Providence will close briefly for redesign to accompany updated menu

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Chef/owner Michael Cimarusti plates food in the kitchen of Providence. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

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Kampachi, or yellowtail, with rice crackers. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

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San Diego sea urchin with abalone. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

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Partner/manager Donato Poto prepares salt-roasted Santa Barbara spot prawns for serving. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

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Grilled Santa Barbara spot prawns with sauce vierge. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

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The main dining room in Providence. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

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Wild black sea bass with matsutake mushrooms. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

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Squid and chorizo. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

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For dessert, peanut butter, banana, tamarind and jalapeno. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

By Jenn Harris

April 23, 2014 2:44 PM PT

Providence, Michael Cimarusti’s celebrated seafood-centric restaurant in Los Angeles, has announced it will close briefly May 19 and reopen May 28 after a full redesign.

Providence has been listed as the No. 1 restaurant in Los Angeles by Times restaurant critic Jonathan Gold and has earned two Michelin stars. Cimarusti is nominated for the James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef West.

The new look will accompany the restaurant’s recent menu change to a new format that emphasizes three tasting menus, including one for signature dishes, a market tasting menu and a chef’s tasting menu.

PHOTOS: Providence restaurant

“We just wanted to be the best restaurant that we can be and we think that by doing this, we can achieve a higher level of consistency and execution,” said Cimarusti. “Providence has always been evolving and this is just another step in its evolution.”

The restaurant revamp initially started with Cimarusti wanting to enclose the existing covered patio, which he says made it hard to regulate street noise and temperature.

“Then we said we could really use new chairs, new banquettes, and everything just sort of snowballed from there,” said Cimarusti. “When people come back it will be like a completely different look.”

Cimarusti has enlisted the help of South Pasadena designer Tamara Kaye-Honey of House of Honey for the redesign. New features will include custom damask wallpaper, brass-capped feet chairs, wall sconces, chandeliers clad in driftwood and dark blue carpeting.

The Providence website will also get a face-lift, along with the look of the current menu.

“It’s like getting a new car or moving into a new house,” said Cimarusti. “I look out onto the dining room now and I can just picture what it’s going to look like. I can’t tell you how excited I am.”

[Updated 3:20 p.m. April 23 to include comment from Michael Cimarusti.]

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