse: 8500 W. Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, (310) 360-3866, www.tesserestaurant.com.