Renowned Chef Dave Beran Is Opening A Tiny Fine-Dining Restaurant In California

The Daily Meal Staff|June 5, 2017 2:20 pm EST

When chef Dave Beran announced last year that he was opening his first solo venture in Los Angeles, it seemed all of Chicago mourned the loss of one of its most decorated chefs. The 36-year-old spent 10 years working in Chicago with Grant Achatz and the Alinea Group, first at the three-Michelin starred Alinea and later as the executive chef at Next, where he earned a James Beard Award and a spot in Food & Wine's Best New Chefs class of 2014. Under Beran's guidance, Jonathan Gold declared Next one of his favorite restaurant's in the country.

Now, one year after arriving in Los Angeles, Beran is on the brink of opening his first restaurant, an intimate, 18-seat test-kitchen in what would seem an improbable location — Santa Monica's Third Street Promenade.

Dialogue, as the restaurant is called, occupies 800 square feet on the second story of the Gallery, a newly renovated food hall within eyesight of the Santa Monica Downtown Farmers' Market. The location, which also houses the mission-oriented Everytable and the ice cream shop Sloan's, is an unusual choice for a high-minded tasting menu project, but Beran saw the tiny footprint as an opportunity to experiment with experiential dining.