Jacaranda, one of L.A.’s most anticipated restaurants, made its debut on May 6, 2026. Welcoming everyone to the table is the husband-and-wife team of chef Daniel Patterson (co-founder of Alta Adams in L.A.; formerly of Coi in San Francisco), and lauded music industry veteran Sarah Lewitinn (a.k.a, Ultragrrrl). Expect fine dining sophistication and refinement mixed with spirited dinner party vibes.
Jacaranda is Sarah’s first foray as a restaurateur, and this also marks Daniel’s return to fine dining since he stepped away from day-to-day operations at two Michelin-starred Coi at the end of 2015. (Coi closed in 2022 due to the pandemic.) For dinner, Daniel serves a 10-course tasting menu, and 6-course menu for Sunday lunch, showcasing the distinctive, sensuous modern California cuisine that has earned him international acclaim. With only 30 seats, including a 6-seat communal table, dining at Jacaranda is meant to be an intimate, festive affair. One in which personal connection is encouraged, and the joy of community is celebrated.
The couple first teamed up in 2025 to operate the pop-up Jaca Social Club. It was run out of their very own Hancock Park home with Sarah serving as the front-of-the-house ringleader, and Daniel manning the kitchen stoves. Jaca Social Club’s sold-out dinners earned high praise for its inventive tasting menus and its boisterous, communal dining, serving as a prelude of what’s to come at Jacaranda.
“What is a fine dining restaurant with dinner party vibes? It means Daniel’s going to cook you a fancy meal while Sarah’s making sure the music’s on point. It’s going to be elegant and beautiful and do all the things a fine dining restaurant should do, but it’s also the kind of place where you might find yourself talking to the table next to you and making new friends. You’re coming over to our place, and we want to take care of you. So, relax. Hang out. Soak in the good energy of good company. Enjoy a parade of delicious, interesting dishes and beverages while time stands still. Most of all, just have a good time.” – said Sarah and Daniel in a statement.
Jacaranda is located at 6623 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038. It offers dinner service Wednesday to Saturday with lunch service on Sunday. Reservations can be made via OpenTable (https://www.opentable.com/r/
THE HOSTS
Like many modern romances, Sarah Lewittin and Daniel Patterson first met on a dating app, connecting over their mutual love of music, gastronomy, art and travel. They married in 2022. You can always expect to see them at Jacaranda. Be sure to say hi!
Daniel is one of the world’s most respected chefs and restaurateurs, who is best known for his innovative cooking at two Michelin-starred Coi in San Francisco. He was the co-founder / partner of the critically acclaimed Alta Adams in Los Angeles with chef Keith Corbin, and a co-founder of the groundbreaking fast food venture LocoL. Daniel has co-founded two non-profit organizations: The Cooking Project, an organization that empowers youth through cooking, and LocoL Community, which focuses on vocational training and food insecurity in the Watts community.
Sarah Lewitinn is a 25-year music industry veteran, professionally known by her moniker Ultragrrrl. She started her career as a writer for SPIN magazine at 19, and became an editor three years later. She’s credited with being a major influence on the 2000s NYC music scene – appearing on the cover of the Village Voice and in the pages of New York magazine as one of the country’s most influential music tastemakers. Sprinkled throughout her career is her stint as My Chemical Romance’s first manager, co-founder of the record label Stolen Transmission (an Island/Def Jam subsidiary), a couple of books through Simon & Schuster and being an award-winning DJ/events promoter.
THE EXPERIENCE
At Jacaranda, you can expect all the traditional hallmarks of an elegant fine dining restaurant – stellar cooking, high-touch service, premium wine selections, well-appointed environs – minus any pretense, formality and certainly any stuffiness. There is no dress code. The music is jamming. (Yes, that is a Smashing Pumpkins’ song you’re hearing.) The dining room is buzzy and convivial. Mingling and making friends are encouraged – especially if you’ve booked a seat at the 6-top communal table. Sarah is well-known for throwing some of the most-talked-about parties and events over years. In her seminal oral history of New York City’s 2000’s music scene, Meet Me in the Bathroom, author Lizzy Goodman described Sarah as the “beneficent queen of debauchery.” Sarah’s aiming to channel some of that same energy as she serves as Jacaranda’s soundtrack supervisor and front-of-house master of ceremonies.
