Mélisse

Mélisse Is Not the Restaurant You Remember

If your mental image of Mélisse is a formal French dining room with white tablecloths, silver cloches, a wine list the size of a paperback novel, you are about 15 years behind. The revived Mélisse is a 14-seat tasting-menu counter set inside the larger Citrin restaurant on Wilshire Boulevard, it operates with the intensity and precision of a kitchen that has nothing left to prove but keeps proving it anyway. After 25 years, this is not a heritage act coasting on two Michelin stars. It is a working restaurant that earned those stars again in 2024 and 2025 and ranked #95 on Opinionated About Dining's North America list in 2025.

What You're Actually Booking

The format is tasting-menu-only, 14 seats, open kitchen. Chef Josiah Citrin runs the room alongside chef-partner Ken Takayama and head sommelier Maja Kuemmerle. The cuisine sits at the intersection of classical French technique and California seasonality: think tomato consommé formed into clear, chewy noodles, or a lamb course that arrives simultaneously as a herb-crusted chop and a fried spring roll with cilantro and mint emulsion. These are not fusion flourishes; they are the moves of a kitchen that has absorbed enough classical training to bend the rules with confidence. The LA Times ranked Mélisse #24 on its 101 Best Restaurants list for 2024, La Liste gave it 91 points in 2025, placing it firmly in the tier of restaurants where the question is not whether the cooking is serious but whether the format suits you.

If you have been once, the relevant question for a return visit is not whether the kitchen can still surprise you; it can, but whether you want to experience the full arc of the tasting menu again or whether you would prefer the more relaxed register of the adjacent Citrin dining room. For a special occasion where the progression of the meal is part of the point, book Mélisse. For a dinner where the agenda is conversation more than cooking, Citrin does that job. The distinction matters at this price tier.

The Tasting Menu Architecture

What makes the current Mélisse worth the money is the structural ambition of the menu rather than any single course. The kitchen is not assembling a greatest-hits list of luxury ingredients. The arc of the meal is designed so that early courses build context for later ones, acidity and restraint giving way to richness, technique becoming visible precisely when you are most ready to notice it. The strawberry sorbet floating in orange tomato soup is a case in point: it arrives looking like dessert and tastes like a course that reframes everything before it. For diners who have already been once, the pleasure of a return visit is catching that architecture earlier in the meal, now that you know where it is going.

Compared with other tasting-menu experiences at this level in Los Angeles, Mélisse is the most classically anchored. Kato operates at a similar price point and ambition level but through a Taiwanese-American lens. Hayato is the right call if kaiseki is what you want. Mélisse is the answer when the format you are looking for is French-rooted fine dining that has been genuinely updated rather than preserved in amber. It occupies a comparable tier nationally to The French Laundry in Napa and Le Bernardin in New York City, though the 14-seat scale gives it an intimacy that larger rooms cannot replicate.

Booking, Timing, Practical Details

Getting a table here is genuinely difficult. With only 14 seats and a reputation that extends well beyond Los Angeles, it holds Relais & Châteaux membership and consistent placement on international lists, demand is high relative to supply. Expect to book at least six to eight weeks out for prime weekend evenings; weekday sittings may have slightly more availability but should not be treated as a walk-up option. Contact via email at melisse@relaischateaux.com or by phone at +1 310 395 0881. The website is at citrinandmelisse.com.

Reservations: Essential; book 6-8 weeks ahead minimum for weekends. Budget: $$$$, a two Michelin-starred tasting menu at this seat count will be a significant per-head spend; confirm current pricing when booking. Dress: Smart to formal is appropriate given the setting and price tier; this is not a room where casual dress fits the experience. Dietary needs: Contact the restaurant directly before booking, kitchens operating at this level with a fixed tasting menu format need advance notice to accommodate restrictions.

Ratings and Recognition

• 2 Michelin Stars (2024, 2025)
• La Liste: 91 points (2025), 87 points (2026)
• Opinionated About Dining, North America: #95 (2025), #109 (2023), #134 (2024)
• LA Times 101 Best Restaurants 2024: #24
• Les Grandes Tables du Monde (2025)
• Pearl member rating: 4.4/5

The Verdict

Book Mélisse if you want the most technically ambitious tasting menu currently running in Los Angeles, delivered in an intimate counter format that makes the cooking feel personal rather than theatrical. At 25 years old, this kitchen is not resting, the 2025 Opinionated About Dining ranking improved on 2024, the Michelin stars have been consistent. For return visitors, go with the expectation of encountering something new rather than revisiting something familiar. For first-timers comparing this against Providence or Somni, Mélisse is the right call if French classical technique with California produce is your preferred register. If you want to compare the broader Los Angeles fine dining field before deciding, our full Los Angeles restaurants guide covers the category. For planning the rest of your trip, see our guides to Los Angeles hotels, bars, wineries, and experiences.