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If you or a loved one has paid $27 for a small scoop of lonely sausages and mashed potatoes at a wine bar of a certain topic and leaves you hungry, you may be entitled to financial compensation.
At least I wish that was the case. When restaurant mathematics were not working for the people involved, the humble wine bar was promoted to cultural and algorithmic significance as a legal dining genre in Los Angeles. For diners, at least with a glance at the menu, there’s less sticker shock, along with the thrill of going out to go out. Still, I order some of the small plates of carbohydrate-rich flavors served with most trendy wine-centric spots – enough to make a complete meal, and the undeniable fact remains. The plates are actually small and the prices don’t always match.
So even during rush hour, it was a great pleasure to go down 405 (yes) and eat at Vinfolk. Running almost entirely by a trained chef, the nearly four-month restaurant offers a globally inspired dish of French language infused with the flares of modernist fine dining. I think I used crabs caught on the coast of Southern California by Singapore’s chili crab and remixed into creamy risotto, which uses a soft beef tongue seasoned with Russian-style spicy Western walladish and tatoji (a type of Asian Asian brassica green that resembles bokchoy).
Photo: Richard Tranley for Time Outbin Fork
The Philippine-inspired dessert is two Michelin star-stretched Vespertin and its casual counterpart, the destroyer, with more than similarities to the impressive edible sculpture. The restaurant’s pastry chef, Rayelman, spent time at both restaurants. There is also an excellent drink programme that includes an eclectic mix of wine, non-alcoholic cocktails and house blended teas. And the thoughtful approach to service, nodding to the tasting menu and the world of white tablecloths, adheres to all forms.
When I say that the restaurant is almost entirely run by a chef, I mean that: unless one of the two sommeliers is on the floor, each dish will be served to you by someone of the chef’s white apron with associated backstory and culinary influences. Vinfolk chef first met in 2019 when owners Kevin de los Santos and Katia Shastova (their business and life partners) and when Somni was still presenting each course. (Note: They still do this with Somni 2.0.)
Photo: Richard Tranley for Time Outtop Low, from left: Christina Montoya (Operation/Partner/Sommelier), Kevin de los Santos, Katia Shastova, Ray Elman, Nathan Garraldo. Bottom line: Elijah Games, Paolo Pimentel, Luke Arudha, Idian Haschemian (Wine Specialist/Sommelier)
At Vin Folk, the entire culinary staff spins all tasks, from cooking specific dishes to the necessary and important dishwashing acts of meals. The rather democratic kitchen system, combined with the talents of Delos Santos and Shastova, manages to recruit excellent recruits for the cooking itself, overturning the notion of “too many cooks.” In fact, it resembles the egalitarian vibe of early Hollywood Scandal horses. Los Angeles once featured in a team of four co-chevs, sous chefs and pastry chefs.
In comparison, De Los Santos and Shastova’s background and past experiences are professional and personal, primarily informing Vin Folk’s delicious menu, while other members of the kitchen have also contributed to the development of certain dishes. Originally from the Philippines, Delos Santos inspired the development of essential Chilean crabs from nearby Singapore. Despite its creamy texture, dishes like risotto are completely dairy free, thanks to the use of crab fats that the kitchen emulsifies into butter. It has a spicy colour and rich seafood flavour, making it one of the standout dishes on the menu.
Photo: Richard Tranley timed out of Vinfolk’s chili crab
What makes Chilean Crab special, however, is Vin’s folklore source from the captain of the local diving boats that Shastoba worked during lockdown. She had been fired from her kitchen job at the time, and decided to put her hands on the crab. “He’s like my dad,” she explains in a follow-up interview. “We’ve come very close so he’ll always take care of us.” The restaurant also offers the Captain’s homemade port.
The notable Highbrow-Lowbrow Mix is a thread thread throughout the dinner menu, divided into snacks, “cold” and “hot.” At the low end of the spectrum, the head cheese toast uses pork head cheese and milk bread (an item made at home), but topped with melted American slices. The $14 order comes with two large pieces. There is also an impressive mussel tart inspired by the open tin of escabece that the couple had when they were traveling through Spain and seasoned with fennel and a circle of cream. Restaurants streamline the food and lower prices with store-bought puff pastries (food only $22) but offer visual pleasure while incorporating high-quality seafood and gourmet ingredients.
Photo: Richard Tranley for a timeout to film the mussel escabeche tart whispering on Vin Fork.
