Sambals oscillate between sweet, salty, tart and funky. The rendang, rich and fatty, is made with Wagyu beef cheek. Satay, or grilled meat skewers, arrive with a blend of grated pineapple and peanut sauce. At Rasarumah, which translates to “flavor house” in Malay, chef Johnny Lee is putting his spin on Malaysian cuisine after years of journeys and research.
The former Pearl River Deli chef renowned for his Hainan chicken teamed up with Last Word Hospitality (Found Oyster, Barra Santos) to bring a new taste of Southeast Asian cuisine to Historic Filipinotown. It’s the natural evolution of Lee’s studies of Hainanese chicken, which led him down the rabbit hole of the global Chinese diaspora — especially as it pertained to Malaysia and Indonesia. “I’m very, very fascinated because I’m like, ‘This is not the Chinese food that I grew up with, but it also feels very familiar at the same time,’ ” he said.
Lee met the Last Word team years ago and they briefly discussed a collaboration. He continued Pearl River Deli, a 101 List awardee, weighing whether to close it after years of financial turbulence and pivots; earlier this year Last Word approached him again about a collaboration, and it accelerated the decision.
“I had come to the realization that if I wanted to do more refined food, I wasn’t going to be able to do it on my own and I wasn’t going to be able to do it in that [Pearl River Deli] space,” Lee said. “I don’t think I had the resources nor the help to make it happen. … I needed to partner with people who knew what they were doing running a business.”
He traveled through Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan for five weeks, often pulling from its restaurants and hawker stalls for inspiration. Pork satay made its way onto his opening menu in the form of pork jowl with grated pineapple to cut the richness; his chicken satay, on the other hand, tastes as it would in Malaysia but uses technique that’s a nod to Japanese yakitori. The philosophy of Rasarumah began to evolve similarly.
“I think it should reflect where we are,” Lee said, “and not just try to be a cookie-cutter concept of another country.”
Dishes began to lighten up. The gado-gado became more of a salad, eschewing its usual boiled ingredients like eggs and cabbage. Achar, the house blend of pickles, arrives with a few dishes to brighten up the palate. To pair, Last Word’s Evelyn Goreshnik curated a beverage list that involves sake, wine, shochu and beer — including Carlsberg on draft, a ubiquitous beer in Malaysia — for a blend of old and new, traditional and modern. Rasarumah is open Thursday to Monday from 5 to 10 p.m.
3107 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, rasarumah.com
Bernee
In the mountainside town of Altadena, the team behind Los Feliz restaurant All Time is serving up hearth-grilled steaks, fluffy dinner rolls, crispy-skinned fish and bubbling skillets of potatoes au gratin all cooked over live fire. Bernee — the maiden name of Ashley Wells, who operates the restaurant with her husband, Tyler — is nearly hidden in a small strip mall, its windows covered by white cloth. Inside it glows yellow, soft jazz playing.
“This is really the restaurant that I’ve always wanted,” Tyler Wells said. The West Virginia native who grew up in a small mountain town felt a kindred community in Altadena and wanted to offer his version of a neighborhood restaurant there.
The hand-constructed small-batch hearth at the heart of the restaurant features a grill and an oven powered by oak and almond wood, and requires constant attention throughout the day and night. Paul Downer, also of All Time, is the executive chef, creating the often-rotating menu with Tyler Wells.
“I just think cooking on fire is the most thoughtful, primitive sort of visceral thing you can do, and it’s such a steep learning curve,” Wells said. “You can’t wing it, you can’t phone it in. You can’t stick something in the oven and set a timer and just forget about it while you do something else. And the presence that that restaurant [Bernee] requires is so not of this era — and that’s really the thing I love about it.”
Bernee is roughly half the capacity of All Time: In one long dining room it seats roughly 35, plus six counter seats that overlook the hearth and the cooks’ line. The wine list focuses on varieties from mountainous and volcanic regions, a nod to the terrain of Altadena. Bernee is open daily from 5 to 10 p.m.
875 E. Mariposa St., Altadena, berneela.com
Bar Siesta
With a focus on conservas, sherries and other iconic items from Spain, two local food forces teamed up to launch a tapas destination in Silver Lake. Bar Siesta, now open in the former home of Alimento, serves classic Spanish dishes such as tortilla, patatas bravas, gildas and seasonal small plates from Heather Sperling (co-owner of Botanica), chef Keith Phillips (Botanica) and Lucia Flors and Carlos Leiva, the owners of tinned-fish operation Siesta Co. Their conservas are on full display at Bar Siesta, where the brand’s anchovies can top pan con tomate, the clams with beans arrive in a near-overflowing bowl, and tuna is stuffed into peppers.
