Scratch|Bar in Beverly Hills closes, moving to the San Fernando Valley
After two years on La Cienega in Beverly Hills, Scratch|Bar, known for chef Phillip Frankland Lee’s whimsical small plates, is closing up shop and moving to the San Fernando valley.
Lee and his wife/pastry chef, Margarita, made the announcement in an email.
The two will focus their time at their other business, The Gadarene Swine, a vegetarian restaurant in Studio City, until the new Scratch|Bar location is ready at the end of the summer.
According to Lee, the original Scratch|Bar took over an existing lease in Beverly Hills, and that lease was up.
“As the lease neared an end, we started looking for a new location,” Lee said. “We found one and were trying to get it off the ground prior to losing the Beverly Hills location. Unfortunately, we ran out of time just shy of getting the new space going.”
Lee won’t reveal the exact location of the new restaurant, but promises it will be “hipper” and in the San Fernando Valley.
The new space will include ample parking and a proper chef’s counter. In terms of size, it will be similar to the original Scratch|Bar, but most of the seats will be at the kitchen counter, where diners will be able to order directly from the chef behind the counter, much like at a sushi restaurant.
Lee said that the new menu will include many of the restaurant’s classic dishes, such as the pork belly and raw oyster and puffed smelt with bone marrow mustard, but that he’s planning many new dishes as well. He also still will offer the restaurant’s signature tasting menus.
“The new location is much more ‘neighborhoody’ as opposed to being destination dining in Beverly Hills, so the a la carte menu will be more expansive and priced more appropriately to the neighborhood,” Lee said.
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