I made the trek quite regularly to Manhattan Beach to a little store front in a large strip mall where a Southwestern restaurant called St. Estephe was located. The Chef/partner John Sedlar was turning out some very upscale cuisine and quite unlike anything in the area; it almost seemed out-of-place at the time. I visited him less often at the oddly named Abiquiu (its namesake is a small town in New Mexico) in Santa Monica.
In December he is about to open Rivera across the street from L.A. Live with partners Bill Chait, founder of Louise’s Trattoria chain, and designer Eddie Soto a former Disney imaging technician. Sedlar has developed a new twist on Latin Cuisine with touches of gastronomic molecular chemistry à la Ferran Adrià. There will also be the Samba Lounge with a bar menu featuring Ceviche and other raw items and the Playa Bar.
Small plates will range from $8 to $16, and full-plate entrées will run from $18 to $29. It could be that the check average could be $35 to $45 per person.

According to Bill Chait, “The price point is designed in a way so that people can eat casually and spend only $30 for dinner.

It will be interesting to see how this restaurant and Celestino Drago’s “Drago Centro”, both establishments coming from seasoned operators, go down in downtown Los Angeles. Most probably, they will do well.