LAGuide
5 Tasting Menu Spots To Fill The Trois Mec-Sized Void In Your Heart
photo credit: Jakob Layman
Trois Mec est mort. Late Friday, the acclaimed tasting menu restaurant from Ludo Lefebvre announced it was closing permanently, after shutting down in mid-March when LA’s initial shelter-in-place order was implemented. When it first opened in 2013, this experimental French spot was one of the hardest-to-get reservations in town, and last summer, it earned a Michelin star.
So, much like the void in its Highland Ave. storefront (deceivingly disguised with Raffallo’s Pizza signs), Trois Mec is also leaving a void in our hearts - specifically, the part reserved for tasting menus. But we must remain resolute. Here are five tasting menu spots that might be able to fill that extremely indulgent space inside all of us.
The Spots
This spot is Permanently Closed.
Dialogue is a tiny, very fancy restaurant inside a Santa Monica food court, and home to one of our favorite prix-fixe menus in all of LA. While you can’t get that during quarantine, you can order one of their tremendous weekly takeout menus, featuring mains like chimichurri salmon, hanger steak, or maitake mushrooms, along with tomato, strawberry and burrata salad, and stone fruit cobbler. Even better? This may be your best shot to experience Dialogue without also breaking the bank - their three-course dinners cost less than $50. Open Tuesday-Saturdays, check their Instagram for weekly menu updates. Available for pre-order.
Providence is a tasting menu spot on Melrose that’ll usually run you about $400 per person - but they’re offering three-course meals to-go for $80 during this (partial) shutdown. The menu changes weekly - this week’s includes chilled tomato soup with scallop dumplings, crab-stuffed Maine lobster, and peach and blackberry cobbler - but no matter when you order, you’re guaranteed to have an imaginative, delicious meal. If you’re looking to celebrate something, or simply throw down on an incredible takeout meal, look no further than Providence. Available for pre-order.
Orsa & Winston is an excellent Downtown LA tasting menu spot that also serves a weekly three-course tasting menu Wednesday-Friday nights. For $75, you’ll get offerings like mixed stone fruit salad with Dungeness crab and sheep’s ricotta, Wagyu flatiron steak, and coconut tapioca crème brûlée. They’ve also got a Saturday night option that’s more of a splurge - $200-$250 for a family-style, four-course meal for two, with an optional wine pairing. Available for pre-order.
Kali is an underrated prix fixe spot on Melrose that is currently offering nightly, family-style set menus for under $60 per person. They change often, but expect options like dry-aged ribeye, fried chicken, and even smoked bone-in pork chops. They’ve also got some really interesting a la carte options, like a DIY uni pasta kit, at-home caviar service, and burgers and fried chicken sandwiches. Open Wednesday-Sunday, available for pre-order.
