Nailed It: Audrey Restaurant At The Hammer

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Fettle, the London-based design team, clearly has their sights set on conquering Los Angeles. The Draycott in Palisades Villages whet Angeleno’s appetite for their work; Audrey, The Hammer Museum’s anchor restaurant, offers another taste of their lively, colorful and elegant work.

Photos by Sean Pearce

The 115 seat restaurant and patio from restaurateur Soa Davies Forrest and chef Lisa Giffen, which sprawls over part of the museum’s ground floor, was created in collaboration with Michael Maltzan Architecture and named after philanthropist and Hammer board member Audrey Irmas.

The wood floor finds it echo in the restaurant’s vaulted ceiling; the material’s warmth and beauty is underlined by cove lighting. Amplifying the space’s sense of intimacy, it also tempers the acoustics of the airy restaurant.

A nearly 30-foot-long inside-outside bar forms the centerpiece of the restaurant, with precast concrete panels emphasizing its presence as an extension of the courtyard. It’s flanked by large bi-fold doors, retained from the previous design. As with the Draycott, the imposing bar is coupled with an equally striking gantry, here in satin nickel.

An island of semicircular banquettes and one niche banquette, with two-tone olive leather and mohair seating, face out toward the outdoor dining space creating an alcove for individual tables or a niche for one large party. These are wrapped in Jorge Pardo’s festive tiles. His equally eye-catching pendant lamps, reflected in the mirror, also spill out into the courtyard where they are suspended from the banquette wrapped trees creating a convivial and inviting spot for lunch or dinner.

The lunch menu offers light, shareable plates, perfect for a post-exhibition bite: oysters and crudities, salads and sandwiches. Dinner turns heartier, with a porterhouse and bone-in ribeye among the offerings. The restaurant can be accessed through the Museum, which is free, or via Lindbrook Drive.

Audrey at The Hammer, 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, 90024, 310.443.7037, Hours: Tues-Sat 11 am – 11 pm; Sun 11 am – 9 pm