Burger is $26 or $28, I forget. But very limited, wouldn’t bank on getting one if you’re not one of the first 50 or so guests.
I think this kinda depends on what youre looking for. You can do a burger and a beer for like $50, or go with friends and try a lot, which i paid about $150 for. Personally can foresee this being one of my favorite restaurants in LA if they find a groove (not necessarily a given, the monthly menu change thing seems pretty ambitious) and figure out the service and pacing. I’ll definitely go back to see what they do with ingredients I love. I can definitely see this being a bar I make regular trips for fpr a burger and a cocktail, I don’t know many bars doing truly seasonal at this level.
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I’m excited this restaurant is fully flipping the menu every month (if they stick to what they’ve been saying)
Nothing I tried felt worth coming back for 
everything was good-ish but didn’t really have much that intrigued me. Obviously the “omg LA produce!” storyline but…I preferred my meal at Baby Bistro for half the price that felt like a better iteration of the same mostly genre-less (IE: can’t pin down a specific cuisine) great usage of local ingredients and seasonality.
Another instance of “I wish this didn’t open in Weho might it have been a more accessible price point for what they’re making” restaurant. I love Sean Brock - back in the day the tasting menu at McCrady’s was exceptional, I’d had many great meals at husk during his time, and my meal at Audrey was fantastic last time (never got to try June) but this felt…lacking in a lot of areas for me (service aside) or a real point of view other than “records are cool” (they are!)
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Well, that’s great because you can still get this one. 
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Tomatoes would have been great if they hadn’t been insanely oversalted. Tasted like they’d been seasoned ahead and then finished as if they were previously unsalted. Some of the nectarines were good, some underripe and hard.
Bread was nice. Jimmy Nardello jam was great.
Pork belly was excellent, good three ways: plain, with lime and avocado, and with fig.
I was getting full so finished with the burger. I told the bartender who was serving me I felt kind of lame for ordering the least Sean-Brocky thing on the menu, to which he replied, well, as he grills it he turns it 12 times, brushing it with aminos each time …. Exceptional patty, juicy and rare but still with some crust. Perfect bun. If your ideal burger has sauteed onions, ketchup, cheese, and a relatively high meat-to-bun ratio, this is a must-try.
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If anyone goes now that it’s October I’d love to know if they walk the walk on monthly menu overhauls
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Warrior: I think I liked the restaurant more than board consensus. All the dishes were good. Not great, not a Michelin star contender, but I liked it. Around Manuela level.
Peony: Nice neighborhood restaurant.
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Per my post on the Brentwood thread I agree with your comments. We went light. Really enoyed the Dashi jelly on the oysters, the tuna tartare was very good and my wife loved the Scallop dish. I tried a carrot with the sauce and it was delish. Was afraid of the noise level as we sat in the HiFi room but it was totally manageable. Very pretty space.
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food was generally good, but not memorable. Even give proximity to our house, I see no reason to return. it was not very busy on a Friday night. I would be surprised if it were to survive.
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I’ve had no desire to go back and everyone I’ve spoken to at work about it has hated it. A real waste of having Brock out here…
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Anybody been here recently? Dare I say the menu looks good right now
Meaning “anyone,” here? Or anyone, anywhere?
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The menu does look good. Far more Sean Brock-ish than when I went in the early days,
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lol seriously. based on the availability, it’s bad out there…
We went a few weeks ago and rather enjoyed our email.
Darling Burger (of course) - nice dry aged thick burger - pretty satisfying
Grilled Tehachapi grain bread served with strawberry preserves and butter - expected grilled slices of bread and got this; different and pretty good - more savory rather than sweet (like, say a cornbread); probably didn’t need all the herbs on top of the bread
Persian Cucumber with spring onion, smoked yogurt, and sorrel - loved this dish; smoked yogurt added a lot of depth, and since nice bright and herbal flavors from all the veggies (tough to see in the pic, but the smoked yogurt is a pool under the greens)
Special: Grilled quail with pluots - nice smoky, slightly gamey flavor (a good thing)
BBQ Pork Chop with Snap Peas and Green Garlic - well executed at medium rare (not as good as the Dunsmoor version but that’s the best one I’ve eaten); snap peas a touch over seasoned
Vermillion Rockfish with Sungold tomatoes, Manilla clams, Fresno Chili Butter, & Red Grits - enjoyed the fish; had a nice spicy kick, and the grits were a nice rich, flavorful foundation
Dressed lettuces & Herbs with Calamansi & Blossoms - was a good accompaniment to provide brightness and acidity
We’d definitely return and order most of the dishes above. The pork chop would be borderline, but that’s due to the peas. Unfortunately, the restaurant was pretty empty on a Saturday night, which was a shame, as the food was pretty good, and I think it’s a good space. I hope they start getting some more traffic.
Special shout out to the audio system - I spied an Accuphase amp and some Tannoy speakers. Couldn’t tell what the mains are - Tannoys as well? The DJ was spinning some nice vinyl while we were dining, and the sound was rich and palpable coming from that system.
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Funny this popped up this week. I went Friday night as my wife really liked our first visit. Meal was quite good though I agree with the comment about the seasoning on the beans with the Pork Chop but the pork chop itself was great, though I agree not as good as one one I had at Hatchet while Dunsmoor was still there. My wife had the abalone rice stew and loved it, and she had never had abalone before.
We shared the deviled eggs with bluefin, wood fired oysters with she crab butter and the aforementioned persian cucumbers and really liked them all. Also got the First Lady Pea succotash as a side and it was good but not great.
We had a long chat with Sean as my wife let it be known to our waitress that it was our anniversary and we were headed to Charleston in a couple weeks and were interested in some restaurant reccos.
He was very talkative and said that he was disappointed with how his opening went. He said all the experts told him not to do Southern fine dining in LA. That it wouldn’t work. He’s convinced now that he made a mistake listening to them and is slowly shifting the menu back to what I might call “his food”. Mentioned that he has some dishes in development that will reflect this change in approach so we’ll likely head back later in the year once they pop up on the menu.
The anniversary message also got us a comped blackberry sorbet eton mess. The sorbet was very good but the cream/meringue mess was fantastic. Great mix of textures and not too sweet.
PS the cocktail program is awesome though there were a couple on the April menu that I was very disappointed to miss out on (the asparagus looked very cool). I can recommend the Snow Pea (with a hint of sweet potato) if anyone goes this month. And yeah the sound system and music choices are great.
Dining room was not too crowded but the listening room was pretty full.
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Great intel.
I should give it another try.
One desultory meal the first week is not a fair shake.
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now I’m intrigued.
That listening bar is now closed, but the closure allowed Brock to focus his attention on the Los Angeles project, where Darling’s music director, DJ, and in-house speaker specialist, MaxV (a.k.a. Max Ville), built seven custom speakers to be used inside the restaurant, along with vintage Tannoy gear. According to Ville, the custom speakers are up-cycled from 1990s movie theater speakers. Interior designer Sean Leffers reworked the lounge area, building a C-shaped seating area that faces the booth, framed by a wall of records encased in walnut and birch. The main system features an Accuphase E-4000 integrated amplifier ($14K) — another hint of Japanese influence, alongside the Japanese cartridges used on the dual Technics turntables. According to an article in Eater LA, Darling fulfills Brock’s dream of creating a space where people can “slow down and pay closer attention to music and food.”
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