Pujol's Enrique Olvera expands his L.A. restaurant empire with Atla

An overhead photo of a plate of al pastor.

Aug. 10, 2023 6 AM PT

Atla

World-renowned chef Enrique Olvera has made his name reimagining and honoring Mexican cuisine in restaurants such as Mexico City’s Pujol and New York City’s Cosme. After touching down in the Arts District in 2020 with Damian and Ditroit, Olvera is now serving the Westside with Atla. The chef’s Atla concept — inspired by the interplay of water and fire — first opened in New York City in 2017, presenting a more casual outlet for his cooking. Now, with more than 7,000 square feet of space in Venice — double the size of New York’s — L.A. has its own edition, adjacent to Felix.

An overhead photo of a bowl of carrot salad and two kinds of tacos.

Opening close to the ocean always made sense to Olvera. The chef’s home base is still Mexico City, but he tends to stay near the water when he visits Los Angeles, where he sees the atmosphere as more laid-back and its diners tend toward high-quality products in casual settings. “That’s why we felt that Atla would make sense in Venice,” he said. “It’s a restaurant that has some adaptability: It’s not too formal, not only in the way that we present the food but also in the way that the concept is designed. It’s a concept that can be a little bit of everything for everyone.”

Marisol Corona is heading the kitchen in Venice, as she did in New York, and will oversee a menu divergent from the more L.A.-familiar restaurants by Olvera and his international restaurant group, Casamata. Whereas Damian leans closer to Cosme, where the menu feels more conceptual, and Ditroit plays off the menu of Damian with tacos built from those same ingredients, the Venice menu is more about creating memorable everyday dishes from more standard ingredients. Pork al pastor gringa layers adobado, pineapple butter and quesillo over an open-face, house-made flour tortilla; a signature dish studs chicken soup with chickpeas; and the restaurant’s vegetarian taco combines Brussels sprouts with spicy peanut butter and soy sauce.

Atla’s dishes tend to be health-minded and, given L.A.’s year-round produce selection, a number of them will remain in Venice long after they’ve vanished from New York’s location — such as a carrot salad featuring a rainbow of shaved carrots with radicchio, turmeric, dried apricots and preserved olives, all in a habanero dressing. The beverage program — overseen by Javier Gomez, formerly of Casamata’s Ticuchi — also draws from the seasons with aguas frescas that utilize ingredients like palo santo with yuzu and cucumber, or guava with apple cider and hibiscus, and fruit-driven margaritas that rely on the sweetness of produce in lieu of syrups. With Venice open, the Casamata group is turning its attention to launching an Atla taqueria in Brooklyn — and though Olvera says there isn’t one slated to follow Venice’s Atla just yet, future Los Angeles restaurants aren’t out of the question. Atla is open noon to 9:30 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays.

1025 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Los Angeles, (209) 306-8720, eatatla.com

Ubuntu

Shenarri Freeman loves the challenge of cooking solely with vegetables: Being tied to the seasons feels more creative — and more rewarding. As executive chef of New York City’s Cadence, her menu of vegan soul food helped garner a James Beard Foundation semifinalist nod — and now she’s opened Ubuntu, an L.A. restaurant that’s also entirely plant-based. At her stylish new spot on Melrose Avenue, Freeman is serving West African-inspired cuisine with dishes like jollof arancini, hearts of palm bisque, lion’s mane pie, and plantain-and-cardamom tarts that not only make use of L.A.’s access to year-round produce but help her explore ties to her own history.

“I’m in the process of tracing back my roots, where my family’s origin story is from,” she said. “I’m pretty sure it’s West Africa, like most people on the East Coast, and I think figuring that out has really connected me to West African cuisine.” But, she said, this is just the start: The chef also hopes to explore East African flavors, as well as other regional African dishes and cuisines. Her focus is connecting foodways: Okra, prominent in West African cooking, was brought to the United States through the trans-Atlantic slave trade and remains popular across Southern and soul food cuisines. At Cadence she tempura-fries it, but at Ubuntu it’s served as a charred salad with pigeon peas in a passion fruit vinaigrette. An array of ingredients at Ubuntu, including plantains and a number of peppers, also trace a culinary lineage through Africa and the U.S.

The beverage program entirely features Black-owned winemakers and brewers, with a cocktail list that utilizes juices and spices found in West African cuisine, such as a sangria spin on Ghanaian sobolo, here made with hibiscus grenadine, and a Chi Chi fizz with pineapple, passion fruit, lime and vodka.

Freeman grew up in Richmond, Va,, then moved to Washington, D.C., where she began her culinary career while attending college. A jump to New York for culinary school found her studying a plant-forward curriculum in a “health-supportive culinary arts” focus. She took a job with Overthrow Hospitality to open Cadence, of which she is still executive chef, and hopes to introduce Soul Food Sundays at Ubuntu, cooking some of her soul dishes. Although no longer a vegan herself, she’s still drawn to the practice as well as running sustainable food programs — of which, she says, Los Angeles is currently leading the country.

