Acclaimed Southern Chef Brings Live-Fire Cooking and Appalachian Flavors to Restaurant Darling
Acclaimed Southern chef Sean Brock will open his first Los Angeles restaurant this August, bringing his signature live-fire cooking and Appalachian influence to West Hollywood, as reported by Eater Los Angeles.
The restaurant, named Darling, will open across the street from Lisa Vanderpump’s SUR and the sandwich shop Something About Her, owned by Vanderpump Rules stars Ariana Madix and Katie Maloney. Seasonal California ingredients prepared over an open flame will be its focus, which connects to Brock’s love of heritage cooking techniques. Additionally, a cocktail bar and lounge called Bar Darling will also open, and Brock may well be spinning vinyl occasionally as is his wont in Nashville.
Now based in Nashville, Brock splits his time between Tennessee and Los Angeles. Chef Brock was one of the featured chefs in 2023’s 8 Nights at Birdie G’s dinner series, and I wrote a review of his wondrous talents and food for The Santa Monica Mirror. I can say, without a doubt, that you will want to get a reservation at Darling as soon as it opens.
Chef Brock is also well known for his guest appearance on Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown, when the two chefs got to know each other as Brock introduced Bourdain to the wonders of Waffle House. The 2015 episode set in Charleston, South Carolina, contains one of the series’ most popular segments.
Brock, a James Beard Award-winning chef and author, is best known for his influential work in Charleston and Nashville, where he helped redefine modern Southern cuisine. He gained national recognition as the executive chef of Charleston’s Husk from 2010 to 2018, later partnering at the celebrated McCrady’s Restaurant. His debut cookbook Heritage became a New York Times bestseller and earned a James Beard Award for best American cookbook.
Over the past decade, Brock has launched several restaurants across the South, including Atlanta’s Minero in 2015 and Nashville’s Joyland in 2020. He followed Joyland with a pair of Appalachian-focused restaurants in Nashville, including Audrey.
