Patina gets new chef at Disney Hall

By Betty Hallock; Elina Shatkin

Sept. 16, 2009 12 AM PT

Patina, the flagship of Joachim Splichal’s dining empire located in Frank Gehry’s Disney Concert Hall, is getting a new chef.

Tony Esnault, former executive chef of Alain Ducasse’s New York restaurant Adour, is expected to start at the downtown landmark this month. Patina Restaurant Group says Esnault will be working closely with Splichal on a new (presumably Cal-French) menu.

Esnault was executive chef at Ducasse’s Essex House in New York before opening Adour in the St. Regis Hotel in 2007. Then-New York Times critic Frank Bruni gave Adour three stars, but the dining room -- complete with an interactive, touch-screen wine bar and an accent-aigu-heavy menu -- didn’t seem to catch on with the masses. Esnault left Adour last year.

Born in Saumur, France, Esnault attended the Francois Rabelais culinary school and worked in Paris and Alsace before embarking on a career within the Ducasse empire in 1996 at Louis XV in Monaco.

Patina’s former chef, Theo Schoenegger, left last year to open his own restaurant at the Encore resort in Las Vegas.

141 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles, (213) 972-3331, www.patinagroup.com.

Katsuya now open at L.A. Live

The fourth Katsuya by Starck (the chain of sushi restaurants designed by Philippe Starck) has opened at L.A. Live.

Owner Sam Nazarian, the man who’s attempting to transform Gladstone’s in Malibu, also announced that on Oct. 27, his company SBE will open an outpost of its Hollywood nightclub, Hyde Lounge, in Staples Center.

L.A. Live, 800 W. Olympic Blvd., (213) 747-9797, www.sbeent.com/katsuya.

Grilled cheese is going mobile

Of course L.A. needs a grilled cheese truck. Thanks to chef Dave Danhi, it’s about to get one. Danhi plans to launch the Grilled Cheese Truck next month.

For its rollout, the menu will feature four to five standard sandwiches. There will also be a specialty sandwich of the week and dessert sandwiches. Follow it on Twitter: @grlldcheesetruk.

Also:

* Chef Mark Gold’s Eva restaurant opened in the former Hatfield’s location on Beverly Boulevard. 7458 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, (323) 634-0700.

* Chef Gary Menes has opened Marche in the old Max space in Sherman Oaks. 13355 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks, (818) 784-2415.

* In Hollywood, the former nightclub Goa has become Capitol City sports bar. 1615 N. Cahuenga Blvd., L.A. (323) 465-1750.

Betty Hallock and Elina Shatkin