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Vespertine stands like a monolith. Though unlike the black slab from the iconic film, 2001, this monolith, designed by architect Eric Owen Moss, is a crimson red, crinkle-cut shaped, four-story building, that upon opening was dubbed ‘waffle’ due to its undulating sides—and it has fanatical worshipers just the same. “The building is actually just called Vespertine now, and we’re so honored to be a part of it,” says chef/operator Jordan Kahn.
Vespertine has been closed to in-house dining since 2020, and Kahn invited us to tour the space as he prepares to reopen Vespertine to dine-in guests once again. For the unfamiliar, Vespertine first came on the Los Angeles dining scene in 2017 and has been a beacon, drawing in the world of fine-dining aficionados to experience chef Kahn’s avant-garde style of cooking, which earned him two Michelin stars and a seat at the top of the LA dining food chain.
But 2020 hit Kahn’s establishment like a sledgehammer, forcing the enigmatic chef to switch gears. During the pandemic, Vespertine was reimagined as a fine-dining takeout force, offering everything from fried chicken and caviar to collaborating with Eleven Madison Park. “We were so busy that we would get orders for 600 meals at a time,” says Kahn.
Jordan Kahn (photo: thegry.space) and that mussel dish
During its closure to the public, Kahn also had to endure a series of accusations about his management style with allegations of a particularly harsh working environment. But it also gave rise to a new restaurant, Meteora, which is Kahn’s holistic eatery that promises to take diners on a multi-sensory journey through nature, creativity, and discovery. As Kahn describes, it gave him room to think about Vespertine, how he wanted to change it, how his management style should evolve, and what the restaurant could truly become.
With the pandemic in the rear window, a new team, and a whole new outlook on both life and the kitchen, Kahn has emerged out the other side, ready to reopen Vespertine to the public, and once again establish himself as the force of nature in fine dining that his incredibly loyal fans have come to know, expect, and love.
Here’s our one-on-one with the chef on Vespertine 2.0.
Photo: Stephen Paul
Jordan, tell us what’s new and different at Vespertine.
Let me walk you through our spaces so you can see the new guest experience. [Kahn walks us to the side of the building where a lush garden with gray, concrete, individualized seating areas awaits guests.] Guests are now greeted outside at the garden. And I would say the biggest change is that we’re focused on a sense of humanness and heartfulness. A host advisor will sit with the guests to give them an overview of what they’re about to experience (with surprises of course). But the host will ask about preferences, allergies, etc. We don’t want the service to be robotic and we do a lot less research on the guests so we can rid ourselves of preconceived notions about them.
The guests are also given a light beverage and papaya because what we discovered is that papaya aids in digestion through an enzyme called papain. This will hopefully get our guests ready to eat in a whole new way.
"Monolith" Vespertine in Culver City and a new squid dish
[Kahn leads us indoors and up metal stairs to the fourth floor where a pristine kitchen doubles as a laboratory with sous chefs experimenting with Kahn’s new menu for upcoming ‘friends and family meals.’ Views of the setting LA sun portend stunning vistas for future diners.]
Every guest is walked through the kitchen and they’re welcome to interact with the chefs if they want. They can even grab a piece of food!
Wait, what? I would never.
Well, if the chefs want them to try something, they’re welcome to it.
Music was a big part of the original Vespertine, how will that be different?
Music will be in all the spaces just like before but will have a more environmental feel. I call it ‘new nature’. Like the sound of rain or trees, the sound of the forest, but not literally those sounds. I collaborated with Icelandic vocalist Jónsi and Paul Corley of Sigur Rós/Liminal to make sure every part of the meal will fill guests with a sense of time and space.
One of the criticisms or maybe compliments I’ve heard of Vespertine 1.0, is that it felt like dining in a museum. Everything was incredibly quiet. Is this going to be the same?
My perspective has changed a lot. I think I’m more able to connect with people and lead with gentleness. It’s okay not to be perfect and polished. I want it to feel less restrictive.
[Kahn leads us to the dining hall, restricted to 20 guests with all two-tops save one four-top. Kahn points out the dinnerware.]
Each piece is designed by artists Mitch Iburg & Zoey Powell of Studio Alluvium and corresponds to each of the 16+ courses. There’s no finishing or varnish, everything is natural.
[Kahn leads us downstairs to the first floor, where a tea gallery is set up for guests to unwind after the meal.]
The tea comes from a company called Cloud Hidden Tea. We ask our guests, ‘How do you feel’ or ‘How do you want to feel’ and that will dictate what kind of tea we give them. The tea gallery will be bathed in a warm, glowing light.
Ceramics at Vespertine
Can you walk us through how the menu has changed and what guests can expect? Is there a narrative?
The narrative of the menu is the ‘origin story of everything’. First, there were plants, then the Cambrian explosion with sea life. We have the first trees and civilization. The main, if you want to call it that, will be an aged dairy calf who only drank its mother’s milk and whose mother was 100% grass-fed. I didn’t want to keep anything from the previous menu, but my wife convinced me to at least pay homage with a couple of dishes. We used to have a scallop dish that was inspired by a trip I took to Iceland where they have these black sand beaches. That’s one that we’re sort of keeping, except it’s now a mussel dish with an iridescent cover that’s edible.
Last question. It seems to me that the last couple of years made you rethink a lot of your work/life balance. You seem to be less focused on perfection and more on experience. How much self-reflection have you done since the allegations by former employees came out against you?
I think I was so focused on the guest experience being perfect and didn’t fully take into account the staff’s role in that. Because to have the best experience, it has to come from the staff. And I didn’t prioritize the staff in that way. The kitchen is our dojo. It’s our space to feel energized. Before, I was so focused only on the guest and I was depleted and not feeling great after a shift. Now that I’ve shifted my thinking, I feel nourished by the work and balanced. And I think that’s the biggest difference. And I think that will be reflected in the experience with the guests when we reopen.
Vespertine is slated to reopen on April 2nd, 2024.
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