WEST HOLLYWOOD — Behind unassuming wooden doors on the Sunset Strip, Bar Marmont has been staging a quiet comeback – and charting a new course on the culinary scene.
Since its unofficial reopening after last July’s Prada party, the bar has been a low-key insider hangout where regulars like Kirsten Dunst, Kate Bosworth and Leonardo DiCaprio enjoy a good martini or glass of wine. But even owner André Balazs admits the vittles — formerly a pan-Asian assortment of chicken skewers and spring rolls — left a bit to be desired. “In recent years, the Chateau has become more known for its cuisine, but that wasn’t true 10 years ago. And the bar had become quite run-down.”
Balazs describes his gradual refurbishment as a subtle makeover. “The goal was to refresh it without changing it dramatically; to bring another level of sophistication without changing its spirit. I hope it looks like it always has, only better.”
Indeed, the new finishes and modifications to the back dining areas look as if they’ve always been there, though the chic diners enjoying the food are new. Three months ago, Balazs lured chef Carolynn Spence from The Spotted Pig in New York to create a gastro-pub menu for Bar Marmont and to eventually take over the hotel’s main dining room as well. “I wanted the Chateau to have fine dining and a more raucous bar and grill option, like an old school grill room,” he says. Of Spence’s impressive CV (she’s also worked at Mesa Grill, AZ and Blue Smoke in Manhattan), he says, “I certainly know the culinary background from whence she comes; you can read all that, but you don’t understand until you taste her food.”
Spence, an unpretentious blonde who sports some fierce tattoos, has her favorites among the menu of bar snacks, small plates, platters and sides. “I love the bacon-wrapped prunes and the cider-braised pork shank, and the salty pistachio crumble is my favorite dessert ever.”
She favors featuring one hit of flavor in each dish, and while she counts Spanish, French and Italian among her culinary influences, “I never mix them all on a plate.” She doesn’t mind the inevitable requests for no butter, no fat, etc., but “only if it doesn’t ruin the integrity of the dish. Then, I’d rather not serve it.”
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And for those who are more calorie-conscious than epicurean, there are plenty of chain restaurants on the Strip. As Spence says, bluntly, “You can get a salad with grilled chicken down the block.”