Violet Bistro is open!

Westwood restaurant and cooking school Violet arrives today, some 18 months since first being announced by local blog Toddrickallen. The casual California French spot on Glendon Avenue comes by way of Dana Slatkin, the longtime chef and cookbook author based in Los Angeles.

The idea with Violet is to offer a little bit of everything, from lunch, brunch, dinner, and drinks, to a fully functional cooking school and events destination run by Slatkin herself. For the latter, expect things like two-hour programs on making casual French food at home, or on whipping up a night of cocktails and bar snacks.

Lunch at the restaurant is a mix of $16 sandwiches, soups, salads, and French staples like steak frites or a $23 plate of gnocchi Parisienne. For dinner, Slatkin’s executive chef Camden Hershberger — who previously worked at Bouchon, Tartine Bianco, and Tallula’s — offers similarly-priced entrees like rotisserie chicken, a pan-seared whitefish barigoule, or a $19 burger with emmental cheese and confit onions. The space itself is a mix of rustic homestyle decor and more refined dark woods, marble, and floral prints. Wendy Haworth (Felix) designed the spaces, including the restaurant, cooking school, and attached home cooking shop.

Violet is open as of today at 1121 Glendon Avenue in Westwood, keeping hours from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, for lunch. Dinner runs nightly from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. (11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday), and brunch operates Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

 

 Nicole LaMotte Photography

 

 Nicole LaMotte Photography

 

 Aliza J. Sokolow

 

 Nicole LaMotte Photography

 

 Aliza J. Sokolow