The Hundreds Ben Shenassafar will open The Benjamin Hollywood on June 25

Gin Monkey 47 with a lemon zest and a Vermouth rinse; that’s how The Hundreds’ Ben Shenassafar takes his martini – a focus on the cocktail menu at his first restaurant. “Served very cold,” said the entrepreneur inside the new joint, The Benjamin Hollywood.

“That was the hardest part,” he said of naming the restaurant, located at 7174 Melrose Avenue, on the corner of Formosa Avenue in Los Angeles. The official opening to the public is scheduled for June 25.

“Because I didn’t want to give him my name,” he continued. “I didn’t want this restaurant to be about me. I told Jared and Kate, “This is a test. This restaurant is a test. We don't know if we will succeed. I don't know how it's going to happen. If we fail, my name will be on the building.'”

He's referring to his business partners in this venture, famed owner Jared Meisler of The Roger Room, The Friend and new cocktail bar The Moon Room (which is upstairs, replacing Bathtub Gin), among others , and culinary strategist Kate Burr of consulting agency A La Mode.

“I don’t want it to be about me, so I fought for a long time,” Shenassafar continued.

He turned to longtime friends Bobby Kim, co-founder of The Hundreds, and Vinny Dotolo of Jon & Vinny's: “I asked them both for name suggestions, because I was really struggling . And both came back with the Benjamin Club. And I liked it, but I didn't want it to be the club. It's funny, they texted each other one after the other. I immediately knew that was the name. And instead of it being a club, you know, we're in Los Angeles and so we put Hollywood at the end – and The Benjamin Hollywood was born.

A tribute to old-school Americana, The Benjamin Hollywood has all the makings of your favorite neighborhood hangout, but is also worth the trip. The menu is filled with American classics, overseen by Executive Chef Johnny Cirelle of Bestia, Bavel and Spago.

Entrees include a $26 shrimp cocktail and $25 orange chicken wings with a sweet and sour glaze. For the main course, the $29 Benjamin Burger is made with New School American cheese, hickory sauce, grilled onions, house pickles and served with fries; there's an Australian New York wagyu strip for $79, with brandy cream sauce and peppercorns, a roast chicken for $38 and a branzino for $68. Sides include a twice-baked baked potato for $15, served with crème fraîche, chives and cheddar, with the option of adding bacon lardon for $8 or 30 grams of Astrea Caviar for $80.

For dessert, there are $18 Cookies and Cream, chocolate chip and brown butter cookies served with house-made whipped cream (Burr's idea); carrot cake for $16; a dark chocolate pudding for $14 and a date cake with sticky caramel and redcurrant and pistachio ice cream for $16. But everyone will leave with a sweet treat; As a farewell gift, in addition to the check, tables will receive personalized Benjamin Hollywood brand mint chocolate truffles from Valerie Confections.

At 4,000 square feet, located in a 1920s building (formerly Stone Street Coffee), the interior is welcoming with warm lighting and caramel-tinted woodwork, with a 15-seat oak bar inside. front and center and surrounded by comfortable bench seating. Designed by Meisler, the dining room seats 58, showcasing Art Deco details with its custom black and gold carpet and wedding cake pendant lights. The back walls are covered in Gucci wallpaper with a black, white and orange lily pattern, leading to a bright and spacious outdoor patio that will open later this summer. On the speakers, expect the music to veer toward R&B and hip-hop, with artists like Kaytranada, Frank Ocean — and Kendrick and Drake — curated by friends, including producer Alexander Spit . And all around, staff will wear custom black coats designed by The Hundreds, made in downtown Los Angeles.

“We raised them all a little bit, so the tables are at bar height,” Shenassafar said of the interior booths, covered in olive-colored mohair, before pointing out the character designs on the walls created by the artist Jo Beck. “We call them guys,” he said of the figures, seen in various poses and phases of martini preparation.

The cocktail menu is created by Nathan Oliver, using seasonal ingredients for his take on the classics. Some martinis come with snacks – much to the delight of anyone who's ever hoped for a quick bite with a cocktail while sitting at a bar (a rarity in Los Angeles). Ben's Martini ($35), the way Shenassafar likes it, comes with chips, while the Dirtier Martini ($22), with Tito's vodka and a house mix, comes with olives and capers.

“We have a tequila martini and a porn star martini and we have a little fun with it,” Burr explained. “And then for our sparkling wines, we have everything from yuzu spritz to apricot spritz, which will change seasonally with whatever we find at the farmers market.”

There is something for every taste. The $22 Porn Star Martini is made with Amass vodka, champagne, passion fruit and coconut. There's an expensive Manhattan at $40 using Wolves whiskey, with sweet vermouth, bitters and orange; a $20 seasonal spicy strawberry margarita with El Tesoro Blanco tequila, shiso, lime and serrano pepper, plus beer starting at $8 and non-alcoholic options at $14 and $18 . For those looking for wine, the list is tight with fewer than 20 bottles, curated by sommelier Sam Rethmeier of République and Chi Spacca. And after dinner there are digestives, port and dessert wine.

“What I asked Sam is that even though we don't have a big wine list, if someone who is a wine snob came and took a look, they would be happy to order a bottle of wine from what we have to offer,” said Shenassafar.

A household name in fashion, streetwear culture and a staple of the Los Angeles scene, Shenassafar founded The Hundreds with Kim in 2003 while bonding over a love of sneakers while they were both at Loyola Law School. It was also a shared love of food that led them to create the Family Style Food Festival, a very popular event in Los Angeles with top chefs and streetwear products, with producer Miles Canares in 2019.

The event was acquired by media and entertainment company Complex in May for an undisclosed amount. (Livestream shopping platform Ntwrk acquired Complex from BuzzFeed Inc. for $108 million about three months earlier.)

“I think Complex Media is a great fit for the Family Style Food Festival. They understand what we stand for in the food world, bringing food and culture together in one place for everyone to experience,” said Shenassafar, who also hosts the video series “Big Appetite” from Tastemade – where he travels around the country highlighting restaurants and sharing food. experiences.

Something he learned through these efforts and brought to Benjamin Hollywood?

“It’s hard for me to answer because everything I learned through The Hundreds festival, the food festival and my travels is just second nature to me,” Shenassafar said.

What has always stuck with him is the value of genuine customer service.

“I worked at Nordstrom when I was a teenager, and at Nordstrom, the customer is always right, no matter what,” he continued. “And I learned that from a very young age. I brought that into The Hundreds, and something Bobby and I have always prided ourselves on is our customer service. When someone walks into our store, we wanted it to be the opposite of when you walk into Supreme. And I want that same mentality here for The Benjamin… I know that ultimately, making people feel good and giving them what they want – to some extent – ​​will always keep them coming back to know more.

Continuing, he added: “People are going to come here and spend a lot of money on dinner and drinks, and I want them to leave feeling like they had the best night of their life. I want them to feel like they outweighed us on the price they paid for dinner because of the experience they had.…The experience won't just be about about food, not just about hospitality, not just about drinks, not just about music, not just about room and comfort, it's the sum of everything.

The staff is made up of service professionals who understand the art of hospitality, Burr emphasized: “Obviously we want the food to be amazing. And it will. But one thing we always talk about, from the beginning, is the idea of ​​hospitality and hospitality as a sixth sense or language.… It's about the experience of dining with people. This current dining experience is what nourishes me and what I really want to focus on here. So for us, it's about all these little touchpoints. You know, knowing what someone’s favorite martini is on our menu when they come in and making it to go… We want people to leave with a feeling.

Benjamin Hollywood will be open for dinner Tuesday through Saturday from 5:30 p.m. until late, with reservations available through Resy.