gwen, hollywood.
dry aging room.
butcher display case.
like belcampo in santa monica, gwen is half butcher shop half restaurant, though the menus are very, very different. while you can get a la carte at the bar and patio areas, you want to go for "the feast" - a menu that starts with lots of charcuterie, moves to a salad, a house made pasta dish, a main course of your choosing, and desserts.
in addition to the wonderful food and service, i also adored the attention to detail. the exquisite dining room, views into the kitchen and dry-age rooms, wax seals on the wine and cocktail menus, the 'g' is even molded into the ice for cocktails.
the first nine items on the menu were an assortment of house-made toasts and charcuterie which came out all at once. every bite was amazing, and the focaccia had the most delicate buttery, crunchy texture.
pork rillette; focaccia.
toasted brioche; foie gras terrine; pork and liver terrine wrapped in proscuitto; tete de cochon.
chorizo, duck speck, toscano, blackstrap ham.
hearts of palm, whipped cucumber, fizzy grapes, crystal ice lettuce.
both the salad and pasta dish were a lovely interlude between the meaty start and main part of the meal. the salad was light and refreshing, while the raviolo was packed with umami and had a lovely, surprising heat from the anaheim chili foam.
chanterelle raviolo, anaheim chili espuma, purslane.
choose-your-own steak knives.
before our main course, our server brought over a wooden display box and asked us to pick our own steak knife! how cool is that? each was a different style and design, ranging from sleek to rustic, and all were absolutely gorgeous (and sharp!). then our perfectly cooked dry-aged bone-in ribeye showed up. this was hands down the best steak we had this year.
28-oz 30 day dry aged creekstone farms bone-in ribeye ($75 supplement).
served with main: cauliflower with garlic, capers, brown butter; creamed endive; smokey eggplant caponata.
celery sorbet, goats cheese, watercress granita.
we had a truly lovely experience at gwen. it's one of those places i wish we lived close enough to to be regulars, both of the butcher shop and the restaurant. i'm excited to go back and see how the menu changes with the seasons, and to experience grabbing a seat in their wine room.
sweetcorn semifreddo, huckleberry sorbet.
additional sweets, including a bone marrow caramel.
thanks for following along all my food and travel adventures this year! we went to seattle, reykjavik and austin, did lots of scuba diving, went to an unconventional valentine's dinner, took a hog butchery class, went to a modern taiwanese pop-up dinner, and ate exceptionally well in LA when we thought we were moving. i can't wait to see what life has in store for us next year!
6600 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028
