Trois Mec, Chef Ludo Lefebvre’s Michelin-Level Tasting Menu Spot, Is Closed Forever

Newly-minted Michelin star fine dining restaurant Trois Mec is now closed permanently. Eater confirmed the unfortunate news with chef Ludo Lefebvre late Friday.

“Unfortunately we simply don’t see a way back for Trois Mec moving forward,” says partner Krissy Lefebvre via email. “Pandemic fine dining is really tough, and with such a small space it just can’t be sustained.”

Trois Mec burst on the LA dining scene as a white-hot star in 2013, earning rave reviews from critics like Jonathan Gold and then-Eater critic Bill Addison, en route to a 2014 nomination for best new restaurant by the James Beard Foundation. Gold lauded Lefebvre’s 24-seat tasting menu restaurant as “cutting edge,” while Addison called Lefebvre “a stratospheric talent.”

Trois Mec continued to evolve over the years, winning a Michelin star in 2019. With the onset of the global coronavirus pandemic and rolling restaurant shutdowns across Southern California, the restaurant has more recently emerged as a hub of cooking for first responders and the non-profit World Central Kitchen. The hope now is that, as COVID-19 therapeutics (and ultimately, a vaccine) come to light, neighboring restaurant Petit Trois will be able to expand into the Trois Mec space, using the square footage as a dining room. “Nothing is guaranteed at this point,” said Krissy Lefebvre. “Our industry is in crisis.”

The seven-year-old Trois Mec joins a number of other prominent restaurants to close during the ongoing pandemic, from nearby tasting menu spot Auburn to Downtown’s Bon Temps and even the venerable Stan’s Donuts in Westwood.

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