Knife Pleat

On Black Friday of all days, I had just finished eating lunch at Knife Pleat, the 6-month-old French restaurant inside South Coast Plaza, when the lights flickered and then stayed off in the dining room. I watched as servers in neat white button

Mesa mall, including the Penthouse level, where Knife Pleat is located. The outage lasted nearly two hours. In the shadowy open kitchen, normally a well-lighted jewel box of burnished steel counters and state-of-the-art ovens, chef Tony Esnault looked

, maisondanapoint.com Prosciutto and tomato toast at Maison Cafe in Dana Point (Photo by Brad A. Johnson, Orange County Register/SCNG) 5. Knife Pleat The long-awaited new culinary anchor of South Coast Plaza, the very francophile Knife Pleat is run by Tony Esnault and

the weekly Sunday afternoon tea is in a league of its own. 3333 Bristol St., Costa Mesa, 714-266-3388, knifepleat.com A view of the dinning room seen through the large open sliding glass doors at Knife Pleat, the new French restaurant in South Coast

Gem    Omakase by Gino    Isla Cuban    Anjappar    Maison Cafe & Market    Knife Pleat    Henry's    CdM    Louie's by the Bay    Fable & Spirit   

“Are we getting caviar?” an old friend asks, so full of hope.  We’re at Knife Pleat, the luxurious French restaurant that opened in June in the penthouse of South Coast Plaza in the space formerly occupied by Marché Moderne.  It’s the second time

an insignificant portion, it takes me 10 wavering nibbles to finish it, which I do more out of respect than pleasure.  “I should have brought you with me,” I say.  Knife Pleat is owned by Tony Esnault and Yassmin Sarmadi, a couple best known for their

, highly anticipated French restaurant takes residence in Marche Moderne’s old spot on the highest floor. As with all French restaurants before it, Knife Pleat comes with a pedigreed chef whose training and experience can be traced to other famous French

? Knife Pleat, 3333 S. Bristol St., Costa Mesa, (714) 852-3974; knifepleat.com. Open Tues.-Sat., 5:30-8:30 p.m. Appetizers, $15-$32; entrées, $28-$58. Full bar.

. 34320 Pacific Coast Highway, Dana Point, 949-218-8431, maisondanapoint.com Cocktail with rum and spring peas at Knife Pleat in Costa Mesa (Photo by Brad A. Johnson, Orange County Register/SCNG) Pea cocktail at Knife Pleat As long as we’re talking about

peas and surprises, here’s another. You might not get a chance to taste this one because it was a daily special, very limited, inspired by a batch of first-of-the-season peas that had just arrived in chef Tony Esnault’s kitchen at Knife Pleat, the fancy

cook left for a mattress factory. “I understand, and I don’t begrudge them,” Yoon said. “The restaurant industry became an undependable place to earn an income.” Tony Esnault, chef at the Michelin-starred Knife Pleat at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa

all positions, but none has been more difficult than a dishwasher. The restaurant is still short two dishwashers, but Esnault and his wife and Knife Pleat co-owner, Yassmin Sarmadi, said they’re making it work any way they can. Chef Tony Esnault, right

(including how they needed to navigate their business and connection during a pandemic), Morisano and Bailey have learned to lead by example. Lunch with Costa Mesa’s Knife Pleat on Jan. 31 The next installment in The Times’ Dinner Series moves the action to

daytime: Chef Tony Esnault and restaurateur Yassmin Sarmadi of Costa Mesa’s Knife Pleat will host a four-course lunch to be picked up and reheated at home. “Ivory soup” (a purée of sunchokes, celery and leeks with winter truffle), sea bream with fennel and

Register/SCNG) Knife Pleat The scene: The penthouse terrace at Knife Pleat is a luxurious respite from the mall, or from life in general really. Settle into one of the feather-cushioned settees, calibrate your mind toward Champagne and envision Paris in the

springtime. What to order: Wild escargot, steak tartare, roasted duck, fig panna cotta, chocolate cremeux. South Coast Plaza, 3333 Bristol St., third floor, Costa Mesa, 714-266-3388, knifepleat.com Chocolate hazelnut Louis XV cake at Knife Pleat in Costa Mesa

, louiesnewport.com Bistecca alla Fiorentina at Louie’s by the Bay in Newport Beach (Photo by Brad A. Johnson, Orange County Register/SCNG) 4. Louis XV cake at Knife Pleat Every single one of pastry chef Germain Biotteau’s desserts at Knife Pleat is extraordinary but

none more so than this chocolate hazelnut cake. South Coast Plaza, 3333 Bristol St., Costa Mesa, 714-266-3388, knifepleat.com Chocolate hazelnut Louis XV cake at Knife Pleat in Costa Mesa (Photo by Brad A. Johnson, Orange County Register/SCNG) 3. Unagi

third floor. Christian Louboutin, Oscar de la Renta and Canali are all neighbors. Knife Pleat is located in the space formerly occupied by the French restaurant Marché Moderne, which moved to Newport Coast last year. The 5,000-square-foot restaurant is

expected to seat 90. Esnault, who grew up in the Loire Valley and went to culinary school in Lyon, plans to use his last 25 years cooking in French fine dining restaurants as inspiration for the menu at Knife Pleat. Before opening Church & State and Spring