Lielle Earned a Michelin Star in Its First Year on Pico Boulevard

Marcus Jernmark opened Lielle on Pico Boulevard in February. By June the restaurant had a Michelin star, an unusually fast turn for a first-year room, and one that has made the 42 seats considerably harder to get.

Jernmark's resume explains some of the speed. The Swedish chef spent seven years at Frantzen in Stockholm, the three-Michelin-starred restaurant that sits near the top of the World's 50 Best list, and helped open its Singapore sibling Zen. Before that he cooked at Per Se in New York and co-owned Aquavit. He moved to Los Angeles in 2021 and spent the next several years building relationships with California growers rather than rushing into a lease.

The room

Lielle occupies the former Bicyclette space at 9575 W. Pico Boulevard in Beverlywood, the same two-story building that housed Walter and Margarita Manzke's restaurants until March 2024. Jernmark has told interviewers he ate at Bicyclette on his first night in Los Angeles, which makes the address something of a full-circle choice.

The dining room sits below street level across roughly 2,300 square feet. Designed with Los Angeles firm Lovers Unite alongside Jernmark's wife and creative partner Andrea, it runs to a cork-lined barrel-vaulted ceiling, custom cherry tables and curved banquettes upholstered in wine-toned leather. Andrea Jernmark contributed handmade linens and ceramics. The wine program holds more than 300 labels.

The menu

Dinner is a four-course prix fixe at $150 per person, with supplements available. Jernmark describes the approach as California Bistronomy, applying Nordic preservation technique to California produce rather than importing a Scandinavian menu wholesale. He has pointed to the Swedish concept of lagom, roughly meaning just enough, as the logic behind keeping the menu to four courses instead of a longer tasting format.

Sourcing is specific and local. The kitchen works with Motley Crew Ranch for mature beef, Monterey Abalone Company for abalone and seaweed, Broken Arrow Ranch for wild game and Petaluma's Andante Dairy for cheese. Dishes reported across the restaurant's first months have included grilled abalone with seaweed rice, dry-aged bluefin, koji rice with lobster and duck roti. Chef de cuisine Matthew Bowden came from Providence.

Visiting

Lielle is at 9575 W. Pico Boulevard. The dining room serves Wednesday through Sunday from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Reservations are released on a rolling basis each Monday, with roughly two weeks of availability opening at a time, and are booked through OpenTable. For questions about an existing booking the restaurant asks that you call (213) 376-6574 between noon and 4 p.m. Valet is available and the surrounding blocks offer some street parking. Menu, team and booking details are at lielle.la.

A casual sister restaurant, Maree, is planned for the bright upstairs space that formerly held Manzke.

Hours and menus change. Confirm directly with the restaurant before you go.

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