Chef Remi Lauvand revamps menu at Cafe Pierre in Manhattan Beach

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Chef Remi Lauvand (Citrus at Social, Miró, Sevilla, Montrachet), who popped into Breadbar last month as part of the Hatchi Guest Chef series, recently overhauled the menu at Cafe Pierre. Longtime friends Lauvand and Guy Gabriele (Zazou), Cafe Pierre’s founder and owner, have worked together before, most notably when Lauvand tweaked a few items on the menu for the restaurant’s 30th anniversary.

This time around, Lauvand is executive chef, and he’s made major changes. He’s trimmed Cafe Pierre’s long menu to retain only a handful of dishes and made several additions including house-made jars of foie parfait, duck rillette, pig trotters, head cheese and bavette cuts of beef tartare. The menu also features a nightly three-course, prixe fixe market-driven dinner for $35.

On the libations side, Gabriele has hired Tristan Price, who previously poured at Pastis, Milk & Honey and Balthazar in New York, to revamp the cocktail menu and serve as head bartender. Price’s custom cocktails include the French Pearl (Plymouth gin, pernod, simple syrup, lime juice and fresh mint) and the Badminton Cup (Gordon’s gin, lime juice, simple syrup, fresh mint and cucumber), among others.

Gabriele and Lauvand are already scouting locations for a joint restaurant, possibly in Pasadena but potentially anywhere in the greater L.A. area.

--Elina Shatkin