Citrus at Social Hollywood is the venture of restaurateur Jeffrey Chodorow and acclaimed chef Michel Richard. It is housed alongside Chodorow’s Social Hollywood at the historically significant Hollywood Athletic Club. There is a lot of political discussion regarding Chodorow’s reputation in the industry, but it is easy to put aside when a name like Richard is thrown in. Michel Richard’s Citrus on Melrose, which closed years ago, was one of the few restaurants in Los Angeles’ history to be famous not only for its scene, but the food. With a combination of his traditional French, and modern approach, Richard was a pivotal force in the direction of California cuisine, his absence left a mark on the city. Residing in Washington D.C. (where he plans to stay for now), Richard heads his well-known restaurant, Citronelle. The chosen Chef de Cuisine at the new Citrus is Rémi Lauvand. Raised in southwest France, Lauvand paved his career working with Michelin 2-star Gerard Pangaud, then in the U.S. as a Sous-Chef at New York’s La Grenouille. In the late 80s Lauvand worked with Daniel Boulud for five years at Le Cirque, and then in 1997, became Executive Chef of the famed Montrachet. Before extensive training under Michel Richard for this position, he worked as Executive Chef for Miro at Bacara Resort in Santa Barbara. Enough about names and titles, on to the restaurant and food…

The Hollywood Athletic Club is often overlooked as an important place in Hollywood’s history. It is architecturally distinctive, as it was the tallest building in L.A. when built in 1924, by the same architects as Grauman‘s Chinese Theatre and the Egyptian Theatre. The art-deco landmark has lived many lives, but originally it was founded by Hollywood’s early names like Charlie Chaplin, Cecil B. DeMille, and Rudolph Valentino, as a private men’s club. Throughout the years it has survived as a famous billiards hall, live music venue, film set, and thriving night club, it also housed the very first Emmy Awards in 1949. There are so many interesting facts and curious rumors that involve the Club: actor Cornel Wilde started out here as a fencing instructor, Dick Powell reportedly brought the corpse of John Barrymore here for “one last drink”, John Wayne tossed billiard balls from the roof at passing cars, Jean Harlow once showed up at the club after she was stood up by Errol Flynn - clad only in a fur coat! , just a few things to think about while you drink your aperitif.

Citrus has its own entrance, separate from the Social Hollywood nightlife venue. The door opens directly into the airy, hall-like space, with restored original 1920s frescoed, vaulted ceiling. A host desk and a table topped with a kumquat tree topiary are the only delineation between the dining room and the door. The goal is ambiance, and the room has sort of an ethereal effect that gives the impression of fancy restaurant, which can also be interpreted as too much. Smoky globed lamps hang from mirrored columns over stemware laden tables with satiny spring green chairs. A fireplace fitted with glass hurricanes tries to anchor the space, above it, a print of citrus fruits is befitting, though not congruent with the rest of the styling. The floors are rich, dark wood, and the center part of the restaurant is carpeted, something very rare in LA restaurants, it really lends an air of distinction. An interesting mix of Sade, dream-like chime music, and a burst of Amy Winehouse floated from the sound system. There is a double doored hallway to the main bar, and a smaller bar within the dining area. Every time the front door is opened, you know it, not only because of the wave of cool air (which being that the entrance is right on a car filled street, sounds more pleasant than it is), but the general “who is there”? feeling when everyone in the room turns to look, it feels too exposed. With so much to look at and such heavy styling the restaurant sort of feels like a film set, perfect to impress the not yet jaded. I’ve seen dining room photos online that were taken in full light, and this is definitely not flattering to the space, it depends on the soft glow of its own muted lighting. I will say that the tables set under this light, gleaming with glasses of all sizes certainly look beautiful, and the seats are comfortable to stare at the hypnotizing ceiling.

