'Top Chef' Opens FigOly In Los Angeles

Alex Reznik is accelerating the momentum of the burgeoning downtown Los Angeles dining scene with FigOly, which opens July 27 on the second floor of the recently redesigned Luxe City Center Hotel.

FigOly's name is derived from the boutique hotel's location at Figueroa Street and Olympic Boulevard, directly across the street from the Staples Center and L.A. Live.

The restaurant features an expansive outdoor patio, dubbed FigOly Al Fresco, with a fire pit, private cabanas, and views of downtown LA's skyline. The interior, appointed in tan, burgundy, and amber hues, features a stone-topped communal table and tufted mahogany banquettes. A glass floor-to-ceiling wine display featuring 50 wine bottles priced at less than $50 and a mozzarella bar command the back wall. The 25-foot glass and agate bar is backlit with a video installation.

Chef Alex Reznik of Top Chef fame has created a contemporary California menu featuring Northern Italian influences. The dishes combine seasonal ingredients, as in the smoked tomato minestra studded with lump crab, corn blossom, and crème fraîche; grilled quail and octopus with currants, salsa verde, and hazelnuts; traditional Piedmontese tagarin pasta tossed with porcini and Hen of the Woods mushrooms, ricotta salata, cherry tomatoes, and Marsala; and the Brasato al Barolo which features a blend of beef cheeks and oxtail paired with gorgonzola polenta, shallots, and sotto aceti.

Pastry chef Joanne Ponvanit's creations include cannoli cheesecake with pistachio crust, salted caramel, figs brûlée, kumquat confit, and cinnamon gelato; and brioche bomboloni served with peach-verbena tapioca, pomegranate essence, coconut cream, and smoked blossom.

FigOly has a farmers-market inspired cocktail list curated by Matthew Biancaniello who mixes FigOly's signature cocktail, the Mamma Mia, a blend of red bell pepper, scallion, cilantro, lime, agave syrup, applewood-smoked salt, and tequila.

Reservations for the restaurant's first week are reserved for guests who tweet their requests directly to the restaurant's Twitter handle, @FigOly.

Lauren Mack is the Travel Editor at The Daily Meal. Follow her on Twitter @lmack.