Long before the small plate movement began, diners were jamming into Santa Monica’s  JiRaffe restaurant on Monday nights for a chance to experience chef Raphael Lunetta’s intriguing new concept: The Tasting Menu — something that has become commonplace in L.A. dining rooms.

Popular with both diners and chefs, the sharing plates and small bites trend has taken off and redefined how we experience dining and doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere anytime soon. In fact, this week’s dineLA celebrates 15 years, largely inspired by the first chefs to participate  — Lunetta and his JiRaffe partner and childhood friend Josiah Citrin who went on to open the Michelin-starred Melisse. 

“The small plate movement really approached us in the early 2000s for a couple of reasons,” the Dogtown native and avid surfer tells L.A. Weekly in his current restaurant, Lunetta. “Going out to dinner and sitting in front of somebody at a little two-top had gotten a little boring. In the ‘80s and ‘90s lunch was big. People would go out and have martinis; lunch was a big meal. Then it became less relevant. Then dinner came to a place where it needed to be more casual, relaxed and social. Then all the charcuterie plates and pickled vegetables came out, which was ahead of its time in terms of economics in the restaurant business. Back then those restaurants were doing well in terms of labor compared to now. It’s tougher than it’s ever been. So small plates came in and then communal dining. More unique and eclectic wines were available and it became much more of a social sharing experience and exciting way of exploring a variety of small bites and big flavors with a more relaxed service.”

Raphael Lunetta

Taste of Lunetta: zucchini blossoms and sweet corn agnolotti (Michele Stueven)

It’s that shift that Lunetta says prompted the closure of the upscale JiRaffe after 18 years of business and the opening of his current space in 2016, which combines everything from fine dining to breakfast, full-bar outdoor pandemic patio, and an upcoming tapas bar.  

“The small plate movement brought in a much younger demographic,” he says. “So this was very refreshing after doing Jiraffe. We weren’t forced to use tablecloths and had a little bit more space for communal dining.”

Lunetta’s approachable prix fixe dinners have hit a fever pitch and are the best and most diverse in town. There have been about 30 different tasting menus in the last 18 months, including a fundraiser for Oahu fire victims that brought together the talents of fellow chefs Citrin and Jar’s Suzanne Tracht, with 100% of food sales going to the victims.

Raphael Lunetta

Diver Sea Scallops from Dine LA Dinner Menu (Courtesy Lunetta)

Other themed typically four-course Taste of Lunetta dinners include Cinco de Madre, Viejo Madrid, Old Hollywood and Puerto Nuevo. This week’s $35 dineLA lunch menu looks like this: 

Starters:

  • Chilled pea soup and crab cake, delicately flavored with lemongrass coulis.

Entrees (Choose one):

  • Mushroom fettuccini prepared with white wine, roasted shiitake, reggiano, and shaved fresh black truffle 
  • Seafood Risotto Milanese – a seafood lover’s dream featuring rock shrimp, Maryland crab, bay scallops, squid, spring peas and a lobster reduction.
  • Bolognese Mafaldine – a classic favorite with housemade meat sauce, reggiano and fresh basil.

Dessert:

  • Lemon bundt cake with fresh whipped cream and a pomegranate reduction.
Raphael Lunetta

Chef Raphael Lunetta (Jakob Layman)

Always inspiring and conspiring with fellow chefs, he recently took his close team of executive chef Emilio Cuyuch, pastry chef Lisa Gardner and general manager Hannah Hruby to Los Alamos for a food festival to celebrate the 20-year anniversary of Full of Life Foods with friends Clark Staub and Jill Davie.

“What the tasting menu does for the restaurant is bring together different cultures and spark conversation within the community,” says Cuyuch, who often spends walks on the beach Lunetta grew up on to brainstorm prix fixe ideas, just as five customers saunter into the restaurant.

One customer admits he’s been following the Santa Monica chef’s tasting menus since those Monday nights at JiRaffe many years ago.

So what makes that prix fixe concept so habit-forming?

“Because I don’t have to think,” he says. “I can sit down, the food comes and I don’t have to get into a heated conversation with my date over the menu.”

Personally, I think it’s the sopa Azteca, Baja carne asada, grilled Mexican wild shrimp and rum caramelized manzano plantains on Puerto Nuevo night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.