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LA’s Next French Powerhouse Does Refined Classics in the Arts District

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Pastry wizard Lincoln Carson’s restaurant Bon Temps will do it all

Lincoln Carson, a chef, stands arms crossed at a window looking into his restaurant space.
Lincoln Carson
Sierra Prescott/Bon Temps
Farley Elliott is the Senior Editor at Eater LA and the author of Los Angeles Street Food: A History From Tamaleros to Taco Trucks. He covers restaurants in every form, from breaking news to the culture, people, and history that surrounds LA's dining landscape.

Celebrated pastry chef Lincoln Carson is almost ready to show off his full skill set at his upcoming all-day restaurant in the Arts District. Eater has learned that the still-in-construction project will be called Bon Temps, and has a loose opening date for early 2019.

Bon Temps, of course, translates to “good times,” which is exactly what Carson’s new restaurant promises. Reps for the project say that Carson will indeed focus on French food, using the ample attached patio space for the former Petty Cash location to craft an airy, indoor-outdoor bistro of sorts.

The food will be slightly more refined and will lean heavily on French techniques, but with the backing of the usual California produce bounty, of course. Bon Temps will open for dinner to show off Carson’s savory side, with an eventual push to midday and AM hours (that means coffee and pastry) as time goes on. Carson, after all, is most famously known for his pastry prowess from his time at restaurants like New York’s Le Bernadin and Picasso at the Bellagio in Las Vegas.

There’s no official timetable for opening of Bon Temps, but the plan is to reveal the restaurant sometime in early 2019. That’s right in line with a number of other big Arts District projects, including Stephanie Izard’s Girl & The Goat expansion from Chicago, and — right around the corner — Enrique Olvera’s own Cosme/taco project.

Bon Temps. 712 Santa Fe Ave., Los Angeles, CA.