First Glance: Wilson Space Turning Into Sublime Food Lounge

Last year, Culver City restaurant Wilson closed its doors for good. The space was purchased by chef Randall Rosa and business partners Mauricio Aquino and Mike Neufeld, who have been hard at work changing it over to Sublime Food Lounge. All three of them come with experience as restaurant consultants, and Neufeld used to own the now-closed Chakra in Manhattan Beach. As you can see, the old Wilson site is still very much under construction, but the men are hard at work, building just about everything with their bare hands. "There aren't many chefs," said Rosa, "that are hand making exotic wood tables, then going into the kitchen to sous vide a duck breast."

N. Galuten

Outside the old Wilson space

"What we're going for is culinary social lounge," continued Rosa, "a neighborhood place. We really want people to stay a while." While the dining room will offer a more traditional dinner setting, the back patio will be for more casual socializing. Though just like the old Wilson space, the front windows of the restaurant can also open up and extend out to the sidewalk.

N. Galuten

Sublme Food Lounge, under construction

N. Galuten

The back patio of Sublime Food Lounge

The dinner menu will be mainly small plates, though "...slightly larger than tapas..." and will serve global modern cuisine with both comfortable and upscale options. The charcuterie will all be made in house, with traditional fare like bresaola and Spanish chorizo, as well as Kobe sake salami and wild boar rillettes with cherry gelée and roasted acorns. The lunch menu will be pared down, with a focus on patrons being able to get in and out in 45 minutes, and serving only a few main dishes, some large salads, panini and flatbreads. Happy hour will be from 4 o'clock until first reservation, then from 11pm to 1am, they will turn to a late night menu with smaller portions and desserts for two.

The restaurant will serve cocktails, boutique international wines, a wide range of bottled beers and will also have two rotating taps-- one Belgian and one craft. They plan to soft open on February 10th, then open to the public on the 15th.

Sublime Food Lounge: 8631 Washington Boulevard, Culver City.