Joss Sparkles With Immediate Promise

The newest Chinese restaurant in Beverly Hills is already filled with customers. This could be the location--Sunset, just as the boulevard curves out of the commercial area to take on an elegantly residential tone.

It could be simply the way the restaurant looks--light, airy, almost starkly modern. On the other hand, it may be what they are calling a “designer wine list” that is the main attraction. Or the fact that a number of celebrities have invested in the place. It might be just the menu--which is decidedly out of the ordinary--that has made the restaurant so immediately appealing. Whatever the reason, Joss, 9255 Sunset Blvd., (213) 276-1886, has opened with eclat.

Although most of what I ate--shrimp with olive mellow nuts (these taste remarkably like very large pine nuts), stuffed crab claws and a rather exotic appetizer of honeyed ham--were quite good, all the dishes seemed like promises of better things to come. The dim sum (served at lunch) sound absolutely fabulous. Right now the food is fine, but the restaurant clearly aims to be better than that. I can’t wait to see what the future brings.