The service was extremely attentive, though at times it seemed as if everyone had an opinion to chime in. The server was content on selling drinks, with a multi-menu presentation, descriptions, and a shtick that seemed on the edge of forced. We ordered still water, and that translated as a $10 bottle of Voss, not unusual in this city, or this type of restaurant for that matter, but there was no question of preference. The parade of dishes with each course was telling of the attention paid to service and timing. In terms of patrons, the restaurant was very quiet on a weekday evening, only about 6 tables were seated at appropriate spacing throughout the dining room.

The “California-French” menu covers the basics, and includes a few unique dishes, several of which are also employed at Citronelle. Some people have a phobia of French menus that are intimidating to translate and pronounce, I instead have an issue with menus where dishes are “playfully” named. I am annoyed and embarrassed by cutesy word plays as names, and they have managed to include a few (e.g., Duck Duck Orange, Frizzy Frisée Salad, Chicken Faux Gras), but in the end, I understand it is the actual food that matters.

The wine menu is international and well rounded; I started with a glass of fresh tasting Chantegrive Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon, clean and fitting to the environment. For appetizers, we ordered the gougères, classic French cheese puffs made with choux dough, which are served in a wire cone. They were simple, and nice to accompany the other starters, but as you got closer to the bottom, they became soggier, not to mention there were enough for a table of five. The Goat Cheese Caesar Roulade is interesting, the contents are rolled into the lettuce and it is sort of heavy (for a salad), but delicious, served with a few small puff pastry cheese sticks. Something that is getting a lot of attention is the Lobster “Begula” (not Beluga) Pearls, this is a tin filled with layer by layer of lobster chunks, poached egg, and pearl pasta that is dyed with squid ink to resemble caviar. The quirky dish is very good, especially drudged through with a gougère, but the presentation could be so much more elegant. The sticker label that sits atop the tin is not of the best quality and the design could be better, considering those of real caviar. It sits in the center of a plate decorated with glass stones (think goldfish bowl) that are impossible to not get a little dirty as the “caviar” falls from the tin. Maybe this isn’t as riling as I perceived it, though I can imagine more thoughtful presentation ideas for something that is sort of a signature of Michel Richard. As an entrée, I had the Sea Bass with vegetable olives. The fish, served in roasted potato jus was delicious and clean, with a crispy caramel skin, and the olives were colorful vegetables carved into the shape of an olive (I wonder if the scraps are salvaged?). Also at the table was the Roast Chicken, served over asparagus (though the asparagus isn’t mentioned on the menu), and the pièce de résistance, tater tots. The chicken was high quality, moist and flavorful. If you have not had tater tots in a while, this is a nice reminder - without the freezer burnt side effect. I wish I had known before I visited Citrus that their frites are cooked in clarified butter, something I would have liked to try.

Michel Richard is famous for his desserts, he started his career as a pastry chef, and the staff is happy to remind you that the desserts are the restaurants crowing glory. The options are all over the place, from cheesecake (yikes!), to chocolate gateaux, an orange soufflé, “apple-like” tatin, crème brûlée, and the famous “kit kat bar” with sauce noisette, we opted for the mushroom vacherine. The vacherine is a giant sized meringue mushroom, the cap filled with chocolate ice cream, and the bottom filled with cream, planted in a bright pistachio sauce. Even though I am not the biggest fan of meringue, I found the simplicity and appearance of this dish inspiring. A vacherine is a traditional French dessert, and this interpretation does it great justice.

Citrus is important to Los Angeles, as the city is struggling to be recognized as having some sort of culinary sophistication. This isn’t a restaurant that practices the approach of disconnecting itself and creating the illusion you are elsewhere, the setting is very Hollywood, but that’s okay, it is in fact, in Hollywood. There are only a few notable restaurants in Los Angeles that manage to create such a lush environment. I did spot some newly famous celebrity offspring in the dining room, and if you would rather spend money on quality food and a night of getting dressed up and going out, this is a nice alternative to the rest of L.A.’s scene. Prices easily reach $100+ per person (with drinks), so there is a sort of expectation the restaurant builds for itself. I guess only in Los Angeles can a woman in $700 shoes order tater tots and be taken seriously.

Citrus at Social Hollywood
6525 Sunset Boulevard
Hollywood, CA 90028
323.337.9797