Vegetarian Stunner the Butcher’s Daughter Lays Down Fresh Roots in West Hollywood

The Butcher’s Daughter continues its vegetarian march through Los Angeles with the opening of a new location at 8755 Melrose Avenue in West Hollywood this Saturday, September 24. Although this only marks the second outpost of the all-day restaurant in LA (with a spot on Abbot Kinney and three NYC locations), the Butcher’s Daughter also owns the vegetarian Mexican eateries De Buena Planta in Venice and Silver Lake, and recently consulted on the menu for Den Mother, a new wellness-center-slash-izakaya in Venice. The original location of the Butcher’s Daughter opened in New York over a decade ago.

The West Hollywood location of the Butcher’s Daughter, which previously housed Parisian steak frites import Le Relais De ’L’Entrecote, shares an intersection with clubby Italian restaurant Cecconi’s and is blocks away from busy evening destinations Gracias Madre and Craig’s. Founder and creative director Heather Tierney designed the 4,000-square-foot Melrose outpost to cater to a nighttime crowd, with the focal point of the restaurant being a central 25-foot long, custom-made greenhouse that covers a long, brass-topped bar. Aside from being an eye-catching design element, the greenhouse will also be used to grow herbs like oregano and thyme for food and cocktails.

“I had this idea of people sitting across from each other and having this whole interactive experience of the bartenders picking the herbs, so the bar area took shape in the center of the restaurant,” Tierney says. “West Hollywood felt right for us; there’s a fashion crowd, there’s a design crowd…I’ve always loved this neighborhood and have always wanted to do a location that’s a little more glam.”

Overall, the bright, airy aesthetic nods to a Tulum-reminiscent style that Tierney helped to popularize. Additional design details include green-and-white ceramic bistro tables, mint-green banquettes and custom-made Marcel Breuer chairs, lots of potted plants, and a small retail area up front. The restaurant also plans to offer patio seating with tables and chairs facing out onto Melrose, a la a Parisian bistro.

The menu — which is vegetarian as it features eggs, as well as dairy-based cheese — includes all-day breakfast items like house-made bagels topped with carrot “lox,” as well as salads, bowls, and sandwiches. New dinnertime dishes include a plant-based raw bar section with the likes of watermelon “carpaccio,” eggplant “oysters,” litchi “agua chile,” and beet ahi “sashimi,” which will be served on hammered brass seafood trays. Naples-born chef Andy Barbato is serving a handful of new house-made pastas, like a gluten-free potato and prickly pear gnocchi with prosecco cream sauce and pistachio dukkah, as well as “aragosta” vegan linguine with rapini cream, vegan carrot bisque sauce, and hearts of palm. Barbato is also firing up a massive stone oven — which the kitchen had to be expanded to accommodate — to turn out yellow cherry tomato margherita and mushroom-and-pesto-topped pizzas.

This being the Butcher’s Daughter, expect a veritable rainbow of fresh cold-pressed juices, elixirs, smoothies, and “wellness lattes and teas” such as a cardamom chai. Cocktails served in gold-rimmed glassware are a big focus, too: there’s a Melrose Martini, which can be ordered with gin or vodka and is garnished with charred, herbed Castelvetrano olives (extra olives can be ordered as a snack, as well).

The second location of the Butcher’s Daughter arrives at a moment when plant-based and plant-friendly options continue to proliferate through Los Angeles, ranging from Kevin Hart’s popular new vegan fast-food spot Hart House to the opening of Seabird Kitchen in Los Feliz.

The Butcher’s Daughter will be open from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. Reservations are available through the restaurant’s website.