The Edition Hotel West Hollywood’s restaurant Ardor is a verdant square of reprieve in West Hollywood.
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Nestled within the Edition Hotel West Hollywood, Ardor is a restaurant that is more intimate and mysterious than the modernist hotel’s Sunset Boulevard facade. A principal role in the interiors is the lighting and the lush greenery. It transforms you suddenly to an ambient, nature-inspired terrain. Large, dark stained wood tables and wicker cane chairs frame the dining space, which is full of various types of palms, ferns and more, forming a forest-like oasis in the middle of West Hollywood.
Waking up in Los Angeles, breakfast at Ardor will always be my favorite meal of the day. I start with a flaky, buttery croissant on a perfect ceramic plate with some black coffee. Then comes something fun: the forest-mushroom omelette with feta cheese and crispy potatoes. This never fails for me, but if you’re really hungry, the chilaquiles are also an ideal choice, served with crispy egg, avocado, and roasted pepper and tomato salsa. Add either the green beauty or the life-flow juice to start the day off with the right energy.
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For dinner, the menu is divided into five sections: crudo, appetizers, entrees, charcoal grill and vegetables—with all ingredients locally sourced. I start with the charred broccolini with toasted sesame seeds and szechuan-spiced tahini. Then the yellowfin tuna tartare, which is perfect to share. And if we’re very hungry I add the aleppo crusted shrimp, with creamy polenta, chayote and scampi sauce.
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Now I think about it, Ardor’s name—which means “transitory warmth of feeling” —makes perfect sense. From the moment you go in, ardor is exactly what you feel as you take in its architectural design, its vegetable-forward menu, its perfect staff, and all the green that surrounds you. Is it a garden in a restaurant or a restaurant in a garden? It’s both, I think to myself as I step out into the bustling streets of West Hollywood, revitalized and ready to take on the city.
The Ardor is located in the Edition Hotel West Hollywood at 9040 West Sunset Boulevard, West Hollywood, California 90069.