Providence
Fine Dining Restaurant
Los Angeles, USA
Providence Wine List
About Providence
Los Angeles is a city famously short on truly fancy, dress-up-and-splurge fine dining restaurants, though whenever such a statement is uttered, it’s generally quickly qualified by something like, “except Providence.” For nearly 20 years, Chef Michael Cimarusti and Co-Owner (and front-of-house wizard) Donato Poto have been among the very few restaurateurs in LA – even, at times, the only ones – executing the type of grown-up fine dining found in other cities across the globe.
Providence is a restaurant that exists apart from (perhaps in parallel to?) most if not all the prevailing trends of the past 20 years. You won’t find communal tables or uncomfortable chairs, nor will you be deafened by the soundtrack, told you need to put the order in all at once or advised that the menu is designed to be shared. What you will find, however, is a sumptuous, softly-lit room populated by a legion of professional and appropriately besuited staff providing excellent, informed service. You’ll find a thoughtful tasting menu built around the locally-sourced, sustainably-harvested seafood that Cimarusti has become known for, supported by a wine and beverage program that accentuates and complements the food rather than competing with it. More than anything, you’ll find one of LA’s most enduring, luxurious and truly transportative restaurants.
Like many members of the staff, Wine Director David Osenbach is a veteran of both the industry at large and the restaurant itself. He has been supervising Providence's wine and beverage program for nearly 10 years, and in that time has made his mark in that most professional of ways: by integrating his program into the larger identity of the restaurant. To put it in musical terms – Osenbach studied conducting and composition prior to turning to wine – the beverage program serves as an ensemble player rather than a flamboyant soloist.
The list, spanning more than 800 selections, hews towards classic regions that match well with the seafood-heavy tasting menu. There’s lots of Champagne and Chablis to be had, of course, along with the requisite pages of classified-growth Bordeaux and fancy Burgundy, but also plenty of welcome surprises, including what is undoubtedly the city’s best selection of German and Austrian white wines. Deserving of particular mention is Osenbach’s attentiveness to vintage depth: well-aged examples of everything from the aforementioned Cru Classé Bordeaux to Piedmontese reds to Alsatian whites are sprinkled throughout, and rotate with some regularity. Perhaps even more deserving of mention is the fact that Osenbach tends to price such cellar treasures with a particular mercy that’s increasingly hard to find these days.
BYO
Three bottle max, $100/bt for first two, $150 for third
Great for
- Big wine list