The Dish: Buddha's Belly, Bistrotek and Hopscotch, Ingredients, La Defence
It's a new year, a new season for restaurant openings. See something debut? Know something is on its way? You know what to do.
Bar area at Bistrotek
WESTCHESTER/LAX: After some delay, the Custom Hotel officially opened its restaurant Bistrotek and Hopscotch Lounge a couple weeks ago. According to the website, Bistrotek "features an open and airy loft-style space with sky lights and exposed pipes, polished concrete floors, distressed brick walls, pendant light fixtures, an old-fashioned, smoke-colored banquet, a wood-paneled dining bar and a vine-enclosed outdoor patio." And yet, it says nothing about the menu. Caroline on Crack went for cocktails, grilled cheese and shrimp sliders, so there's that. Hopscotch Lounge is in an area above the pool and outside, so waiting until "winter" passes is probably the best option. (8639 Lincoln Blvd., 310.645.0400)
SANTA MONICA: As reported earlier, Buddha's Belly opened this week. It's on the ground floor of the Hotel Carmel, serves a similar menu to the Beverly Boulevard location, but has a full liquor license. Buddha loves a good cocktail. Opens at noon daily. (205 Broadway, 310.458.2500)
Let's head east: Ingredients in Montrose, La Defence in Koreatown >>
Hopscotch and Bistrotek at Custom Hotel
The Custom Hotel near LAX made its quiet debut this month, and according to Urban Daddy, its poolside Hopscotch Bar & Grill opens this Saturday. Although the young staffer we just spoke to said if you show up this Saturday, you might end up in the lobby bar, which has been open for a few weeks. "There were some last minute glitches" and Hopscotch will open next Friday, day after Thanksgiving. Now that that's cleared up, what else is in store for the boutiquer? Bistrotek, for "imaginative bistro fare." Some details from the website:
The restaurant's contemporary, industrial design aesthetic is reminiscent of the revitalized lofts found in New York's SoHo or Chicago's River North. Bistrotek features an open and airy loft-style space with sky lights and exposed pipes, polished concrete floors, distressed brick walls, pendant light fixtures, an old-fashioned, smoke-colored banquet, a wood-paneled dining bar and a vine-enclosed outdoor patio.
The restaurant will be a full-service hotel dining room, B-L-D, probably good for the travelers. Something to seek out on its own? Yet to be decided. Bistrotek should open in
early December.
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Checking in With The Custom Hotel [Curbed LA]
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The Weekender [Urban Daddy]
