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Dinner For Two At L.A.'s Soon-To-Be Hottest Restaurant Will Set You Back $1200
Vespertine in Culver City. (Photo via Vespertine/Facebook)
Jordan Kahn's newest mindf*ck restaurant Vespertine has set its opening date: July 6. The restaurant-cum-immersive-theater-experience has been four years in the making, and has spawned Kahn's neighboring daytime side project Destroyer.
Kahn, of course, was the mastermind behind the former Red Medicine in Beverly Hills and a winner of Food & Wine's Best New Chefs honor. Before that, he worked with some of the most famous names in the food world, including Grant Achatz, Thomas Keller, and Michael Mina.
“Vespertine is unusual, exceptional and unprecedented," Kahn recently told Food & Wine. "The food isn’t always the most important part of a meal. ...Even the best meal you have, you won’t remember all the courses. What we’re trying to create is an everlasting memory for our guests.”
And it certainly seems like Kahn has succeeded in that. According to a recent GQ profile, the restaurant has it's own mythology ("...a machine artifact from an extraterrestrial planet that was left here like a billion years ago by a species that were moon worshippers"), and music will play an integral part ("The music might be the most important part of the whole experience. ...The sound and the space [are] the transportive mechanism.")
So, how much is a dinner for two? Well, the answer is not that simple. First off, the full tasting menu (which is 18 courses and lasts several hours) is $250 per person. Next, if you want to have drinks with the meal (which, obviously) beverage option I ("a complete pairing to match the menu in its entirety," notes Vespertine's reservation page) will add another $200 per person (there is also a less expensive/inclusive beverage option II and III). Finally, there is something called "Addilantis" (an after-dinner experience that takes guests to Vespertine's outdoor rooftop "to our garden for coffee, tea, and a selection of after-dinner drinks. We ask that all guests participate.") How much for Addilantis? Another $30 per person. Subtotal thus far for two people? $960. Add in tax and a 20% service charge, and you've come out to a $1,240.80 for two.
But don't worry, the restaurant will sell out fast. The whole place only has 22 seats, and parties no bigger than four can reserve. So grab those seats now—you're going to be hearing a lot about this place soon.
Vespertine is located at 3599 Hayden Avenue in Culver City. Reservations can be made here.
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