Wilde life
Wilde’s (Los Feliz)
RESTAURANTS • First Word
By 530p on a recent rainy Saturday night, a long line of hopeful diners formed outside the door of Wilde’s, the new British-inspired restaurant on the corner of Russell and Hillhurst Avenues in Los Feliz. The restaurant glows through its windows from the soft warm light of candles, every coveted seat occupied. Upon finally reaching the host stand, some of those in line are told that a table would be available in three and a half hours, making that cozy dining room somehow glow even more.
In late October, childhood friends Tatiana Ettensberger and chef Natasha Price opened the doors of the spot they’d been dreaming up since they were kids. Thirty years after those dreams, Wilde’s has come to life at just the right time, in a neighborhood clearly hungry for it. “It’s a phenomenon!” says Ettensberger, who seems genuinely shocked by its reception.
Inside, tables are close together, and no one seems to mind. The tight list of low-intervention wines by the glass make choosing what to drink easy and quick. Ettensberger previously worked as general manager and wine buyer for natural wine bar Cafe Triste, and the list reflects it with a small selection of wines from producers she’s known for years. For such a buzzy new restaurant, the vibe is incredibly grounded. Ettensberger says most of the decor is from their own houses or their parents’ houses.
Humbly described in few words on the menu — ‘Welsh rarebit,’ ‘bangers and mash,’ ‘battered skate and mint,’ ‘meat pie for two’ — the food is both of LA and the taverns of rural England. A meal might start with kanpachi crudo topped with thinly sliced fennel and horseradish, or bright and bitter chicory salad with satsumas, toasted hazelnuts, and sheep’s curd. These produce-driven small plates are welcome counterpoints to the rich British fare that follows. The bangers are made brat style with whole mustard seeds, and the addition of sweet mostarda complements the traditional dish. It’s very difficult to decide between Eton mess and sticky toffee pudding for dessert.
Wilde’s is not reinventing the wheel but instead making the kind of food that, based on the hopeful diners waiting outside, everyone wants to eat. Its appeal is in the simplicity and nostalgia and the romance of a sweet, little candlelit restaurant that conjures happy memories of travels to Europe, date nights, and dinners filled with laughter. –Heather Platt
→ Wilde’s (Los Feliz) • 1850 Hillhurst Ave • Bakery Wed-Sat 8a-1p, dinner Wed-Sat 530-1030p • Reserve (“primarily walk-in”).
Photo: Kort Havens