Cassia — Santa Monica, USA
The world’s great love affair with pan-Asian cuisine began along both sides of the Pacific Rim, so it’s only appropriate that the newly opened Cassia in Los Angeles should fly the flag so proudly. Head chef Bryant Ng, ex The Spice Table, parlays his Singaporean-Chinese culinary chops into a slick, airy 5,000 sq ft brasserie designed by local outfit, Montalba Architects. Set on the ground floor of Santa Monica’s 1937 Art Deco Telephone Building, the high-ceilinged space is framed by tables topped with Italian Calacatta white marble, bleached walnut mid-century furniture and plenty of brushed galvanized steel. Very superficially, the East meets West menu may take its cues from French traditions (and, to a large extent, Cassia’s interior décor), but the flavours are firmly South-East Asian ranging from the classic Singaporean white pepper crab and jellyfish salad paired with shredded chicken and crispy rice with a sesame-bacon dressing to plump escargots baked in lemongrass butter and a jolt of Vietnamese coffee pudding. Meanwhile, post-prandial tipples await at the adjoining bar, which serves up an eclectic mix of sparkling wines from the Canary Islands, small-production Old World wines, handcrafted beers from Pasadena, and an energetic cocktail laced with cassia-infused Cardamaro and apple wood smoke.
INFORMATION
Website
ADDRESS
1314 7th Street
Santa Monica
California
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Daven Wu is the Singapore Editor at Wallpaper*. A former corporate lawyer, he has been covering Singapore and the neighbouring South-East Asian region since 1999, writing extensively about architecture, design, and travel for both the magazine and website. He is also the City Editor for the Phaidon Wallpaper* City Guide to Singapore.
-
In Helsinki, Pauline Curnier Jardin has created the grotesque amusement park of her dreams
French artist Pauline Curnier Jardin celebrates otherness at Kiasma, Helsinki’s Museum of Contemporary Art
By Alison Hugill Published
-
A celestial New York exhibition showcases Roman and Williams’ mastery of lighting
Lauded design studio Roman and Williams is exhibiting 100 variations of its lighting ‘family tree’ inside a historic Tribeca space
By Dan Howarth Published
-
‘He immortalised the birth of the supermodel’: inside Dior’s career-spanning retrospective of photographer Peter Lindbergh
Olivier Flaviano, curator and head of Paris’ La Galerie Dior, talks us through a new Peter Lindbergh retrospective, which celebrates the seminal German photographer’s longtime relationship with the French house
By Jack Moss Published
-
An intimate spa at high-design New York country hotel Inness is now open
Inness brings Manhattan-calibre wellness to the rural hamlet of Accord, New York
By Craig Kellogg Published
-
Midtown Manhattan restaurant Ánimo! takes its cues from Mexican morning rituals
Jordana Maisie Design Studio creates a minimalistic yet referential setting for Ánimo!
By Adrian Madlener Published
-
The Beachside hotel on Nantucket is ‘a love letter to the American summer’
The Beachside on Nantucket is a laid-back hotel designed by Parts and Labor Design studio, part of the Wallpaper* USA 400 consortium
By Daven Wu Published
-
Fall in New York? Artist Francesco Clemente and chef Daniel Humm have designed a destination bar worth making the trip for
Francesco Clemente has created a suite of magical friezes for the Clemente Bar, which opens at Daniel Humm’s Eleven Madison Park restaurant in New York this week
By Caragh McKay Published
-
Sleep like a Prince at Airbnb’s Purple Rain house in Minneapolis
Airbnb introduces the newly restored Purple Rain house, a tribute to Prince’s musical genius and the movie and song’s 40th anniversary
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
-
The new Los Angeles restaurants to book now: indulgent caviar dreams and fresh Mediterranean fare
Explore the best new restaurants in Los Angeles, from Puzzle, a Parisian speakeasy on Sunset Boulevard, to Orla, a Mediterranean voyage in Santa Monica
By Carole Dixon Last updated
-
One&Only’s portfolio of ultra-luxury escapes reaches out to new horizons
From the Maldives to Mexico, One&Only’s resorts and private homes around the world offer exceptional stays in idyllic locations, soon to include a first USA property, designed by Olson Kundig
By Simon Mills Published
-
So & So’s Piano Bar is Hell’s Kitchen’s new best-kept secret
So & So’s Piano Bar in New York City provides a seductive backdrop for nightly live music performances that celebrate the ‘high-low’
By Dan Howarth Published