The tins of Siesta Co. conservas lining the dining room’s shelves are available for purchase along with other imported Spanish items such as bomba rice, olive oil, crackers and jams. Pierluc Dallaire (Botanica) heads up a beverage program of Spanish sherries, ciders, vermouths, wines and beers. Bar Siesta is open Sunday, Monday and Thursday from 3 to 10 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 3 to 11 p.m.
1710 Silver Lake Blvd., Los Angeles, (323) 284-8325, barsiesta.co
Layla Beverly Hills
Bagel shop Layla opened a new location in Beverly Hills. Serving some of L.A.’s best bagels, it has drawn lines down the block at its original Santa Monica store since its launch in 2023. Now its lauded hand-rolled sourdough bagels and rainbow of seasonal toppings are available at its outpost on Beverly Drive. Open-faced options include heirloom tomatoes, smoked salmon, pomegranate with honey and more, while the bagel sandwiches can involve tuna, bacon with egg and cheese and beyond. The storefront offers seating as well as fresh-squeezed juice, a full espresso bar, plus a retail section of hot sauces, jams and other select pantry staples. Look for an expanded menu from chefs Sammi Tarantino and Sergio Espana in the coming months. Layla is open in Beverly Hills daily from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
233 S. Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills, laylabagels.com
Florence Osteria & Piano Bar
Restaurateur Francesco Zimone has long brought Italian specialties to diners, first with his U.S. outposts of Naples’ 1870-founded L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele, with restaurants in Hollywood, Long Beach, Santa Barbara and New York City. Now Zimone is branching out. At Florence Osteria & Piano Bar, his standalone venture, the Naples native is combining Tuscan dishes with live music in Beverly Grove amid Italian marble and an 85-year-old olive tree. Guests might spot a pianist, upright-bass players or other musicians at the center of the dining room while noshing on chef Giuseppe Gentile’s wood-fired meats and house-made pastas, grilled octopus and antipasti, while the open doors to the patio allow the music to flow. Florence Osteria & Piano Bar is open daily from 5 p.m. to midnight, with live music Thursday to Saturday from 7:30 to 10 p.m.
8265 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, (323) 413-2213, florenceosteria.com
American Beauty and the Win~Dow at the Grove
Westside steakhouse American Beauty just expanded to the Grove, and brought its walk-up window for some of L.A.’s most affordable smash burgers. Founded in 2019 in Venice, American Beauty — from chefs Elisha Ben-Haim and Evan Hickey — focuses on almond-wood-fired and dry-aged steaks and small plates and sides such as chicken liver mousse with persimmon jam, lobster tail dunked into xo-sauce butter, and large hash brown discs stuffed with cheese, onion and potato.
At the 6,500-square-foot Grove location, American Beauty branches off from its Venice originator with brunch and weekday lunch, along with a handful of unique cocktails and dinner dishes such as jerk-spice hamachi collar. Like its Venice counterpart, the Grove’s American Beauty also features the Win~Dow: a casual walk-up counter for fried chicken sandwiches, $4.35 smash burgers, fries, kale salads, hand-spun shakes and more. American Beauty is open at the Grove Monday to Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. The Win~Dow is open at the Grove daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
189 The Grove Drive, Los Angeles, (323) 955-0650, americanbeauty.la, thewin-dow.la
Club Fat Sal’s
Last month the Hollywood flagship of Fat Sal’s — a sub shop known for its piled-high sandwiches featuring mozzarella sticks, fries, pastrami and more — went up in smoke when a fire roared through its strip mall. Sushi Ajito, which was also damaged in the fire, remains temporarily closed. But within days, Fat Sal’s rose from the ashes: The team took over a nearby events space, flipping the former Next Door Lounge to an open-late iteration of the sandwich shop. Now called Club Fat Sal’s, taking inspiration from the space’s bar-like design, the new storefront serves the local chain’s full menu of fries, burgers, shakes and “fat” sandwiches, which come extra long and extra loaded. Club Fat Sal’s also sells its own merch. Find the new location open daily from 11 a.m. to 3 a.m.
1154 N. Highland Ave., Los Angeles, (323) 433-0573, fatsalsdeli.com
Bella’s Bread and Butter
Bella’s debuted in 2019 in Israel with pizzas, sandwiches, bread and breakfast spreads. Now the kosher bakery and cafe from a husband-and-wife team has made its way to Melrose with a pastry case brimming with croissants, fruit brioches and cookies; a wood-fired oven for pizzas, focaccias and sabich flatbreads; a full espresso bar; and daytime staples such as omelets, sandwiches, shakshuka and salads. The focus of the bakery is on chef-owner Nachman David Kruper’s sourdough bread, which can be purchased in loaves or as tartines with smoked salmon, avocado toast and more. Bella’s Bread and Butter is open Sunday and Tuesday to Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
7212 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, (323) 272-3315, bellasbread.com
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