Caroline Styne, Suzanne Goin to Add Portuguese Flavors to Downtown This Summer

More news is out today on exactly what Caroline Styne and Suzanne Goin, two of LA’s most accomplished restaurant owners behind the likes of AOC and Lucques, are getting up to inside the Proper Hotel in Downtown’s South Park neighborhood. And as it turns out, the flavors of Portugal will play a rather exciting role.

Food & Wine sat down with Styne and Goin to discuss their dual properties inside the big, still-under-construction hotel on Broadway. First up is Caldo Verde, the ground floor main dining space that will lean heavily into Portuguese-by-way-of-California flavors. That means a namesake large format soup for groups to shar e, as well as seafood like octopus braised in squid ink and the famous pork and clams. Expect lots of communal seating as well as a bar inside, and lots of greenery.

Upstairs at the Proper Hotel, wrapping the pool and lounge area, will be Cara Cara. The name is a nod to the famous orange, naturally, and will be used to reflect a menu of California staples from burgers to tacos to salads. The plan is to offer a single food menu from lunch through dinner and near the pool, split across a two-story space that also has a fire pit and other lounge areas. Yes there will be lots of vegetables, and likely a few vegan items as well. Just don’t expect a day club sort of atmosphere, Goin stresses to Food & Wine.

Caldo Verde [official]

As for timing, Cara Cara and Caldo Verdo are set to arrive in late summer, opening in concert with the Proper Hotel. Meanwhile, across town, a second simultaneous Proper Hotel project will include a restaurant called Onda from Sqirl’s Jessica Koslow and Gabriela Camara of Mexico City’s Contramar.

Proper Hotel Downtown. 1106 Broadway, Los Angeles, CA.

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