From the team at Gusto 54 and Janet Zuccarini — who brought the multi-award-winning Felix Trattoria to Los Angeles — comes Gusto Green, opening January 15, 2022, with a menu of plant-forward, omnivore-friendly cuisine, a “dedication to featuring quality ingredients from game-changing purveyors, and a commitment to modernizing what it means to eat and live healthfully,” according to a press release Wednesday.
The restaurant was originally set to debut in December but was delayed due to unforeseen circumstances.
Zuccarini describes the concept as “a warm, friendly, and also forward-thinking restaurant destination that embraces the future of food and how people are seeking to eat today.”
Gusto Green is one of several businesses housed within the Green Street Building, all of which operate in, or in the orbit of, the cannabis industry. And while the restaurant does not use any parts of the cannabis plant with THC, it is partnering with the only federally approved purveyor of hemp leaf for food, Ziese Farms. Through this exclusive relationship, Gusto Green Chef Michael Magliano — who hails from celebrated restaurants including Animal and The French Laundry — can integrate the nutrient-dense leaf in a variety of ways, like the restaurant’s signature amuse-bouche: a crispy, chickpea-battered whole hemp leaf.
Highly regenerative and rich in potassium, omega-3s and more, hemp leaf fits well into Gusto Green’s culinary program, which emphasizes high-quality, in-season (and mostly California-sourced) ingredients from progressive local purveyors; shareable plates presented in innovative ways; sustainability; and, as Chef Magliano puts it, “eclectic, healthy dishes that can also be indulgent, crafted with bold, bright, fresh flavors.”
This “intentional indulgence,” as the Gusto Green team calls it, includes menus comprised mostly of plant-based dishes, complemented by thoughtfully and humanely procured fish, poultry, and meats.
Guests can also enjoy biodynamic and natural wines, modern cocktails, zero-proof cocktails, housemade kombucha, adaptogenic teas, coffees, and, soon, a retail component featuring Chef Magliano’s housemade hemp goods and picks from the team’s favorite local artisans.
“We are modernizing what it means to eat and live healthfully,” Magliano said in the release. “We believe you can eat well, even indulgently, and still feel great about what you’re enjoying. By working with leading purveyors, using only the highest quality ingredients, and never sacrificing on flavor, texture, or presentation, we’re able to offer our guests access to healthy, delicious, satisfying food at every visit.”
The award-winning, Los Angeles-based firm STUDIO UNLTD — alongside M-Rad Architecture — brought Gusto Green’s interior design to life, utilizing an organic layering of materials and colors to balance light and dark. Botanical shapes, cool stones reminiscent of a riverbed, textured limestone-like walls, and bold blues juxtaposed with earthy clay tones evoke dining in nature. A greenhouse-like structure — custom built to fit the restaurant’s interior — stretches above the high-ceilinged dining room, surrounded by lush greenery and an adjacent, back-lit polycarbonate wall featuring vibrant plant-patterned wallpaper.
The restaurant layout consists of the main dining room dotted with oakwood tables, banquettes, and two half-circle booths seating up to seven; a 13-seat, marble-topped bar with a 400-bottle wine fridge; a private dining room seating up to 20; an open kitchen, lounge with communal tables, and 10-seat chef’s table — all featuring views of the wood-fired, Italian-imported pizza oven.
Gusto Green and the Green Street Agency are further partnering to activate the building’s expansive seventh-story penthouse and rooftop space. A joint venture between the two companies, the penthouse and rooftop will be home to a rotating calendar of lifestyle events, ranging from live entertainment and gallery-style art shows to collaborative and educational dinners exploring the intersection of cannabis and culinary. The space is slated to open later this year.
