Craft Los Angeles

After six successful years in New York, chef Tom Colicchio brought Craft’s pioneering approach to dining to Los Angeles in 2007. Meant to mimic the experience of dining in someone’s home, pristine seasonal ingredients are simply prepared and served family-style to the center of the table, allowing guests to build their own plates.

“Simple doesn’t mean simplistic,” Tom says in his book, Think Like a Chef. Sourcing the finest product from small farms and artisan producers, the food at Craft serves as proof. Perennial favorites include roasted quail, braised beef short ribs, and the bounty of farmer’s market sides in every season.

Craft’s emphasis on seasonal and local is a natural West Coast fit. The restaurant earned a three-star review from The Los Angeles Times in 2007 and improved to three and a half stars in 2010. Designed by award-winning architecture firm, Bentel & Bentel, Craft Los Angeles seats 300 in a 10,000 square-foot space that includes a dining veranda overlooking a four-acre park.

In 2009, Chef Tom Colicchio turned Craft Los Angeles’ front lounge and terrace into Craftbar. Shortly after opening, Craftbar earned a three-star review from Los Angeles Magazine and has been called “a destination in its own right,” by Angeleno magazine. The menu features an array of small dishes all priced $20 or under, divided into categories including oysters, snacks, flatbreads, salads, share plates and cheese. Menu items range from light fare such as wild arugula with pine nuts and parmesan or calamari with spinach, chorizo and golden raisins, to a hearty plate of veal meatballs or flatbread with provolone, Italian sausage and pea tendrils.