RESTAURANTS • First Word
Walking through the hand-painted door at the recently reopened Betsy in Altadena, the first thing you notice is the warmth of owner Tyler Wells and the restaurant’s staff, who welcome guests with neighborhood familiarity. Once inside, another kind of heat hits you: the rush of flames from the open kitchen (an irony lost on no one in this fire-ravaged community), which fills the room with light, smoke, and a beckoning rhythm. It feeds the space as much as the guests.
Betsy runs on community. The team is local, the sourcing personal, the diners often displaced (but originally from down the block). Wells knows his farmers, his fishermen, his vintners, his ranchers, and those ties show up on the ever-evolving menu. Coming back to eat in Altadena isn’t casual — it’s an intentional choice. The dining room hums with energy, neighbors pulling chairs close, conversations overlapping, friends spotting each other anew. The buzz doesn’t stop at the door, spilling onto the sidewalk where people drink natural wine and catch up as the sun dips over the San Gabriel Mountains.
Chef Joey Messina holds down the line, the crew cooking in tandem behind him. At the center of the restaurant is the custom-built hearth, constantly fed by a flurry of activity. Marbled ribeyes, charred broccolini, and swordfish laden with blistered tomatoes — it all comes off the flames with unpretentious precision. For anyone craving crisp, refreshing decadence, order the farm lettuce Caesar, which is equal parts cheese, greens, and crunch.
The soundtrack ties it all together. The Creation’s Making Time has diners air drumming the fills, Talking Heads cuts drift out between courses, and the flicker of the fire keeps time with the music. Betsy is a place reborn, carrying forward the spirit of a community. –Darin Bresnitz
→ Betsy (Altadena) • 875 E Mariposa St • Daily 5-10p • Reserve.