Openings: Barnyard in Venice, Ikemen downtown, Allumette in Echo Park

Barnyard: Opening on Friday in Venice is the new Barnyard, helmed by Tasting Kitchen alum Jesse Barber. Barber, who also worked at Thomas Keller’s French Laundry and Bouchon, succeeds chef Jeremy Fox after he split with the owners this summer. The Pacific Avenue restaurant’s menu focuses on local ingredients but skews Mediterranean: olive-oil-poached baby octopus with fresh chickpeas; French fries with harissa and creme fraiche; honey-glazed ribs; clams with white beans and fennel; prawns with olives and romesco; braised sausage and cabbage; kale with sunchokes and marcona almonds; lamb and seared escarole; risotto allo pilota (Italian fried rice) with tomatoes and English peas; and oven-roasted chicken with winter stuffing. Wash it down with a Catalonian Cava or Firestone Brewing’s Wookey Jack Rye IPA. Reservations are now being accepted via OpenTable. 1715 Pacific Ave., Venice, (310) 581-1015, www.barnyardvenice.com.

Allumette: Allumette is the transformed Allston Yacht Club in Echo Park, now cheffed by pop-up wunderkind Miles Thompson. It’s expected to open Thursday. Owners Bill DiDonna and Charles Kelly were inspired to renovate the space and install Thompson after the success of his Vagrancy Project supper club there. Now Thompson’s running with the menu; expect his inventive tastings featuring dishes such as shima aji sashimi with mustard miso, blood orange and kiwi; grilled octopus with sour apple syrup, cardamom butterscotch potato and sorrel; and baharat-rubbed lamb sirloin with date soubise, cinnamon labne and grapefruit. 1320 Echo Park Ave., Los Angeles, (213) 481 0454, www.allumettela.com.

Ikemen: Hollywood joint Ikemen, specializing in the dip ramen tsukemen, this week opened a Little Tokyo outpost, a 25-seater in Weller Court. The collaboration with Shigetoshi Nakamura, formerly of Ramen California, promises custom noodles and inventive broths for dipping. Slurp. Weller Court, 123 Astronaut E S Onizuka St., #108, Los Angeles.

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