Another outstanding and inexpensive example is the Plit, or fried Zidor Chicken. Studded with fennel pollen and togarashi, this dish draws inspiration from Taiwanese popcorn chicken and adds zucchini cubes for the plot. For $20, it’s more expensive than the average Bobashop snack, but still serves a small pile of fried chicken. A solo diner stops by for a glass of wine and snacks, either a Plit or a mussel tart can easily satisfy. For the same $20, you’ll also get Jaur and Mackerel. There are plenty of laid back piles of mashed potatoes and pickled vegetables, big enough to make a small meal.
For those looking for a true wine bar experience, the range of California and Old World wines, beer and cider is equally interesting in a small selection of sake curated by South Bay natives, a selection of wines from California and Old World, wine-based aperitifs, beer, cider and a small selection of sake curated by South Bay Hachemian. Among them are dozens of glass glass options, with many of the ranges below $15. Non-alcoholic offerings include a great tea-based mocktail known as Hungry Diary and loose leaf tea options sourced and blended by Shastoba.
Certainly, it may not be a natural wine that is too trendy. From low-intervention bottles made with biodynamic agriculture practices to cheap and inadequate pieces of vinegar-like taste to those offered by Vinh Falk, to those offered in terms of breadth, quality and value, almost meaningless phrases are better.
Photo: Richard Tranley is a timeout for Vin Falk’s half-jidori chicken.
The kitchen shows even more creativity on the highbrow side of the spectrum. Pecha Wan Musi incorporates Perigordo black truffles, black radish, fortified sherry and Mizuna, Peppoly’s Japanese green. The bri Kurds you need run on the spicy, zippy side, with fried shallot oil, capers and aleppo peppers warming the palate. The most surprising dish for me is half of the Zidoric Chicken Caslet in terms of relative value and overall distinction. Eggplant Jus calls the hidden Baba Ganoush underneath and infuses a mixture of black-eyed peas, seasonal vegetables and fried faba beans with an almost Middle Eastern flavor profile. For $60, it is intended to feed two. A brief performance of Dry Age Steak, a menu that graduates from other large crowds on the menu.
Photo: Richard Tranley for Time Out Sun Royal is a playful riff from a traditional Philippine Suns rival.
At the end of the meal, pastry chef Ray Hermann is leveraging the Filipino heritage and pastry dining experience for his unique La Desert Program, spanning French classics and modernist sweets challenged by the Filipinos. I especially enjoyed the Gascon style flan. Gascon style flan eats like a hard version of Basque cheesecake and Sand’s Royal. A crisp, wafer-like layer of nut-based meringue and rich butter cream balances with the twink and caramel sparkle of Hawthornberry. The most visually striking options are the kids and her horns (an ice-like fruity place on a cheese course that I personally couldn’t try) and Koko Crunch, offering six different chocolates in a structural arrangement inspired by Elman’s favorite childhood cereal. Combined with a bit of warm milk, it is sprinkled with Ascinti Book, a rare salt from Bohol, the province of central Visayas in the Philippines.
Photo: Richard Tranley in the Timeout
The regular menu and weekly specials offer a lot in a way that is a joy to cook, but I can’t honestly say that every dish at Vinfolk has captivated me. On my second visit, I tried the special flavor of mackerel and eggplant seasoned with karamansi grown just outside the restaurant, but also ordered it in the homemade raikaccia with chicken liver mousse. The beets and radish in the yogurt sauce provided a surprising hint of texture with brown buttery crumbles, but the rest was quite memorized. The orange creamsicle ice cream tasted like an orange sorbet. This would not have been an issue, no matter how it was advertised.
Luckily, exciting dishes at Vin Folk, like Hamachi Crudo and Roasted Beets, paste landings from a run point of view. This is something that cannot be said about many new wine bars near central Los Angeles, and the atmosphere generally takes precedence over food quality and value.
In addition to Somni, De Los Santos and Shastova have Michelin’s other star restaurant experiences under the belt. The couple also works in Curtis Stone’s now closed mode and Vespertin. Their top priority, which quietly opened last fall, beats local communities, including regulars at Melbashev’s bistro, a former resident of the space, but it’s clear that VIN forks could be far more than above average neighborhood restaurants. With its reasonable prices and exceptional cuisine, I already consider this Hermosa Beach Bistro to be a county-wide dining destination.
Photo: Richard Tranley is Richard Tranley for Outshastova, who works at Vinfolk.
Vinfolk received 4 stars (very good) – from us. For more information on Time Out’s curation methods and ethics policies, visit our global “How We Review” page.
Vinfolk
1501 Hermosa Ave, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254.
Tue – thu 5-10pm; Friday, Saturday 5-11pm.
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