Cliff's Edge has grown a lot in recent years under chef Vartan Abgaryan. So when it was announced in July that Abgaryan would be leaving Cliff's Edge to be the chef at 71Above on the 71st floor of the U.S. Bank Tower downtown (the tallest building in California), Silver Lake locals wondered what would become of the neighborhood favorite.

Today, the news comes that Cliff's Edge has hired Gavin Humes to fill Abgaryan's shoes, effective immediately. Humes most recently was chef at Sadie Kitchen and Inn of the Seventh Ray. Prior to that, Humes spent four years at Raphael Restaurant in Studio City, where he started as a line cook and worked his way up to executive chef.

Says Humes: “I’m thrilled to be joining the team at Cliff's Edge. Long before accepting this position, I enjoyed memorable meals here with my wife, both for brunch and for dinner, and we talked about how much we could envision myself and my cooking here. I am so excited to find myself here and am eager to share my food and build upon Cliff's Edge's reputation of culinary excellence. My team and I have been working on a number of new dishes, using the best possible local and seasonal products, and we’re excited to embark on this new adventure.”

Humes' focus is on seasonal market ingredients, and while I haven't seen the new menus, I'm assuming we can expect something a little more rustic than Abgaryan's modernist approach. Humes' new menu will roll out within the next week or so.

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