Phillip Frankland Lee will open with no servers at his new Scratch Bar and Kitchen in Encino

Nov. 2, 2015 8 AM PT

Chef Phillip Frankland Lee has settled on Encino as the new location for Scratch Bar and Kitchen. The Ventura Boulevard restaurant will be the second iteration of Scratch Bar, the Beverly Hills restaurant Lee closed this summer after a two-year run.

Known for his whimsical small plates, Lee plans to take the idea of a chef’s counter to the extreme with his new concept, scheduled to open in early December.

Lee will have 20 seats at the kitchen counter, up against the stove. There will also be a 12-seat communal table in the kitchen area.

“The surface you eat on is the same surface the chefs will chop and prepare your food on,” said Lee. “And anyone who sits in the kitchen won’t have any servers. The cooks and the chefs will be the servers.”

Lee and his staff will give diners a couple of options for lunch and dinner. You can choose one of the restaurant’s tasting menus, or the staff will also design bespoke a la carte dishes for each guest, based on their likes and dislikes, and the proteins and ingredients available in the kitchen that day.

“Imagine ‘Cheers,’ but as a fine-dining restaurant,” said Lee. “You are going to sit down and talk to the chef and the cook like you would at a sushi bar.”

The restaurant will consist of one storefront for the kitchen and its seating, and an adjacent storefront, separated by a glass wall, that will house the traditional dining room and a bar. The restaurant wil initially open with the kitchen portion and its seating area — followed by the bar and dining room once Lee receives his liquor license.

There will be a lot more of the homemade bread, cheese, butter and charcuterie Lee is known for at Scratch Bar, with plans to offer eight cheeses and 15 kinds of charcuterie, all housemade. Lee says he had a special 12-foot hearth built, and the kitchen will be 100% wood-burning.

Lee, who also is also the chef/owner of the the Gadarene Swine, a vegetarian restaurant in Studio City, decided to open this restaurant in a San Fernando Valley shopping center he’s been coming to since he was 4 years old.

“Being from the Valley, I have a lot of pride for the Valley,” said Lee. “Disappointed there was never really good food. I grew up eating sushi or CPK. No real chef restaurants. I always thought I’d go over the hill and learn how to cook then come back to my hometown and bring what I learned over here.”

Lee says you can expect the price point to be approachable. And, being in a giant shopping center, there will be plenty of parking.

The restaurant will eventually be open seven days a week for lunch and dinner, but will initially open with just dinner. Reservations can be made online at Open Table beginning Monday.

16101 Ventura Blvd., Encino, www.scratchrestaurants.com.

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