New Academy Museum of Motion Pictures restaurant finds its light

Los Angeles would like to thank the Academy today for inaugurating its highly anticipated new Cinema Museum on Wilshire Boulevard. The long-delayed project hosted a pre-opening gala last week and is now, a sunny Thursday in late September, open to the world. It also means that the new grand restaurant on the ground floor of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, Fanny’s, has arrived for its moment of glory.

While Fanny’s full experience has yet to hit the red carpet, the all-day space is now partially open for coffee basics, ranging from espresso drinks and pastries to salads, sandwiches, and natural wine. Museum goers and local diners can enter the cafe area of ​​the restaurant from the patio that runs alongside Fairfax (or from the museum lobby itself) before ordering at the counter and taking a seat. The dinner, slated to begin later this fall, will have a much more cinematic twist thanks to a service staff determined to return to the heyday of American cuisine. That means table service, captains floating around the room in tuxedos to oversee the experience, and larger and richer cuisine from chef Raphael François, who has Michelin-level pedigree and recently opened Tesse on Sunset Boulevard. . The opening menu is below.

Francois is joined at Fanny’s by Bill Chait, a full-fledged prolific LA restaurateur, celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck, whose catering department will help organize events and other programs at the museum. Carl Schuster is also a partner, with the financial support of the Fran & Ray Stark Foundation.

As for dinner at Fanny’s (named after famous actress Fanny Brice), expect a big and daring Technicolor arrival in November, with service spread across 10,000 square feet of food court and two floors. For now, moviegoers can make do with coffee, with daily hours from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The reserved entrance to the museum is not compulsory to dine at Fanny’s.