The Hit List: New LA Restaurants To Try Right Now - Los Angeles - The Infatuation

"Prepare for a bottleneck when you enter Lucia. Not because of a bad layout, but because everyone is stopped in their tracks gawking. This transportive Afro-Caribbean spot looks like a nightclub on Arrakis: Giant tulip structures soar toward the ceiling and pod-shaped booths resemble miniature Hollywood Bowl shells. The food is just as much of a conversation starter. Start with a pickled okra martini and spicy wagyu beef patties while watching gorgeous Sezane-wearing couples at the bar, then add the craggly, coconut-crusted fried chicken or jumbo braised oxtails. Expect a few clubby touches—a DJ booth next to the kitchen, a velvet rope outside, and the option to add a caviar bump to any dish—but Lucia is a restaurant first. One that you should get to soon, before the bottleneck spills onto Fairfax. Reservations are released two weeks in advance, with primetime tables usually snatched within an hour. Lucia’s seating is primarily booths though, so it’s easier to get in as a party of four than two. The bar is also first-come, first-served with an abridged menu of snackier dishes like saltfish croquettes and beef patties." - brant cox, sylvio martins, cathy park, garrett snyder, cathy park, cathy park, cathy park, brant cox, sylvio martins, cathy park, brant cox, brant cox, sylvio martins, cathy park, brant cox, sylvio martins, brant cox, cathy park, brant cox, brant cox, sylvio martins, garrett snyder, sylvio martins, cathy park