Last Updated on July 25, 2023
Providence fine dining restaurant in Los Angeles has retained its coveted two Michelin Star rating for 2023 in addition to earning its first-ever Green Michelin Star in the California section of the 2023 Michelin Guide. The Michelin Guide recognizes L.A.’s leading seafood institution for its unwavering commitment to service, food quality, innovation & sustainability.
Known for elevating hospitality standards since opening almost 20 years ago, the lasting power and legacy of this fine dining dynasty—which is operated as a privately run business—is led in partnership by chef-owner, Michael Cimarusti, front-of-house legend/co-owner, Donato Poto, and co-owner/business partner, Crisi Echiverri, alongside longstanding chef de cuisine, Tristan Aitchison, and pastry chef extraordinaire, Mac Daniel Dimla.
Having been bestowed with the prestigious award since 2009, Providence is amongst a select handful of highly esteemed restaurants around the city and country to be recognized with, and proudly retain their two MICHELIN Stars for a 14th consecutive year. The addition of a Green Michelin star is further testament to Providence’s longstanding commitment to upholding and embodying sustainability in all aspects of their daily operation including their sustainably led kitchen and culinary team, zero-waste beverage, pastry, and culinary programs, onsite rooftop garden, and more.
A champion of sustainable fine dining and one of the country’s most prolific restaurateurs since 2005, James Beard award-winning Chef-Owner Michael Cimarusti’s ability to bring a taste of the ocean to the plate in its purest form, results in the ultimate multi-sensory seafood-forward dining experience. For close to two decades, Cimarusti has shared worked tirelessly to impart his extensive knowledge and appreciation of the dynamic nature of seafood with an advocacy for sustainable fishing practices evident in every dish, representing a new standard for social and environmental impact in the fine dining space.
Sourcing produce sustainably is an integral part of Providence’s ethos and the revered restaurant is one of the first in Los Angeles to cultivate and nurture a true habitat garden (on its rooftop) with its own thriving ecosystem of flora, fauna, and wildlife that also produces beautiful food, for humans and pollinators alike. Earlier this year, Providence’s flourishing rooftop garden was also officially designated as a Certified Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation and includes a live bat keep/sanctuary, multiple song sparrow nests, and a buzzing set of dual Italian honeybee hives that produce 2.5 – 5 gallons of honey at each harvest.
The restaurant’s regenerative rooftop garden not only increases freshness, but also produces every petite leaf and flower that is utilized on the menu from the zero-waste chocolate program to the edible garnishes on the nightly-changing tasting menus, and cocktail program.
Providence’s considered effort to provide a world-class dining experience takes every aspect into account for the ultimate comfort and enjoyment of each guest to complement Chef Cimarusti’s elevated menu.
“MICHELIN has always been our guiding star at Providence,” Cimarusti said. “From the very start of my cooking career, long before MICHELIN came to the U.S., I have closely followed the guide as a benchmark of sustained excellence to aspire to achieve one day. In addition to our team and my partners, we are grateful to work alongside some of California and the nation’s most dedicated farmers, foragers, fishermen, and producers who use environmentally friendly practices in their own businesses and uphold and embody the same standards of sustainability as Providence does.”
The 2023 Michelin Guide recognition joins Providence’s impressive list of accolades including an “2023 Forbes Travel Guide” Star Award; “2023 Food & Wine Tastemakers” Award; “Top 50 Restaurants in the United States” by Gourmet magazine; “Best Seafood Restaurant” by Los Angeles magazine; the #1 ranking in “Jonathan Gold’s 101 Best Restaurants” in the Los Angeles Times; a James Beard Award for ‘Best Chef: West’, amongst numerous others.
What’s New & Notable at Providence In 2023
- Rooftop Habitat Garden
The passion project of longstanding chef de cuisine, Tristan Aitchison, the small, but mighty rooftop garden grows everything from borage blossoms to salad burnet, strawberry spinach, Thai basil, Greek basil, mache, yarrow, red amaranth, nasturtium, red radish sprouts, wasabi arugula, and mizuna, just to name a few. The restaurant’s regenerative rooftop garden not only increases freshness, but also produces every petite leaf and flower that is utilized on the menu.
- Honey Harvesting
At Providence, the restaurant’s rooftop habitat garden houses its own thriving eco system including a bat sanctuary and dual Italian honeybee hives. In Spring 2022, Robin Jones, Landscape Designer at Honey Girl Grows installed the two hives which are now home to a colony of over 160,000 bees. A true synthesis of the surrounding neighborhood’s blooms (10 million surrounding flowers, shrubs, trees in their ecosystem), Providence’s rooftop-sourced honey has a beautiful floral flavor profile that is slightly less sweet than most. Providence has generated over 100 lbs. of homegrown honey since last year, and not missed a single harvest despite varying weather conditions across the country. The restaurant’s regenerative hives produce the honey utilized on the menu from the zero-waste chocolate program to the cocktails.
- New ‘Fin-to-Tail’ Redesign
The approachable elegance of Providence’s dining room echoes the cuisine: polished, sophisticated, and reflective of nature. The new vision was brought to life within an impressive 5-week timeline (condensing a 6-month project into just over a month!) executed and an expertly curated team of skilled artisans & craftsmen from San Diego to Portland. The end result includes painstakingly crafted hand-blown glass ‘Sea Clouds’ installations by acclaimed glass master, Jeremy Maxwell Wintrebert, velvety textured expertly applied hand-finished Venetian plaster, and ethereal paintings depicting moonlit nightscapes of the ocean. The bewitching oceanic palette utilizes eight different Pacific tidal blue-greens and warm sand tones that provide a sense of warmth despite the cooler color group. A new ripple effect carpet provides an undercurrent of movement and the muted, yet bold bar area commandeers the right-hand side of the restaurant with a hand-hewn walnut bar top that glows with warm light, navy veined soapstone, and aged brass accents.
- Zero-Waste Chocolate Program
‘Pastry prodigy’, Pastry Chef Mac Daniel Dimla, 27, carries over the restaurant’s sustainable ethos into the pastry program, as he pushes creative boundaries with the introduction of a new “zero-waste”, bean-to-dessert chocolate program, utilizing every part of the Hawaiian-sourced cacao bean. A true labor of love, Providence’s pastry team of four receives 100 lbs. of raw cacao beans per month, shipped exclusively to the restaurant, where they are inspected, processed, and painstakingly roasted by hand. After they are roasted, the beans are made into 70% dark chocolate, which is used for allof Mac’s next level chocolate creations including Forêt Noire, Gateau au Chocolat Hawaïen and a variety of chocolate truffles. Proudly showcasing the restaurant’s sustainable ethos into the pastry program, Mac transforms the leftover cacao husks, utilizing them to their full potential through a zero-waste chocolate tea.
- Zero-Waste Bar & Cocktail Program
South African Bar Director Kim Stodel continues the restaurant’s sustainable ethos into the bar program, putting forth an inventive menu of “zero-waste” cocktails (and mocktails). A step beyond the “scrap” cocktail trend, Kim is taking this concept to the next level, giving leftover ingredients a second, and even third life via innovative infusions and garnishes. Kim works closely with the ever-changing, micro-seasonal produce in the Providence kitchen, choosing to work with scraps and waste rather than going out of his way to purchase new ingredients maximizing the lifespan of each ingredient.
Providence is located at 5955 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038, and operates five days a week from Tuesday – Friday, 6:00pm – last seating 9:00pm, and Saturday, 5:30pm – last seating 9:00pm.
Reservations are available by calling (323) 420-4170 or via OpenTable.
For more information, please visit providencela.com or follow Providence on Instagram @ProvidenceLA.
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