Amy ScattergoodSona, David Myers' flagship La Cienga restaurant, is closing. The restaurant will close in May and reopen in an as-yet-unnamed location next year. Myers, who also owns and operates comme Ça and Pizzeria Ortica in Costa Mesa, has had a tempestuous year or two, in which he switched business partners, his wholesale bakery operation closed, and both the original Boule across La Cienega Boulevard from Sona and a second Boule in Beverly Hills closed.
When we called Myers this afternoon, he said that closing Sona made sense, as the lease was up and he had an opportunity to recast and update the restaurant for which he is best known. Sona, which earned 1 Michelin star, opened in 2002. The new Sona will continue with the current staff (chef de cuisine Kuniko Yagi, pastry chef Ramon Perez) and will feature a similar menu to the kind that Sona has always had. “Designwise, it's going to be really phenomenal,” said Myers, who is working with designer Adam Tihany on the new location. Both Yagi and Perez will be on the road after Sona closes later this spring. “I'm sending them around to work for other chefs,” says their boss, explaining that he hit the road himself during months between gigs (Restaurant Daniel, Patina), and benefited enormously from the experience.
Sona dining room interior; Credit: Sona
In the meantime, Myers has his hands full. In September, he's opening two new venues in Tokyo, a high end pastry shop and a “Sonaesque” restaurant, both in the Ginza district. “I love Tokyo. It's the other city I'd live in, in the world,” says Myers. “There are more Michelin stars in Tokyo than in Paris.” Look for a continued Asian influence on Sona's menu.
As far as the other projects, Myers has been “aggressively looking” for a location for the second Pizzeria Ortica that's long been in the works for the last four months. This second pizzeria will be run by the same team as the current one in Costa Mesa. Either Eastside or Westside (Myers is not a man who enjoys being pinned down), “absolutely this year.” And that second comme Ça is also on the burner, so to speak. But Myers isn't saying anything about it now, so add that to the list of Stuff He's Going To Tell Us Later. We'll be waiting.
Sona Restaurant: 401 North La Cienega Boulevard, Los Angeles; (310) 659-7708.
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