7469 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, (323) 433-4141, ubuntula.com

Fluffy McCloud’s

A banana split and a platter of frozen grapes

A vibey new scoop shop is serving organic ice cream, pretzel-adorned sundaes, espresso and platters of frozen grapes beneath a large, glowing installation of the planet Saturn that hangs over the counter seating at Fluffy McCloud’s. In addition to flavors such as Pistachiyoyoyoyo, Strawberry Swan, Thelma Vanilla, raspberry sorbet, vegan chocolate cashew and monthly collabs created by friends of the business, Fluffy’s sells pints and half pints to-go, plus affogato, ham-and-cheese (or simply cheese) sandwiches, teas, floats, and a banana split that features brûléed fruit.

Proprietor Nick Fisher, who says he’s been cooking his whole life, wanted to turn his attention to ice cream — his favorite dessert — to utilize skills he’s learned through years in the food, winemaking and beer industries. Fisher also owns bar El Prado across the street and sees Fluffy’s as a kind of heaven to his rambunctious bar’s hell. He studied ice cream making and prizes his recipes on their use of natural ingredients such as house-made cashew butter for vegan options, or eggs in lieu of chemical stabilizers. Here the hot fudge warms in a vat labeled “bean soup,” the jukebox plays the hits from icons like George Michael, and a repurposed gumball machine near the door doles out Lactaid. “This is just a fun thing and it was just about creating fun and creating a fun space for everybody in the neighborhood,” Fisher said. “It’s for the love of ice cream and the love of community.” Fluffy McCloud’s is open 2 p.m. to midnight Tuesdays through Sundays.

1814 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, instagram.com/fflluuuffffyyyyssss

Smorgasbar

Popular weekly food festival Smorgasburg is launching a pop-up bar this week, taking over a long-vacant outdoor space within the Row DTLA complex. Smorgasbar is set to run every Thursday and Friday in the former home of Alameda Supper Club’s alfresco bar and feature pop-ups from some of the fest’s familiar faces. They’ll be serving food alongside a full menu of micheladas, cocktails and wines also from Smorgasburg vendors and a neighboring business, plus programming such as DJ sets. Fernando Lopez of I Love Micheladas and Guelaguetza already curates the Sunday festival’s beer garden and will be overseeing Smorgasbar with his micheladas, new cocktails, and local craft beer from the likes of San Gabriel’s Ogopogo while his sister and business partner, Bricia Lopez, curates the bar’s tequila and mezcal list and the nearby shop Flask & Field heads up wine and other spirits. Find Evil Cooks and Cali Dumpling serving food Aug. 10; Mano Po popping up Aug. 11; the Dulanville truck — a collaboration between Hotville Chicken and Dulan’s — serving food Aug. 17; Golden Skewer grilling Aug. 18; a to-be-announced barbecue lineup on Aug. 25 and 25; a Chimmelier-fronted Korean street food night Aug. 31, and more. Smorgasbar will run from 4 to 10 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays Aug. 10 to Nov. 10.

777 S. Alameda St., Los Angeles, la.smorgasburg.com

Wake and Late Pasadena

Breakfast burrito specialist Wake and Late has begun the first phase of a cross-county expansion that will bring its breakfast and lunch items — along with new cafe programs and a wider menu — to cities beyond its beloved walk-up window in downtown L.A. Wake and Late — which briefly rebranded to Sundays the Bakery earlier this year before reverting to the company’s original name — is now open in Pasadena’s former Le Cordon Bleu building and serving the brand’s signature burritos stuffed with eggs, tater tots, avocado and add-ons such as pastrami, bacon, steak or tofu scramble. Locations in Santa Monica and Hollywood are slated to open later this year. Wake and Late in Pasadena is open 7 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. daily.

525 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, wakeandlate.com

Bafang Dumpling Gardena

A popular Taiwanese dumpling chain is continuing its rapid growth through Southern California, launching its latest outpost this weekend in Gardena. Bafang Dumpling operates more than 1,000 stores globally and last year launched its first U.S. location in City of Industry, followed by Chino Hills and Temple City earlier this year. On Aug. 11, the latest will open with handmade dumplings, noodle bowls, potstickers, wonton noodle soups, pork chops, fried chicken, a range of boba and more in a quick and casual setting — plus bags of frozen dumplings to take home. More locations, including Orange County, are in the works. Bafang Dumpling in Gardena will be open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

1691 W. Artesia Blvd., Gardena, bafangdumpling.com

An overhead photo of a pizza with a blistered crust.

Bodega at the Ford

A popular outdoor music venue just redesigned its food program, launching a casual new marketplace that spotlights a trio of local chefs and restaurants. The Ford theater in the Hollywood Hills is now home to Bodega at the Ford, which serves dishes from Long Beach pizzeria Speak Cheezy, Venezuelan pop-up the Arepa Stand and sustainability-focused, modern-American Silver Lake spot Forage. Forage’s Jason Kim opted to serve garlicky fried chicken and a kale-and-arugula salad at the venue, while Mercedes Rojas of the Arepa Stand is offering a trio of arepas: one filled with shredded chicken, another with shredded beef and a third with market greens and sofrito, with all three options packed with plantains, black beans and more. Speak Cheezy serves Jason Winters’ signature sourdough pizzas in a trio of classic-leaning flavors, plus gluten-free and vegan options. A grab-and-go section supplements the items from all three restaurateurs, vending charcuterie boards, grilled-peach sandwiches, salads and desserts. Bodega at the Ford also sells local craft beers, California wines and cocktails. It’s open during the venue’s programming hours.

2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East, Los Angeles, (323) 850-2000, theford.com