West Hollywood restaurant Somni is as comforting as it’s whimsical

Tucked away in a hidden backyard setting on bucolic Nemo Road in West Hollywood, not removed from a busy stretch of Santa Monica Boulevard, chef Aitor Zabala has opened an up to date model of his beloved Somni. Previously situated within the SLS Resort on LaCienega, the intimate restaurant earned two Michelin stars for its Catalan-inspired tasting menus, earlier than closing through the pandemic.

Wallpaper* dines at Somni

The temper: suave eating dream sequence

With Mediterranean and Basque roots, Somni 2.0 is a design ‘dream come true’ (the title interprets to ‘dream’ in Catalan.) Architect and designer Juli Capella Samper, from Barcelona’s studio Capella Garcia Arquitectura, didn’t need to compete with the restaurant’s first incarnation however moderately with a ‘dream of domesticity and consuming at house’. The doorway actually seems like you’re coming into the patio walkway of a non-public residence, with the chef ready within the kitchen to cook dinner up his dream meal. Friends enter onto a fascinating outside backyard walkway and patio beneath sycamore bushes, subsequent to an indoor curved 14-seat tasting desk bar.

Followers of the primary Somni will recognise the bull head sculpture by Spanish artist Okuda San Miguel with vibrant, major colors that punch up the in any other case serene impartial tones of the principle house. For personal eating, a aspect room holding a wine cellar could be booked for as much as six. The façade of the home feels extra like a small artwork gallery, the place visitors are greeted by an illuminated yellow giraffe sculpture resulting in tiles that nod to Gaudí and modernist Barcelona. The patio terrace expands this home micro-universe with small cane cubicles and sculptural floating clouds above and a fountain impressed by items by the Basque sculptor Eduardo Chillida.

The meals: whimsical Iberian flavours

Chef Aitor Zabala, who has cooked at El Bullí and Saam for José Andrés’ The Bazaar, is half Catalan and half Basque and flexes his conventional culinary roots via 20-plus beautiful bites with an avant-garde and kooky twist that features loads of delicate edible flowers as toppings and dish décor. Zabala likes to play with textures, flavours, and customized artisan ceramic plating whereas maintaining the flavours recognisable and comforting.

The surreal eating expertise begins within the backyard with finger meals similar to a crispy and ethereal Parmesan feather and thinly sliced Jamón Ibérico, earlier than you sit down inside on the chef’s counter for bigger plates similar to dashi with caviar formed like a fish, mussels in escabeche emulsion, and beets enshrouded in rose petals. Count on a number of signature dishes from the previous house, similar to a beef tartare-filled shiso tempura puff. A number of beverage pairing choices can be found, together with a powerful number of wines from Spain and California. You’ll finish your evening within the backyard, beneath the bushes, for espresso and ‘candy little issues’.