Rolling Stone LA To Have Debut Event This Month

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Nov 13th 2010 at 11:01AM

The new Rolling Stone Restaurant and Lounge in Los Angeles will make its debut on November 21 by hosting the VIP afterparty for the American Music Awards (AMAs). The event is a preview for the official launch event planned for early 2011. Rolling Stone/Los Angeles (RS/LA) marks the first-ever licensing of the Rolling Stone name for an American restaurant. The space was designed by Gavin Brodin (Crown Bar / Los Angeles, The Abbey / West Hollywood) and the 10,500-sq. ft. space has a "vintage chic" design. The restaurant is at the Hollywood & Highland complex and has a gleaming, two-story, half-cylinder of paned glass that rises from Highland Avenue, allowing natural light to flood through during daytime hours. Patrons enter from the mezzanine rotunda off Highland, into a lobby highlighted by pendant lights and cobblestone-like floors in chevroned limestone, and an antique floor cart salvaged from a defunct citrus factory that serves as a reception desk.

The upstairs dining room welcomes up to 140 guests, an additional 40 on its patio. It has walnut-hued hardwood floors, 1950s-style leather chairs and tufted red-leather banquettes. One area with five British-style lampposts is illuminated by a leaded-glass ceiling and another section lit by octagonal ceiling fixtures cradling amber LEDs. The main bar has shelves of leaded glass and reclaimed plumbing pipes and the wall design combines elegant sconces with candid rock photos.

Executive Chef Christopher Ennis (Fig & Olive, One Sunset, Stout, Crown Bar, Vibrato Jazz Grill, Astra West) serves upscale global fare with snacks including warm bleu cheese popovers with caramelized shallot butter; soft pretzel knots with beer cheese fondue; and three cured meats, cornichon, olives, three mustards, herb salad & grilled country bread. Starters range from tuna tartar with crispy potato, pineapple, coconut & spicy avocado; to sweet potato agnolotti with toasted marshmallow and pecan brown butter; to glazed pork belly & grilled shrimp with corn pudding and tamarind sauce. Main courses include pan-roasted wild striped bass with preserved lemon, capers & raisins; organic herbed chicken, cannellini beans, pancetta and spinach; pinot-braised short rib "osso bucco," with whipped potatoes and chard. The full menu will be available in the restaurant, with small-bites served in the downstairs lounge.

The street-level lounge has a two-tiered space with a circular upper landing lit by a grand chandelier with inset projectors bring the adjacent walls to life. The lounge has a half-dozen private booths and publicly accessible lounge chairs and banquettes and the area can also be configured as a stage for live bands. The dedicated lounge bar and an area for bottle service in the lower zone is a suspended DJ booth and the club has 80 speakers and 40 computerized lights installed throughout the venue.

The restaurant will be open Sunday, Monday and Wednesday from 11:30 a.m.-midnight; Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 11:30 a.m.-3:00 a.m. The lounge is open Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 9 p.m.-2 a.m.

Tags: hollywood highland, Los Angeles Lakers, Rolling Stone, rolling stone magazine, rolling stone restaurant