A longtime Los Angeles restaurant veteran debuted Studio City’s newest Spanish restaurant and wine bar this fall. General manager of Laurel Canyon’s Pace, Che Peña, opened Unidos Restaurant and Wine Bar in late September. Unidos’s menu is based on Peña’s time living in Spain, showcasing regional flavors from Valencia, Sevilla, San Sebastian, and Barcelona, and beyond with plenty of wine to match.
Unidos is quite a moment for Peña as the first restaurant he’s opened independently. He began his career decades ago as a busboy at the Ivy on Robertson Boulevard and eventually became general manager at Pace in Laurel Canyon. For Unidos, Peña recruited chef Rafael Torres to co-produce traditional Spanish dishes like jamon Iberico boards, garlicky gambas al ajillo, paella, small pinxtos, Spanish tortilla, and steak prepared over an open flame. The wine list is full of bottles from Spain, California, France, and Italy. Though a chef himself, Peña collaborated with Torres to bring the menu to life: Torres has a long history of developing opening menus in Los Angeles, including the now-closed Il Piccolino in Hollywood.
Peña took over the shuttered Akira Sushi space, which now bears design touches by his wife Nancilee Peña, who took down the previous tenant’s bright lights for warmer tones. Unidos Restaurant and Wine Bar is open daily at 11830 Ventura Boulevard, Studio City, CA 91604, from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday and until 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Weekend arrests at the Abbey and throughout West Hollywood
Over the weekend, social media users observed a high presence of law enforcement in West Hollywood and the Abbey. Though initial reports stated that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was in the area, the Los Angeles Times confirmed with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department that the operation was in response to pickpockets, drug sales, and other criminal activity in the area.
Orson Welles’ favorite Los Angeles restaurant
Ma Maison played a significant role in Hollywood celebrity culture. Before closing in 1985, the restaurant became a celebrity mainstay and the launchpad of chef Wolfgang Puck. When Puck took over in the early 1970s, he scoured farms between Los Angeles and San Diego to find the best produce, eventually overhauling the menu to showcase California’s bounty, an innovative process for the 1970s. As Puck adjusted the menu, a regular customer was unofficially designated to test recipes: Orson Welles, writes the Takeout.
World-renowned Sudachi Tokyo in Los Angeles for three nights
To celebrate the Tokyo-based Sudachi’s nomination to the Michelin Guide, Asakura will host three collaboration dinners from November 20 to November 23 that feature 12 dishes. Two seatings are available each night at 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. for $300 per person. To reserve a table, visit Tock.
Dining and Cooking