"Walk into the West Adams space adjoined by an awning to Cento Pasta Bar - both conceived by chef Avner Levi - and the first sight of the curving walls will spin anyone's mind. They look plastered with a mixture of stucco and meringue, smeared like a frosted cake in progress, that's meant to evoke the shimmer and shifting light of a Mediterranean cave. A three-sided seafoam-green bar anchors the room, girded by tall white chairs with metal backs patterned in a snail's spiral."
"Maybe in another era I would gawk once and move on. But in times like Los Angeles is living through, in a half-decade that has begat one trial and horror after another, the operators of new restaurants, particularly those in the highest-rent districts, tend to default to conservative choices. Menus full of comforts familiar to whatever cuisine is being served. Atmospheres easily described as "pleasant." The decisions are so understandable, and given a particular neighborhood or desired audience perhaps it pays off economically."
Cento Raw Bar occupies a West Adams space adjoining Cento Pasta Bar, conceived by chef Avner Levi. Curving walls are plastered with a stucco-and-meringue texture intended to evoke the shimmer of a Mediterranean cave. A three-sided seafoam-green bar anchors the room, surrounded by tall white chairs with metal backs patterned like snail spirals. Rounded sculptural pillars, a blue-tile floor mosaic resembling a pond, and pendant sconces resembling Devo "energy dome" hats fill the interior. The atmosphere reads as trippy rather than fully transportive, serving well as a stop for drinks and small plates of seafood. Idiosyncratic design offers a welcome contrast to conservative restaurant defaults.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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