The chef who helped America fall for tapas has an Orange County dining room in the works, planned for inside Anaheim’s much-ballyhooed OCVibe project.
Through his namesake restaurant group, José Andrés and his team will open a restaurant at the upcoming Sena, a hotel slated to open in 2029 at OCVibe, the 100-acre development surrounding Anaheim’s Honda Center. The eatery will occupy the hotel’s ground floor with access for locals and visitors alongside overnight guests.
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José Andrés Group operates restaurants throughout the United States, including Culver City’s Butterfly Tacos Y Tortas and Zaytinya, and San Laurel in Los Angeles.
A dinner reservation could also come with a sighting of the chef. Andrés will reportedly work closely with his team to shape the restaurant’s concept, menu and creative direction. Guests can expect regular visits from the chef, along with appearances at special events. The restaurant will also overlook OCVibe’s South Plaza and Honda Center.
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The Spanish-American chef and restaurateur has won many accolades during his career, including the James Beard Foundation’s Outstanding Chef award and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. His Washington D.C. restaurant Minibar holds two Michelin stars. He is also the founder of World Central Kitchen, a nonprofit organization that provides meals to people affected by disasters and other crises.
The upcoming Anaheim restaurant’s name and menu were not disclosed in the announcement. For now, the announcement offers a celebrated name with more details still to come.
Sena will be Anaheim’s first hotel in Marriott’s Autograph Collection, with Rockwell Group, an architecture and design firm, taking on the role of designing the hotel interiors, including the restaurant..
“Bringing together Marriott’s Autograph Collection, Rockwell Group, José Andrés Group, and Sage Hospitality Group gives us the opportunity to create a hotel experience unlike anything else in Orange County,” said Dan Young, executive director of development at OCVibe, in a written release.
The restaurant will not be part of OCVibe’s culinary lineup at Katella Commons, its food hall, which will feature a slew of dining concepts by such names as Alex Garcia and Elvia Huerta of Evil Cooks, Chrysalis and Darkroom’s Zach Scherer and Debbie Lee, to name a few. Elsewhere at OCVibe, Roy Choi plans to open Best Friend as a standalone restaurant.