Status: Opened yesterday
Phone: 818-924-2323
It took Girasol a minute to come together, but the wait is no more. Open yesterday on Moorpark Street in Studio City is a new shrine to California cuisine, proffering local and sustainable values as well as the diversity that is Los Angeles. Top Chef vet CJ Jacobson is behind the bill of fare, which reads more familiar than not: steak salad, meatballs, tuna crudo, and a roast chicken. But, upon closer inspection, plates aren't always as they seem. That steak salad involves watermelon and a pickled rind vinaigrette, the crudo is served with preserved grapefruit and satsuma.
To start, Girasol is pouring a selection of beer and California wines, many of which are either organic or sustainably produced. But, management plans to go the fully monty with cocktails later this year. Weekend brunch en route, too.
Girasol, which translates to "sunflower" in Spanish, is decorated as its name suggests, namely the main dining room taking the form of a sunflower. This is the handiwork of interior designer Gulla Jonsdottir, also responsible for Red O on Melrose. Hours of operation run Monday to Wednesday from 5 to 10 p.m., and Thursday through Saturday from 5 p.m. to midnight.
Additional Reading: Sneak Peek, 5/31/13; EaterWire, 4/8/13; EaterWire, 8/31/12