LA’s Best Schnitzel Spot Lustig Close in Culver City on January 26 After One Year | Eater LA
"In just a few weeks, an Austrian-style restaurant in Culver City’s Helms Bakery project will close; Chef Bernhard Mairinger confirmed the closure in the restaurant’s email newsletter and told Eater over the phone that he couldn’t continue after a rough year that involved multiple changes to the restaurant’s hours of operation, menu, and staffing. The final night of service will be Sunday, January 26, giving regulars plenty of time to visit before it closes. Mairinger says that while he was pleasantly surprised by the amount of support from local diners, it was a challenge to navigate the sometimes daily shifts in how busy the restaurant would be — “Some nights were nearly empty,” he says, “while others could be so busy that staff members would feel overwhelmed.” He framed the broader economic challenge this way: “LA’s in a weird place where people are fine paying $20 for a croissant and coffee but complain about paying $50 for dinner. Everything we do is [made] in-house.” He also explained that he eventually had to undercharge for many menu items to be competitive: “We should’ve been charging 15 to 20 percent more given the quality of the ingredients, with the cost of beef, veal, and even chicken,” and he contrasted Culver City’s price sensitivity with Beverly Hills, where his previous restaurant Bierbeisl operated from 2012 to 2014 and diners were less price sensitive. Until the closure, the restaurant is offering a slightly edited menu of its most popular dishes and 30 percent off on wine to help move inventory, continuing to fry up veal and chicken schnitzel served Austrian-style with yuzu-lingonberry chutney or German-style with a wild mushroom sauce; a French-style “Croque Monsieur” schnitzel with herb béchamel, ham, and provolone; chicken liver mousse profiteroles; cheese-infused käsekrainer sausage; and an organic sourdough pretzel. For dessert, the Black Forest cake with Fabbri cherries and apple strudel sorbet will remain featured, and a tongue-in-cheek “market price” serving of ketchup for nearby Father’s Office still occupies a small rectangle on the menu. The closure is attributed to a turndown in the local economy (especially among film and television workers), high ingredient prices, and high labor costs — part of a wave of notable Los Angeles closures at the end of 2024 that included Catch Steak, Eveleigh, The Rose Venice, and Crossroads Calabasas. As Matthew Kang, lead editor, put it: “A fantastic wiener schnitzel served with a sweet lingonberry yuzu sauce will likely end up on every table. Don’t skip desserts, like the gingerbread ‘mille feuille’ with Bavarian creme or apple strudel sorbet with apple cigars.”" - Matthew Kang
