About Vespertine
Vespertine begins before you arrive. Chef Jordan Kahn's restaurant, housed inside Eric Owen Moss's gravity-defying Waffle Building in Culver City's Hayden Tract — a structure of twisted steel and glass that looks like something landed rather than built — operates on the assumption that dining is a total experience: architectural, sonic, olfactory, and gastronomic simultaneously. You will hear ambient music composed specifically for the space. You will eat in multiple rooms as the evening progresses. The building itself is a course.
The tasting menu, titled "The Origin of Everything," runs to sixteen courses and traces a narrative arc through evolutionary time — from the first emergence of fungal and algal life through the Cambrian explosion of deep-ocean creatures to the complexity of the present. This is not metaphor for its own sake; Kahn's cooking actually uses the ingredients these narrative chapters suggest, with dishes built from foraged mushrooms and seaweeds, from shellfish and ancient grains, executed with a precision that makes the conceptual framework feel earned rather than pretentious.
The beverage program offers three pairing options: a traditional wine pairing spotlighting Spain and France; a dynamic pairing that moves between wine, sake, beer, natural fermentations, and juices; and a non-alcoholic pairing that is among the most considered in California. The base price of $250 per person does not include beverages or service, making a full evening a significant investment — but one that is genuinely unlike any other meal available in this city, or most cities.
Vespertine has held two Michelin stars since 2019 and received a Michelin Green Star in 2024 for its commitment to sustainable and foraged ingredients. Reservations via Tock; demand consistently exceeds supply.
