Dining Out: Ralph Lauren Pours the Perfect Cup in the O.C.

Plus Alice Waters’ new bar in Berkeley

Words by S. IRENE VIRBILA, DAVID NASH, ELIZABETH VARNELL, and REBECCA RUSSELL

Marcus Jernmark’s Subterranean Gem
At just 42 seats, LIELLE, from famed Swedish chef Marcus Jernmark, feels like a posh private club. The vibe is relaxed, with gentle lighting, leather banquettes, and Nordic craftsmanship. The single four-course menu makes ordering easy. Begin with artichoke and citrus with guanciale, black truffles and pine, followed by abalone seaweed rice with fermented hen-of-the-woods sauce and aged squab with yuzu and bitter greens. (Dessert is suitably icy.) The wine list, like the carefully sourced ingredients, is mostly California and from the best of the best. Tues.–Sat., 5:30–9 p.m. 9475 W. Pico Blvd., L.A., 213-376-6574; lielle.la. S.I.V.

Wilde’s Stages a British Invasion
Scones evoke fancy afternoon English tea with all the fixings. But at WILDE’S, the new Brit-inspired café-restaurant in L.A.’s Los Feliz, breakfast means tender scones with plenty of house-made clotted cream and bramble jam. Or maybe a bacon bap sandwich with brown sauce made in-house. By 1 p.m., the café phase ends, and at 5:30 it becomes a candlelit restaurant with a happy mélange of British- and California-influenced dishes. Chef Sarah Durning breaks down a whole hog every week to create sausages, chops, and more. Thurs.–Sun., 8 a.m.–1 p.m. (café); Wed.–Sat., 5:30–10 p.m. (restaurant). 1850 Hillhurst Ave., L.A.; wildesla.com. S.I.V.

Alice Waters Sets Up a Sibling Rivalry
Fifty-five years after Alice Waters opened Chez Panisse, her pioneering farm-to-table restaurant, the James Beard Award–winning chef debuts BAR PANISSE, a 50-seat walk-ins-only neighborhood cocktail bar next door to the Michelin-recommend dining spot. Designed by Studio KDA in Berkeley as an extension of its influential sibling, the space is led by chef Amelia Telc. The seasonal, ingredient-driven menu includes small bites like sage and anchovy fritters, gulf shrimp with salsa verde and aioli, and a roast Fogline Farm chicken with leeks, fava greens, and sultana grapes. The cocktail program features thoughtful takes on the classics, including a Sazerac that’s out of this world. Thurs.–Sun., 5–10 p.m. 1515 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley; barpanisse.com. D.N.

Gabriel Woo Gains a Next-Door Neighbor
Bar Cecil in Palm Springs now has a space for overflow to have an aperitif or a bite while waiting for a table: the new BEATON’S, a petite and glamorous boîte next door dressed up with a chic leopard-skin carpet, tufted red velvet banquettes, and dramatic black-and-white portraits of the once famous. Updated classic and creative cocktails from pink-jacketed mixologist Nick Turner are the thing here, but the kitchen under Bar Cecil chef Gabriel Woo offers some swell bar bites, like shoestring fries to dip in black truffle aioli, duck bao buns, and pigs in a blanket. Wed.–Sun., 5:30 p.m.—12 a.m. 1555 S. Palm Canyon Dr., Palm Springs; beatonsatbarcecil.com. S.I.V.

Noma Launches an L.A. Flavor Lab
Intrepid foragers willing to try their hand at home cooking, and those who want to taste the fruits of René Redzepi’s labor but lack entry to his sold-out L.A. residency, need look no further than a Silver Lake pop-up. For the first time, the Copenhagen chef and his staff are expanding NOMA PROJECTS outside the restaurant’s home city, stocked with a pantry of items developed in the team’s fermentation lab and test kitchen to bring home. In addition to standouts like Mushroom Garum, Nordic Soy Sauce, Cep Oil, and Corn Yuzu Hot Sauce, already bottled and ready, Redzepi and his team are collaborating with producers in L.A. and nationwide. In April, the group’s new cookbook, The Noma Guide to Building Flavor (Artisan), a companion volume to the 2018 Noma Guide to Fermentation, will join the tasty assortment. noma.dk/la. E.V.

Morning Brews by Ralph Lauren
Reflecting the Mediterranean atmosphere and coastal tranquility of Newport Beach, Ralph Lauren’s new 5,829-square-foot boutique at Fashion Island includes the debut of RALPH’S COFFEE in California. The sophisticated space achieves Ralph Lauren’s signature design aesthetic, perfectly balancing homey charm with customized elegance, featuring exposed timber beams, warm wood flooring, and arched, awe-inspiring windows. The house’s trademark preppy green hue features in the permanent coffee shop, which serves organic coffee blends, signature totes, graphic tees, and mugs. 401 Newport Center Dr., Newport Beach; ralphlauren.com. R.R.

Phil Rosenthal Opens His Dream Diner
As creator of I’ll Have What Phil’s Having on PBS and Somebody Feed Phil on Netflix, Phil Rosenthal leads a charmed life: He gets to eat everything delicious around the world. One thing was missing, though, a diner in his own neighborhood. When a space opened up on Larchmont Avenue, where he has coffee with friends every morning, Rosenthal pounced. Right away he enlisted his good friend, the renowned chef Nancy Silverton, to join him in opening his dream diner, MAX AND HELEN’S, named for his parents. How good is that? So good that at times the wait can be up to five hours (eight on the weekends) for the chance to dig into Max’s “fluffy” eggs (soft scrambled), stacks of pancakes, and a glorious yeast-raised waffle dabbed with maple butter. Happily, breakfast is served all day. At lunch, have Helen’s lush matzoh ball soup, the spectacular pastrami Reuben, or the open-faced hot turkey sandwich Rosenthal insisted on adding to the menu. You’ll want the tallow French fries, too. Polish off lunch or an early dinner with Silverton’s dreamy chocolate pudding or a slab of banana cream pie. With Rosenthal’s daughter Lily as creative director running the front of the house and her new husband Mason Royal as chef, the diner is very much a family affair. (Nostalgic family photos populate the walls of the cozy wood-lined space.) And if you just want to pop in for egg cream or a milkshake, try for a spot at the counter. No reservations, so prepare to wait — how long depends on luck and the time of day. But once you’re on the list, the world is your oyster. Browse in the nearby bookstore or wine shop, or even get a beauty treatment at nearby day spas. Phil says you can go watch a movie and come back over when your table is ready. Open daily 8 a.m.–8 p.m. 127 N. Larchmont Blvd., L.A.; maxandhelens.com. S.I.V.