Wolvesmouth is an underground LA restaurant which LosAngeles.com calls the “Toughest Dinner Reservation” in town.
They don’t advertise or promote themselves in any way; the only advertising is “the word of mouth”. James Skotchdopole, one of Quentin Tarantino’s producer’s says about Craig Thornton (the chef) that “ He is obsessed with obscurity, which is why I love him”.
After learning about Wolvesmouth from friends, my first reaction was that I could easily find them on Yelp ”What is the big deal?” I though.
Well on Yelp I could see that it had 5 stars and 43 reviews but there was no contact information. The only way to register it was to get on their waiting list on their website.
It took several weeks to get an invitation. After getting the invitation I had to fill out a little application and write why I was interested in dining at the Wolvesmouth (up to 5000 words). Luckily they have “excepted the application ” but the “secret location” was only revealed few hours before the actual event.
It almost felt like joining a secret society and I absolutely loved it!
The most important thing was that my great expectations were not wasted. It was worth every bit of the built up intrigue and enticement which was heightened by a well-writen article in The New Yorker about the Chef Craig and his innovative venture.
The “secret location” was in the developing artsy neighborhood in downtown LA, which felt more like New York with it’s brick buildings and converted lofts. The inside decor was stylish and shocking at the same time.
It was a converted loft and the beauty of the experience was that you could see chef and his crew at work right there, with the prep work done in front of your eyes.
Big dining table had only 20 sits, as Chef explained the whole idea is to bring people from different walks of life together, under one roof where they will be united with one purpose: to enjoy their food and share the joy of dining together.
They specifically pick an eclectic group to add to the dining experience where you can meet anyone, from high powered attorneys, fashion designers to producers and newly “retired” Facebook executives.
Chef Craig would come and introduce each dish in the most casual but charming manner. Each creation was utterly unique and original with the eclectic combinations of Russian “pelmenies” and purple algae mousse.
10 course dinner ended with fantastic dessert and no bills! The entire dining is only on “donation” bases, for which red Chinese envelops were provided.
The whole thing was so inspiring that I would definitely recommend to experience it for yourselves whenever you’re in LA.
xoxo
E.
