Sirena Opening January 17 In Los Angeles

A new Italian restaurant called Sirena will be opening Jan. 17 at 8265 Beverly Blvd. (between North Harper and North Sweetzer Avenues) in Los Angeles, in the space long-occupied by Pane e Vino, which closed after 20 years in the building back in 2011. 

The restaurant is helmed by executive chef Sandy Gendel along with partners Jeremy Strubel and Kenneth Curran, who designed much of the restaurant. Gendel has worked with chefs including Nancy Silverton, Alice Waters, and Jonathan Waxman, and was the opening chef at Pace and Porta Via.

The focus at Sirena will be on seafood and Mediterranean fare, using olive oil instead of butter and roux, and a wood-burning oven will be the kitchen's focal point. Fresh bread, whole fish, pizzas, and vegetables will be cooked inside it, and in fact a hole had to be cut through the bar so the bread peel could reach all the way in. Just about everything served will be made in-house, from bread to pasta to smoked salmon.

"We are very excited at the prospect of bringing back a terrific restaurant to this storied locale," Gendel said in a press release.  "We're really aiming to join the ranks of fantastic neighborhood restaurants."