LA Farm reopening in Santa Monica for the Entertainment/Industry people for fine dining (5/09)
Our lunch dining experience was nothing short of delicious at LA Farm. The restaurant has a great location off Olympic near Centinela with not really any competition. Top notch appetizers including the beet/goat cheese salad and assorted salads. You can also have the salads for your entree but the seafood and risotto are their specialties. The establishment keeps busy and they just opened for dinner so don’t wait too long to make a reservation.
The list of people who were lunching there today is as follows: It’s sort of a ‘Who’s Who’ of industry movers and shakers.
And that’s just one lunch.
Peter Hyams – Director (‘End of Days’ with Arnie Schwarzenegger, among
others)
Lloyd Phillips – Producer (Twelve Monkeys, also new Brad Pitt film,
‘Inglorious Bastards‘)
Paul Freeman – Producer (all the Halloween films)
Tom Shulman – Writer (What About Bob? and ‘Dead Poets Society‘)
David Milch – writer, and creator of ‘Deadwood’ and ‘John from Cincinnati‘
Mark Gordon – Producer (Grey’s Anatomy and hundreds more)
Jennifer Todd – Producer (Must Love Dogs, Austin Powers, Memento)
The Westside’s own piece of Hollywood – the LA Farm restaurant – reopens with a new look and new hours
LA Farm reintroduces happier hour and dinner
(Santa Monica, CA – May 1, 2009) Santa Monica’s own ‘Hollywood commissary’, the LA Farm restaurant (www.lafarmrestaurant.com), has just reopened following renovations. LA Farm has been the social and deal-making hub for production heads and celebrity-makers at the now famous media campus, the Lantana Center, since it opened twenty years ago – the place to see-and-be-seen on the Westside. The restaurant continues to offer a unique blend of rustic California style with fresh, inventive cuisine in a relaxed atmosphere.
From Tuesday, May 19th, LA Farm will open for dinner (Tuesday to Saturday, 5.30 – 9.30pm) and expects to attract a mix of media folk, locals and Angelenos from all over the city. For reservations, go to www.opentable.com, or call 310 449 4000. Dean Wolfe, LA Farm’s general manager says, “The candle-lit patio is a draw for romantics, with its Mediterranean feel, while the cool new lounge and bar is great for entertaining and celebrating. We’re looking forward to making it a neighborhood haunt for locals, as well as a destination restaurant for visitors.”
The patio stays cool in summer under its new sailcloth roof floating high above, casting its diffused light on diners below. Wooden beams are painted a stylish chocolate color; ivy-covered walls and plants create a subtle backdrop, enhancing the outdoor feel. The interior lounge is now a cool and contemporary space: open and airy, with pale cream walls and crisp white table linens contrasting with dark wood chairs and the polished concrete floor.
The welcoming bar has received similar treatment: the polished marble bar and concrete floors contrast with pale walls to create a relaxing atmosphere for ‘happier hour’ and beyond. Signature cocktails like the pomegranate mojito and mandarin cosmo, along with small plate dishes like calamari, fish tacos, and quesadillas are only $7 from 4.30pm to 7.30pm, Monday to Friday.
LA Farm’s executive Chef Guillermo ‘Memo’ Albino is ‘Farm-raised’, having worked alongside LA Farm’s former executive chef, Jean-Pierre Peigny, for many years. The menu focuses on rustic, homemade, seasonal California/eclectic cuisine, using farm-fresh ingredients, sourced locally. Regular menu favorites like the Nicoise salad with fresh tuna or the roasted garlic chicken served au jus, focus on healthy options and are supplemented daily with specials that include a fish or a healthy, flavorful pasta dish, like the Farfalle with herb sausage, artichokes, mushrooms, and olives. Finish with a warm strawberry cobbler.
The wine list, as described by Wolfe, is “the same as a great bottle of wine itself…balanced.” The list offers well-known selections, mixed with hard-to-find and esoteric choices.
LA Farm is a wonderful venue for parties: entertainment events, launch and wrap parties, fundraisers, social gatherings, corporate events, and even weddings. With two separate, but connected areas, dining in one, and drinking and dancing in another, superb access through the ‘barn’ doors, AND great parking – it solves a host of event needs. For further information about hosting an event at the restaurant, which can accommodate up to 160 people, contact Dean Wolfe on 310 449 4026.
LA Farm is located at the northern end of the Lantana Center, at 3000 West Olympic Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90404. Free valet parking with validation.
Lunch: Monday to Friday: 11.30am – 2.30pm
Happier Hour: Tuesday to Friday: 4.30 – 7.30
Dinner (from May 19th): Tuesday to Saturday: 5.30 – 9.30pm
Reservations: www.opentable.com, or call: 310.449.4000
Email: [email protected]
About LA Farm
When movie producer Alex Winitsky opened LA Farm on the grounds of his renowned entertainment media campus, the Lantana Center, in 1989, the restaurant provided an ambiance of informal elegance to the media executives who worked at the center, and to visitors from across Los Angeles. LA Farm immediately became the Lantana cornerstone and social hub, and a new addition to the storied line of unofficial “Hollywood commissaries” that over the years has included such celebrated sites as the Brown Derby, Chasens and The Grill in Beverly Hills. Twenty years later, LA Farm continues in that tradition.