One year ago, Clifton's Cafeteria in Downtown LA reopened its doors. The 47,000-square-foot space, covering four floors, reopened with two (of five) bars and a cafeteria. For the last year, there has been anticipation about the opening of the other three bars - Shadow Box, Treetops and Pacific Seas. Well, anticipate no longer as one of those bars has officially opened.
Pacific Seas is Los Angeles' newest tiki bar. From top to bottom, this Polynesian themed bar is a tiki wonderland, circa 1940-1950.
Everything about Clifton's is a bit surreal. The decor has a Disneyland-esq quality to it, from the taxidermy animals to the 40-foot tree that reaches three floors in the center of the atrium. And Pacific Seas is no exception.
Miro Restaurant on the corner of Figueroa and Wilshire in the Downtown Los Angeles Financial District may look like just another new modern restaurant in town but there is more than meets the eye. From the street, the restaurant is dwarfed by the surrounding skyscrapers, especially the under-construction 73-story Wilshire Grand Center, which will be the tallest building west of the Mississippi. But, enter through the dramatic wooden doors where three different experiences await you.
On the ground floor is the brightly light dining room. With floor to ceiling windows that face out to both Wilshire and Figueroa, the space is illuminated by the sun during the day. As you enter, you will be met by an elongated marble bar that is home to a pasta station, a charcuterie station and the bar which focuses on classic cocktails. The decor is modern with art deco touches.
Chef Gavin Mills has prepared a menu that is pan-Mediterranean, meaning it is influenced by Italian, Spanish, Greek and North African cuisine. The focus is on hyper-local seasonal ingredients with Mills purchasing ingredients from multiple weekly farmers' markets. Mills prepares all of the charcuterie in house and a board of charcuterie and cheese is a great way to start your meal. Our board had duck prosciutto, ungherese (Hungarian salami, paprika, garlic and white wine), cacciatorini (dry salami with black pepper), Drunken Goat cheese from Spain, Mont Vully Rouge from Switzerland and Smoke Blue from Oregon. Presented on a magnificent slice of a tree trunk, the board also comes with house-made mustard, mostarda and pickles. Our board also included the chicken liver mousse topped with port jelly.
A year after opening, Preux & Proper in downtown LA is like a new restaurant. The decor is the same and the slushy machines on the ground floor are still there, but there is a new chef at the helm.
Sammy Monsour came to Preux & Proper in January 2016 but is also new to Los Angeles. Raised in Raleigh, North Carolina, he went to culinary school at The Culinary Institute of America at Hyde Park in New York. He was working in Boston, learning from great chefs, and then took his art on the road, organizing pop-up events such as "Chuck Taylor’s Fried Chicken All Stars", "The Future of Junk Food" and "Antibellum". But now he has found his new home at Preux & Proper. He also brought his chef de cuisine, Steven Hacker, and sous chef, Paul Trevino who worked with him at Antibellum and kept almost all of the original staff of the restaurant.
While the restaurant was first opened with a New Orleans theme, Monsour calls his menu "soul food". There is a mix of southern flavors (New Orleans, Texas, the Carolinas, Alabama) that work well together. Monsour is down-to-earth, charming and outgoing. But what shines the most is his passion for what he does. The food is focused on flavor and soul and is very very tasty!
Pacific Seas is Los Angeles' newest tiki bar. From top to bottom, this Polynesian themed bar is a tiki wonderland, circa 1940-1950.
Everything about Clifton's is a bit surreal. The decor has a Disneyland-esq quality to it, from the taxidermy animals to the 40-foot tree that reaches three floors in the center of the atrium. And Pacific Seas is no exception. 
