Salon de Cuisine
XIV
By Elyse Glickman
XIV by Michael Mina
8117 Sunset Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90046
323/656.1414
Hours of Operation
Sun-Wed, 6pm-11pm
Thu-Sat, 6pm-2am
For VIP services and requests, contact Jacob Shure, General Manager, at 310/612.3519 or
jacobs@sbe.com
The Michael Mina-anchored XIV opened with a splash back in 2008, but the pressure was on. The Crescent Heights/Laurel Canyon/Sunset location was many things in the decade before XIV claimed the address. However, the Philippe Starck design transformed this identity crisis-plagued space into a classic French salon with a 21st century state of mind, while Chef Steven Fretz did the same for the menu.
The restaurant by design is intended to be many things to many people, from young professionals coming in for happy hour, to celebrating couples and girl’s night out Chef Steven Fretz and his team have responded to L.A.’s diverse dining populations with vegetarian and vegan menus that neatly mirror his original menu concepts. The happy hour experience, which includes bite-sized versions of such popular selections like Fretz’s Jidori Chicken, effectively invites all-comers to the party to enjoy XIV’s unique attitude any way they please.
Though some Mina hallmarks (i.e. the Lobster Pot Pie) are menu staples, the dining experience is Fretz’s show. While service in the front of the house flows effortlessly, Fretz and his collaborative crew put heart and soul into every morsel coming out of the kitchen. For this reason alone, a first visit to XIV should involve investing in one of Fretz’s signature tasting menus. The “Fourteen From XIV” reveals his culinary style boldly challenges the practice of slapping now tired categories and genres onto restaurants, such as “Fusion.” His intent is to take you on a guided tour through the menu’s highlights and his sleight of hand mixing flavors that one would never have imagined would work together.
We knew our first course, Caviar Parfait, a Michael Mina staple, would be sublime. Courses that followed completely floored us, such as Baked Potato Pierogi (mixing Chicago-style Polish fare with Southern flair), Fried Green Tomatoes with Burrata cheese (Southern US-meets-Italian) and Wild King Salmon with cavatelli pasta and an unexpected hit of exotic spice. With the Nantucket Bay Scallop Tempura, scallops were not deep fried, but served on a delicate bed of tempura flakes, passion fruit, cauliflower, and almonds.
More familiar fare, such as Kobe Burger sliders and Piedmontese Fillet Mignon, were prepared with such care that we wanted to savor them slowly. The same went for the desserts (Toasted Almond Ice Cream with rhubarb, maraschino cherry and vanilla mousse; Mascarpone Mousse Tiramisu with chocolate sorbet) with lively mixes of flavor and texture.
With so much going for it, XIV is indeed a magic number.