“Our Jaca Social Club pop-up was the first time I ever worked in anything resembling a restaurant. Personally, I learned I could go from being a Lower East Side punk rock DJ into a Beverly Hills-lorazapramed-socialite-
THE MENU
Daniel is widely considered a pioneer of modern California cuisine. Anthony Bourdain called him, “One of the greatest chefs and most innovative, provocative and important voices in food.” His approach to cooking has always been rooted in perspective, originality and delivering deliciousness for all the senses. He’s spent decades exploring the Golden State’s bounty of ingredients – wild-harvested and cultivated – and developing techniques to craft dishes that evoke memory, emotion, time and place. At their core though, Jacaranda’s ever-changing seasonal tasting menus are his deeply personal way of taking care of you when you visit. Matt Tinder, Daniel’s dear friend and former pastry chef at Coi who’s earned a James Beard Award nomination for his work at Saboteur Bakery in Bremerton, WA, is overseeing Jacaranda’s desserts and bread baking.
A sampling of what you can expect:
– Grilled and Raw Vegetables with green juice of yerba santa, nopales and lime
– Soft Tofu with fresh seaweeds and caviar
– Braised Monterrey Abalone with a stew of Tehachapi grains, dandelion salsa verde, bread from Tehachapi grains and house cultured butter
– Pepper Crusted Duck with a sauce of roasted blueberries and wild bay
– Braised Monterrey Abalone with a stew of Tehachapi grains, dandelion salsa verde, bread from Tehachapi grains and house cultured butter
– Pepper Crusted Duck with a sauce of roasted blueberries and wild bay
– Inverted Raw Chocolate and Roasted Kelp Tart
“I’ve spent the last ten years working and then living in L.A., getting to know the climate, the geography, the products, the people. I am so grateful for my experiences at LocoL and Alta, and to everyone along the way who opened doors around this incredible city and showed me its heart. I took a break from fine dining but I always knew it was temporary. When I decided that I was ready to return, I knew that it had to be here, in this city that I have grown to love. I’m so excited to connect with our community in a new way.” – Daniel
THE WINE AND DRINKS
Jacaranda’s beverage program features wines, fine sakes, craft beers, rare teas and house-made non-alcoholic drinks. The wine list is composed of bottles from small, independent vintners who have a minimal intervention ethos, and includes some hard-to-find selections. California wines primarily make up the list along with a healthy offering of bottles from across the globe. The non-alcoholic beverages are a mix of house-made juices, fermentations and rare teas. The menu might include Sparkling Elderflower Kombucha to start the meal, and Aged Oolong Tea from 1978 served with the duck.
There are four different beverage pairings to complement your meal: All California wines; California and Global wines; Hybrid (wine, beer and sake); and Non-Alcoholic.
THE DESIGN
The Los Angeles architecture design firm Preen Inc. was tapped for Jacaranda’s atmospherics. Drawing inspirations from Sarah and Daniel’s personalities, the pop-up-at-home Jaca Social Club, L.A. culture and of course, jacaranda trees, Preen Inc. conceived the dining room as a living room. A social, yet intimate space bridging elegance with simplicity.
Jacaranda’s frontage is framed by signature, lilac-tinted floor-to-ceiling windows, evoking a transportive through-the-looking-glass feeling as you step inside. Suspended from the ceiling is a sculpture reminiscent of a jacaranda leaf that spans just over 15 feet and canopies the room. Hues of rust and umber make up the floor and seating. The walls are dressed with white grass-cloth, and adorned with art from Sarah’s great-uncle, Landes Lewitin. A key piece is a 4’ x 8’ commissioned painting by Adele Renault of the jacaranda tree that grows behind Alta Adams. That tree is the inspiration for Jacaranda’s name.
THE LOCOL CONNECTION
Daniel is a noted advocate for systemic change in the hospitality industry with a keen focus on wage equity, racial diversity, gender equality, professional opportunity expansion and mentorship. To help foster these efforts, Jacaranda has partnered with LocoL Community, and hires directly from the nonprofit’s vocational training and development program for positions in both the front and back of house. To learn more about LocoL Community, visit welocol.com.
Jacaranda is located at 6623 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038
Hours of Operation:
Dinner – Wednesday to Saturday, one seating starting at 5:30PM
Lunch – Sunday, one seating starting at 12PM
Reservations: Available 4 weeks in advance via OpenTable (https://www.opentable.com/r/
Parking: Valet
