Located in Santa Monica, California, and run by chef-owner Dave Beran, Pasjoli describes itself as an ‘elevated French bistro.’ Inspired by the markets of both Paris and Southern California, Beran makes use of the wide range of high-quality produce available locally and the high-powered brigade he has put together to serve up an exquisite contemporary take on classic French cuisine. From chicken liver mousse, caviar, and French onion tart to ratatouille, braised veal breast, and the signature pressed duck, every item on the menu is the fruit of respect for tradition, space for creativity, and a focus on careful composition.

The heart of Pasjoli

The Michelin Guide has described Pasjoli as “irresistibly charming.” Situated on Santa Monica’s Main Street, its two rooms represent an inviting escape from the relentless retail landscape outside. Exposed brick walls, wooden beams, and white kitchen tiles offset lavish design details such as floral silk wallpaper and green velvet banquettes. The rear of the dining space looks onto the open kitchen, allowing guests to watch the team of chefs preparing the dishes they then bring to the tables. In fact, it is Beran himself who prepares and serves the pressed duck, in an elaborate ceremony he performs for up to 14 sets of diners every evening.

Beran was born in Wisconsin and graduated in business from Lake Forest College in Illinois before embarking on a culinary career. Among his first experiences in the kitchen were stints at Chicago restaurants MK and Tru, but his big break came in 2006 when he started work for chef Grant Achatz at the three-Michelin-starred Alinea. By 2008 he was Chef de Cuisine and in 2011 Achatz gave him the role of Executive Chef at his new restaurant Next. Beran quickly guided Next to a James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant and a few years later he won his own James Beard Award for Best Chef: Great Lakes.

After leaving Next in 2016, he moved to Los Angeles, where the following year he opened his first restaurant, Dialogue, followed by Pasjoli in 2019. Both restaurants earned Michelin stars, but while Dialogue closed its doors permanently during the pandemic in 2020, Pasjoli survived and continues to go from strength to strength.

Among its long list of awards and recognitions, Pasjoli boasts a Michelin star, first awarded in 2019, the year it opened. That same year, the restaurant was one of Food & Wine’s Top Openings, received five stars from the Forbes Travel Guide, and featured in both the Best New Restaurants in the World list published by The Infatuation and the New York Times’ list of Top 10 Best Los Angeles Dishes. The accolades continued in 2020, with inclusion in three different Best New Restaurants in America rankings, from the Robb Report, Esquire, and GQ respectively.

The Chef

Dave Beran was born in Wisconsin and began his culinary career in Chicago at MK and then Tru. In 2006, he started at Alinea under chef Grant Achatz, earning promotion to Chef de Cuisine in 2008. He was then appointed Executive Chef at sister restaurant Next when it opened in 2011. Under his leadership, Next won a James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant in 2012. Over the following years, Beran researched and created 15 tasting menus, exploring different kinds of cuisine from around the world, from French and Italian to Thai, Japanese, and Vegan. All but one of these menus received the Chicago Tribune’s top four-star rating. In 2014, Beran won the James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef: Great Lakes, along with a Best New Chef Award from Food & Wine.

In 2016, Beran moved to LA, where he spent a year researching his own restaurant concept. When Dialogue opened, it was named one of the Best New Restaurants in America by GQ. It also received a Michelin star and five stars from Forbes Travel Guide, before becoming a victim of the pandemic in 2020.

In 2019, he opened a second restaurant, a high-end French Bistro in Santa Monica called Pasjoli, which in turn earned a Michelin star in 2021.

Restaurant

The name Pasjoli is a play on the French words ‘pas jolie,’ literally meaning ‘not pretty’ but also referring to the fact that this is a substitute for the restaurant chef-owner Dave Beran originally intended to open, which would have been called ‘Jolie.’ As the name suggests, the cuisine here is unapologetically French, albeit somewhat adapted in line with Southern Californian ingredients and Beran’s personal preferences.

Pasjoli has earned a long series of accolades. Besides the Michelin star it was first awarded soon after opening, it received five stars from the Forbes Travel Guide, was one of Food & Wine’s Top Openings, and made it to The Infatuation’s Best New Restaurants in the World list, all in 2019. The following year, Pasjoli was a James Beard Award nominee for Best New Restaurant while also featuring in the Best New Restaurants in America lists produced by the Robb Report, GQ, and Esquire.

Beran is set to open a new fine-dining restaurant near Pasjoli in Santa Monica in the second half of 2024. Inspired by the concept of the ‘secret garden,’ the new venture is situated in an indoor/outdoor space redeveloped by architect Steve Rugo, who also designed Alinea, Next, Dialogue, and Pasjoli.

Recipes and dishes

The menus at Pasjoli showcase the grand traditions of French—specifically Parisian—bistro cuisine, while adopting a modern approach and taking advantage of Southern California’s finest produce. Chef Beran believes in constructing dishes, and indeed entire tasting menus, that are complex in conception and composition while managing to remain simple in terms of aesthetics and presentation.

Beran’s signature dish at Pasjoli is, without a doubt, the pressed duck. Serving two people, the dish must be ordered in advance, and Beran prepares it himself at the table in a lavish floor show. He starts by lightly roasting the whole duck over a burner, while recounting the influence of Escoffier, the godfather of traditional French cuisine, to his diners. He then carves the breast meat and places it on a platter, which is taken to the kitchen by a staff member. The various remaining parts of the duck are then fitted into a silver press to extract all the juices. These are then warmed with red Bordeaux and Cognac to form a jus for the slices of breast when they return from the kitchen, beautifully sliced and plated.

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