Celebrated SF Chef Melissa Perello of Frances to Open Downtown LA Restaurant

Talented San Francisco chef Melissa Perello is coming to Los Angeles. The James Beard-nominated chef/owner of Frances, who also earned a Michelin star for her second restaurant Octavia, will open a new restaurant at the ROW development in Downtown Los Angeles. It’s also just steps from the massive forthcoming Tartine Manufactory.

Perello’s project still doesn’t have an official name, but Eater has confirmed with her team that the deal is done. The move lands the chef at a prime corner location just off the gigantic parking structure on the sprawling ROW property, directly diagonal to the work being done on what will soon be Tartine Manufactory, with its baking, coffee roasting, and all-day dining set for the end of the year. Perello’s planned project isn’t slated to arrive until spring 2019.

The restaurant will cover some 4,200 square feet in all, with Studio Unltd. (Bestia, Otium, Dominique Ansel Bakery) designing the space to feature an open kitchen, lots of live-fire cooking, and room for outdoor dining. There will be a full bar, lunch, brunch, and dinner menus, and lots of seasonal vegetables. Perello says:

With this new project, we’re able to check a lot of things off the wish list for an ideal space and type of experience we plan to offer. We’re also really proud to join such an eclectic group of restaurants and retail at Row DTLA.

Perello’s impending arrival will add yet another prominent voice to Downtown’s booming dining scene. Jessica Largey is putting the finishing touches on her restaurant Simone in the Arts District, just around the corner from Top Chef winner Mei Lin’s soon-to-arrive Nightshade. Nationally-known chef Stephanie Izard is also opening a West Coast outlet of her Chicago restaurant The Girl & The Goat next year inside the At Mateo project.

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