French-American fusion is hot right now, and Bar Etoile encapsulates it brilliantly. The location, a low-slung inter-war warehouse on North Western Avenue, can only be in Los Angeles, but the menu and French New Wave vibe are pure Paris.

Designed by LA studio Lovers Unite for local wine purveyors Jill Bernheimer and Julian Kurland, the Melrose Park haunt revolves around a sit-up zinc bar that fuses traditional French bistro design with machine-age modern curves. The banquettes, tables and industrial windows do the same, taking the oxidised palette from the French and deco influences from home. Ceramic art on the walls by Anthony Dominici replicates old French wine-label design.

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Photography: Kort Havens

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The co-owners were on a mission to recreate the wine bars they love in Paris with biodynamic wines from small European suppliers (there are 200 on the list) and a local chef, Travis Hayden, who’s a dab hand at steak tartare. Karen Spector and architect Alan Koch of Lovers Unite responded with a glass ‘Etoile’ mosaic in the foyer that welcomes patrons from the neighbourhood, the burgeoning Melrose Hill arts district. Neighbours include the West Coast outpost of David Zwirner and the vintage interiors shop Pop Up Home.

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