Small bites

* Jason Trevi, formerly a sous-chef at Spago Beverly Hills, Granita and Joe’s, has taken charge of the kitchen at Opaline in West Hollywood. Trevi, 28, will be joined by a new sous-chef, James Moore, from the Old House in Santa Fe, N.M., and a new pastry chef, Julien Wagner, formerly of Radius in Boston.

David Rosoff, managing partner at Opaline, said he felt the restaurant had “gone as far as we could” with the kitchen team headed by David Lenz since its opening late last year. “It was time to get a different team with a different perspective and raise the bar to a different level.” Rosoff said Lenz “left of his own volition.”

Opaline won generally favorable reviews for its imaginative wine list and stylish decor -- but not for its food. Times critic S. Irene Virbila gave the restaurant one star in her review early this year and said, “Many dishes ... read better than they play.”

-- David Shaw

* The team behind Zen Grill, the popular Pan-Asian spot with locations in Beverly Hills and West Hollywood, has opened the Zen Grill & Sake Lounge in Westwood Village, offering an expanded menu and 70 different sakes.

Zen Grill & Sake Lounge, 1051 Broxton Ave., West L.A., (310) 209-1994.

* Heather Perry, the national champion coffee barista profiled in this section a few weeks ago, began her title defense Sept. 13 by winning the Western regional title in Portland. Perry pulls espressos and cappuccinos at her family’s Coffee Klatch stores in Rancho Cucamonga and San Dimas. Nationals will be held in April in Atlanta, followed by the world championship in Trieste, Italy, in June.