INDUSTRY INSIGHT: 
Wilshire Restaurant
2454 Wilshire Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90403
310.586.1707
www.wilshirerestaurant.com
Wilshire
Amber Lit Foodie and Wine Haven for the Well-Suited
By Alyson Dutch
Formerly the Black Forest, across from Santa Monica’s iconic Lawn Bowls Club on Wilshire Boulevard is a find called Wilshire Restaurant. The bar is lively and filled with well-heeled entrepreneurs, savvy women, and groups of co-workers sharing stories over inventive cocktails. The excellent wine list will thrill wine freaks to know that the hallowed 2005 vintages are included on their by-the-glass list. The standout feature of this eatery, however, is the cityscape patio in the back, lined with a long crystal burning fireplace ablaze in amber light and candles. A step down and around the corner is another less boisterous outdoor bar. A floating glass executive dining room for 12 tops the patio. Inside, the environment of the Wilshire is rich, designed in masculine wood walls with grooves that hold slices of backlit agate. It’s very cool in a modern library-esqe comfy kind of way.
Though the Wilshire opened in 2006 (the brainchild of cardiologist Steve Levine), it’s finally come into its own. Executive Chef Andrew Kirschner, who comes from the Aspen restaurant scene and Table 8 on Melrose, offers California cuisine with global accents. While Nobu Matsushita may have been the king of miso-marinated cod for some time, Kirschner’s version sets the fish atop a mound of butter crisped shitake mushrooms and crispy rice. And frankly, it’s much better. The house-made ricotta cheese gnocchi with hedgehog mushrooms, cipolini onions, and roasted hazelnuts is sublime, especially with a glass of Macon Pierreclos Theret ’07. All of the menu choices have ethnic twists to them, whether it is the mac and cheese with English peas and bacon or the madras-marinated half chicken with lemongrass risotto. One of the charming things on this season’s menu is the huckleberry. The unusual berries are everywhere from a compote over the oakwood crispy grilled duck to the passion fruit sorbet with huckleberries and pistachios. And, thanks to the charming wine director, Jennifer Faulker, the duck really rocks with a glass of Salsipuedes Pinot Noir ’06. For those who appreciate that kind of thing, it’s important to note her interesting menu of unlikely suspects. Taittinger’s Prestige rose bubbly can be had by the glass, and the tiny production artisanal Billecart Salmon is offered in a half bottle! Though most might expect a chardonnay to be from California or France, the Wilshire’s by-the-glass selection comes from Piedmont’s DeForville. When one might expect a Syrah from Santa Ynez’s Qupe, the menu sports a Marsanne. Gotta love that!
Wilshire Restaurant is open for lunch and dinner and offers a happy hour and late night menu.
