The Bazaar by José Andrés, Beverly Hills

Last November, we paid a visit to The Bazaar in Beverly Hills, the tapas brasserie by José Andrés. It’s hard not to be a bit cynical, given how thin the chef has spread himself (ten restaurants in four cities).

The Bazaar is a high-concept, high-gloss space that seats 678. How he keeps up the quality is a considerable mystery, but he does it somehow. Almost everything we tried was excellent. There was one dish I disliked — a take on shrimp cocktail, where you squirt the cocktail sauce into your mouth with a plastic eyedropper. But I took that to be an error of conception, not of execution.

The four-page menu is divided into two parts, traditional tapas and modern tapas. Most items are in the $10–15 range and suitable for sharing, but you’ll need a bunch of them. Our party of four ordered about fifteen of these (some in double portions). As I recall, the kitchen sent them out at a reasonable pace, and in a reasonable sequence.

In lieu of detailed descriptions, I offer a slideshow below. You’ll have to visit the Flickr website to read the photo captions (a limitation of their system, I’m afraid).

The Bazaar by José Andrés
SLS Hotel Beverly Hills
465 South La Cienega Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90048