Atrium
Those Biscuits – Salted Honey Butter
Heirloom Cornmeal Waffle – Mango-Guava Jam, Whipped Burrata, Sea Salt
Pineapple Upside Down Morning Bun
Opened in Fall of 2018, and at the time considered a big addition to Los Feliz, Atrium remains an impressive indoor-outdoor venue, though based on a bait n’ switch online menu that replaces Caviar + Chicken Oysters with Hot Honey and Congee Carbonara with “Very” Cheesy Eggs one wonders just how well Chef Hunter Pritchett’s concept was selling even before COVID-19.
Known for its picturesque bowstring truss ceiling and alley location off North Vermont Avenue, money from restaurateurs Jay Milliken and Beau Laughlin creating a space built for the #gram, it is from an outdoor podium that guests are led past open-air seating to a continuous wooden space with visible kitchen in the back.
Idyllic for sipping Mimosas in the daytime, though only open before 4:00pm on Weekends, it is once seated that guests are urged to order Cocktails, deferring visibly disapproved of by a young female server who was pleasant but largely absent despite only two tables to take care of from 11:00am until noon.
Attempting to embrace the cultural diversity of Los Angeles across 19 Brunch plates, some mere modifications of another and options woefully out-of-date in comparison to the online offerings suggested in early March, it was only after realizing both items identified as a reason to visit had been 86’d “weeks” prior that others were chosen, the Cornmeal Waffle without bells and whistles small but enjoyable beneath tangy Jam and whipped Cheese.
Turning to Chef Gregory Baumgartner for Pastry, his work at 71Above highly regarded before making the move, suffice it to say that ideas look a bit more casual at Atrium and although Grilled Focaccia served at dinner gets lots of press it seems hard to believe it is any better than “Those Biscuits” glistening with Butter or a daily Morning Bun that on this occasion placed springy Brioche beneath Pineapples, Cherries and Rum.
www.atriumlosfeliz.com
