California Christmas Dinner with Gjelina's Travis Lett
When Gjelina opened blocks from the ocean in Venice, California, in 2008, it felt as though it had been there forever. The space was so appropriately beachy with its rambling indoor/outdoor floor plan and chef Travis Lett’s food was so SoCal perfect. It became the scruffy-chic neighborhood’s all-day canteen and social hub, the kind of place where dressed-down locals, Jay-Z types, and models all felt at home.
But unlike so many scene-y L.A. restaurants, Gjelina has stayed packed because, well, Lett makes seriously delicious food. He and his team craft a menu that reads like a dissertation on the history of rustic-modern California cuisine, swerving through Peru, Morocco, Italy, and Japan with casually presented offerings that are layered with flavor: French fries are served with romesco and aioli, making you forget ketchup exists. Blistered shishito peppers are punched up with briny bottarga.
Eating at Gjelina is a convivial experience: Every dinner feels like friends-and-family night. And on a warm, blue-skied Christmas Day, it’s no different at a party thrown at Lett’s nearby bungalow, which looks like his restaurant in miniature. (The same architect worked on both.) The guests are a close-knit group of servers, bartenders, and friends from the industry. And while the menu is inspired by Gjelina’s food, Lett’s strategies as a host are tailored for a meal he can pull off at home.
For his take on the holiday feast, he serves a varied succession of abundant dishes, letting the evening come together with the same multicourse groove as Gjelina. “I’m always trying to find ways to make dinner less formulaic. I like it when people get a drink in their hand and then start grazing,” he says. “I want to create that loose, open vibe—it’s easier on me and puts less expectations on my guests, too: They don’t need to sit in a chair for hours while I prepare an extravagant feast.” So Lett applies restaurant smarts and incorporates several dishes that can be served cold or at room temperature. He smoothly shifts gears from a cocktail hour starring oysters on the half shell and saucy baked sardines to a produce-laden main event that culminates with showstopping oversize beef short ribs.
As dessert is served, guests spread out through the house and into the backyard. Everyone is full, happy and relaxed—even the host.
1/16Bring the Party to You
“People always want to hang out in the kitchen,” says Lett, “so I designed mine with that in mind.” His island does triple duty as a bar, work surface, and dining table, and gives his guests front-row seats on the action. “People want to engage you, and I want to let that happen.”
2/16Lett's dog, Sonny, on the front porch of his home in Venice.
3/16New York Sour
5/16Lett’s cabinet and shelving doubles as a bar, where a friend helps by mixing drinks.
6/16Ripe persimmons need almost no embellishment to become dessert.
7/16Wayne Rambharose in the backyard during cocktail hour.
9/16Oyster Essentials
____A trusted fish market, plenty of ice, an oyster knife, and a little know-how (click for tips). Pictured: Red Wine Vinegar and Black Pepper Mignonette; Spicy Fennel–Meyer Lemon Mignonette (click for recipes).
10/16Brian Ulrich, Melinda Steele, and Tyler Steele huddle up before dinner.
15/16Lett, Helen Nishi, and Juliette Riancho enjoy dessert outside.
16/16“I plan simple dishes that I can work on and be social at the same time.” —Travis Lett
