Restaurant Spotting: Corkbar set to open downtown

Coming soon downtown: Corkbar, a rustic-casual wine bar in a corner spot in the Evo building, with a list focusing on California producers. "We wanted to re-create a wine tasting experience of the Central Coast or Napa, something unpretentious and fun," says partner Caleb Wines (no joke). On the list will be 40 wines by the glass and an additional 50 to 100 by the bottle. A limited menu will offer appetizers such as crostini with tapenade, panini, salads and mains such as roasted sea bass atop chorizo and corn relish with romesco. Wines' cork collection has been put to good use. His more than 1,000 corks have been used as design accents. The scheduled opening is the last week of February. 403 W. 12th St., Los Angeles, www.corkbar.com

-- Betty Hallock

Photo courtesy of Corkbar