A superstar chef returns to L.A.

The revamped Citrus at Social stands out among this season’s crop of new Los Angeles restaurants, said S. Irene Virbila in the Los Angeles Times. Its citrus-hued dining room “may be the most glamorous” in the city, and “there’s not a boring dish on the menu”—except perhaps the lobster burger, and even that has its fans. Housed in the historic Hollywood Athletic Club, the restaurant is now in its third incarnation. Chef Michel Richard opened the original Citrus in 1987, and his inventive French-California menu “defined an era.” After Richard left in 1998, however, Citrus became a less-than-successful Moroccan-themed restaurant.

Now Richard, “one of the best chefs in the country,” is back as consulting chef. Appetizers include an onion tart with smoked salmon and crème fraîche, “luscious” mussel chowder, and a cuttlefish carbonara that makes Nobu’s “famous squid ‘pasta’ seem clumsy in comparison.” Instead of noodles, this dish uses tender cuttlefish cut to resemble fettuccine. Among the main courses is lobster with fennel—“one of Richard’s signature dishes.” A highlight of the impressive dessert menu is the “Kit Kat Bar”—“a long rectangle of chocolate with a layer of fine hazelnut praline inside.”

6525 Sunset Blvd., (323) 337-9797

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