Queen St.

The seafood cuisine of Charleston, South Carolina is the inspiration for the new Queen Street, and executive chef Ari Kolender and the booming Last Word Hospitality group have leaned all the way into the motif. There are photographs of Atlantic seascapes on the wall, a wood-paneled U-shaped bar that feels like an old boat, and custom stained-glass windows overhead. The menu is full of lovely takes on Low Country dishes like a bright and herbaceous Pickled Shrimp Salad or a rich She Crab Soup smoothed with a tableside pour of sherry right into the bowl; the Anchovy & Tomato Bread Pudding is an early highlight, a smushy delight of caramelized tomato with little mines of fishy umami laid over the top. The smell of wood smoke drifts from the kitchen to settle gently into your hair, and you sip something from the clever wine list or maybe a glass of brisk Spanish vermouth over ice. You look around the dining room, full from the moment they open with happy, stylish folks from all over town, and it’s suddenly clear—Queen Street may be a Charleston-themed restaurant, but this is precisely how Angelenos want to eat right now.