The timing seems right for Hollywood’s latest restaurant, Jacaranda, which opens Wednesday, May 6, during the region’s peak seasonal bloom. As mature lavender-colored trees coat the city’s streets, the team behind Jacaranda, chef Daniel Patterson and his wife, Sarah Lewitinn, will debut a 10-course lunch and dinner tasting menu that embraces his fine dining background in a 30-seat room that feels more casual than the previous tenant, Koast. The couple had operated Jaca Social Club as a multi-course dinner series from their home for nearly five months before the restaurant’s opening.
Though Patterson permanently moved from the Bay Area to Los Angeles in 2020, he’s mostly known in the Southland for his work with chefs Keith Corbin (Alta and Locol) and Roy Choi (Locol). Initially, Patterson and Corbin planned to open Jacaranda together as a restaurant called Jaca, only to independently shift gears in late 2025. “We’re still partners at Locol, we still talk, we’re still friends,” says Patterson. “But as chefs and operators, we wanted to work on our own thing.” Lewitinn hails from the entertainment side, having been a dance party host in New York’s indie punk scene in the 1990s. Jacaranda represents a few firsts for Patterson: his first independent Los Angeles restaurant and his first venture with Lewitinn, who maintains the key role she served at Jaca Social Club — a lively host who anchors the room for guests.
Jacaranda’s menu focuses heavily on vegetables; the restaurant will source from California as much as possible. Patterson captures ingredients at their peak — the opening menu provides a stunning artichoke flower course. The heart is trimmed and cooked, then turned into a puree with spring onion, garlic, and champagne vinegar. A soft tofu dish with fresh seaweed and caviar adds a punch of brininess to the meal, while grilled and steamed Kauai prawns get a bright presentation with yellow squash, habanero, saffron, and cilantro flowers. Patterson teamed up with his former Coi pastry chef, Matt Tinder, on dessert, and serves a platter of fruits that includes ripe mulberries, a sugar-crusted raspberry, and a kumquat filled with apricot preserve.
Camphor and Auburn alum Rick Arline took control of the beverage program, with an all-California wine list, sake, and beer, plus non-alcoholic options like homemade juices, rare teas, and fermented beverages. Jacaranda’s menu runs for $295 per person, with wine pairings for an additional $145, and the non-alcoholic pairing is $100.
Hospitality design firm Preen Inc. converted the floor-to-ceiling windows into a bright periwinkle hue, removed Koast’s underground koi pond from the entry, and installed a sculpture that resembles a jacaranda leaf, with natural colors on the seating and tables. Personal elements appear throughout, including art by Lewitinn’s uncle. The couple also commissioned a jacaranda tree mural from the Los Angeles–based artist Adele Renault.
When asked what distinguishes Jacaranda from other well-known tasting menus around Los Angeles, like Seline, Restaurant Ki, or Providence, Patterson points to Lewitinn. “She’s not a restaurant person and just brings this wacky, come on in, and have a good time energy that is infectious. Also, there is something about fine dining where you have to control the chaos, and Jacaranda kind of runs on its own axis. We can have a little bit of chaos without being hyper-focused on perfection,” he says.
Jacaranda is open at 6623 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, CA, 90038, from Wednesday through Saturday with one seating at 5:30 p.m. Lunch has one seating at noon. Secure a seat at OpenTable.