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I’m so excited to write about this place that I’ve been wanting to try for a very long time. Dunsmoor is a Southern-leaning restaurant that opened in LA’s Glassell Park neighborhood last year. Named after chef Brian Dunsmoor, who used to run the Michelin-star restaurant Hatchet Hall in Culver City, Dunsmoor hones in on Southern culture even deeper.
At Dunsmoor, don’t just expect to find Southern food staples like cornbread, meats and charcuterie. The restaurant also offers fish dishes that are greatly executed, like their baby albacore or rainbow trout, which I’ll talk about later.
The exterior maintains the beautiful art deco facade of a former bank that used to be there.
The inside reminded me of one of the many trendy modern LA restaurants: open concept, communal tables and pendant lights. It was nice, but nothing stood out to me. However, this thought vanished as soon as I got seated at the bar, which I specifically requested and was one of the highlights.
This specific area of the restaurant is where Dunsmoor’s Southern essence really comes to the forefront. I felt as if I had just stepped into someone’s cottage kitchen in rural Tennessee or Georgia: a wood fire in plain view, books, candles, an impressive assortment of knives, and a hanging rack with herbs and cast iron skillets.
Chef Brian, who was dressed in casual attire, was at the helm overseeing everything and coming in and out of the kitchen.
In an interview with Finedininglovers.com, Brian said that with the exception of a dehydrator and a cooktop for making the stocks, Dunsmoor doesn’t rely on electric machines to make the food. “Everything is powered by fire or hand”, he said.
Here’s what I ordered:
Baby Albacore
I absolutely loved this dish. The generous slices of raw albacore are topped with ginger root, fried shallots, chives, lemon zest and a generous drizzle of olive oil. The crisp fried shallots had the perfect crunch. Overall, I loved the different subtleties of the seasonings combined with the raw albacore fish.
Mt. Lassen Rainbow Trout
This might be one of the best dishes I’ve had since I moved to LA.
If you love fish, this one is a must-order! I came in thinking the trout was going to look like the pictures I saw on Instagram, but the server let me know that the menu changes slightly and that they were now serving the trout without the head.
The trout is cooked on the wood fire grill right in front of you, which smelled amazing. As soon as I ordered it, the cook started the wood fire, which took a while to heat up. After a while, he proceeded to lay the fish down. I loved watching him grill them and flip them over with a big hand-forged spatula. Once they were ready, he carefully put them on separate plates and applied his magic by adding all the sauces and spices with the utmost attention. Just fascinating.
At first, I thought it was odd that they served the fish upside down with the skin up. Unbeknownst to me, the skin was topped with a heavenly ham vinaigrette. The rich and savory diced ham melded perfectly with the smokey, crispy skin. The mild and delicate flavor of the rainbow trout was an outstanding contrast to the skin. Delicious is a big understatement!
I don’t know what those tomatoes were made of, but they were very sweet and bursting with flavor. If you had given me a basket of these, I would have eaten them on their own! A few days later, when I was doing my research on these tomatoes, I saw on the menu that these were Cherokee tomatoes, which are deemed some of the best heirloom tomatoes you can find due to their unmatched sweet taste and unique texture. Cherokee tomatoes can mostly be found in the state of Tennessee and other Southern states.
The side of grits, which is basically a corn porridge, was very creamy and had a grainy texture. Surprisingly, it paired really well with the rest of the dish. It didn’t overpower the tomatoes or the trout with the vinaigrette as the flavor was very mild.
My family and I are fish lovers, so I can’t wait to bring them to Dunsmoor exclusively for this dish. It is pricey, but worth every penny.
Please note that since they’re constantly adding twists to their menu, by the time you’re reading this, they may have added another twist to this dish.
Sour-milk cornbread
Although this is Dunsmoor’s most popular dish, it wasn’t my favorite. I’ve eaten cornbread before at barbecue restaurants, and they pair nicely with the meat and other sides.
Dunsmoor’s cornbread, on the other hand, was overwhelmingly rich for my liking. It’s topped with butter and a thick drizzle of honey. After my first bite, I knew it was waaay too sweet for me. I kept eating it, but my experience was overpowered by the thick honey and the generous dollop of whipped butter. The savory flavor from the Hatchet chilis inside also threw me off. Some people on the other hand, love this combination. But I could only manage to eat half of it.
The server said that people have it as an appetizer, but for the life of me, I wouldn’t be able to digest it as an appetizer as it was way too sweet. It was also very substantial and I felt heavy after eating it.
“It’s an acquired taste,” I said to the waiter. “Oh, yes. Definitely,” said one of them. Another waiter that came by asked me if I wanted to take it to go and had a disappointed look on his face when he learned I didn’t like it.
With all that said, if you’re an adventurous eater and you want something sweet, savory and buttery, all in one bite, then go for it!
In retrospect, I would have skipped the cornbread and ordered another appetizer, like their Chicory Caesar salad, which I saw being placed repeatedly on the counter.
All in all, I really loved Dunsmoor. From the unmatched charming Southern atmosphere to the impressive quality and variety of food, Dunsmoor takes your palate on a journey through American Heritage cuisine. The restaurant has also been featured in the 2023 USA MICHELIN Guide!
If you’re a foodie, you must add Dunsmoor to your list. I’m still thinking about the baby albacore and that rainbow trout dish. It is pricey for sure, but worth it!
Address: 3501 Eagle Rock Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90065
Hours: Monday – Sunday 5:30 pm – 10 pm
If you’re going with someone else, make your reservation through Open Table here.
