Ryan Ratino Is Bringing Ode by Jont to the Old Somni Space at the SLS

A two-Michelin-starred Washington chef takes over one of the most storied dining rooms in Beverly Hills.

Ryan Ratino is bringing Ode by Jont to the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills, taking the space that housed Jose Andres' Bazaar and, later, Aitor Zabala's Somni. It is planned as an intimate chef's counter running roughly 20 courses built on French and Japanese technique, with an emphasis on seafood and California produce. Dinner has been reported at around $275 per person, with optional beverage pairings.

Who Ryan Ratino is

Ratino runs Hive Hospitality, the Washington, D.C. group behind Jont, which holds two Michelin stars, and the one-starred Bresca. The company has since moved beyond D.C., opening in Florida with Omo by Jont and the bar Press Room, and it has a Nashville project in the works. Ode by Jont is its Los Angeles entry.

Ratino has been candid about what drew him to the address. Speaking with OpenTable in 2024, he described it as surreal to take a space Jose Andres had occupied for more than a decade. He also laid out the sourcing logic he intends to apply here, saying he likes using produce from farms within the region because that network is made up of the people a restaurant should be supporting. He has framed each of his restaurants as a different expression of what he loves about cooking.

The room it is inheriting

The history of this space is worth getting right, because it is frequently garbled. Jose Andres opened The Bazaar at the SLS in 2008, and it ran for over a decade. Somni followed in 2018 as a 14-seat counter from Aitor Zabala, earning two Michelin stars before closing in August 2020 during the pandemic.

Somni did not stay closed. Zabala reopened it in West Hollywood in November 2024, and in June 2025 it became one of the first restaurants in Greater Los Angeles to hold three Michelin stars, alongside Providence. It is open and remains among the most expensive tables in the city. What Ratino is taking over is the original SLS room the restaurant left behind, not a restaurant that failed.

What is still unsettled

Hive's Los Angeles plans have shifted since they were first announced. Reporting in January 2024 described the group taking both the Bazaar and Somni spaces with a two-Michelin-starred Jont and a second, then-unnamed dinner concept, along with a layout spreading cocktails, the tasting menu, desserts and a patio across separate areas. The tasting counter has since been named Ode by Jont, and the companion restaurant is now called Orion, described as a more casual European and Japanese influenced room leaning on Pacific seafood.

Opening timelines have moved more than once, with recent listings pointing to later this year. No firm date has been announced. FJM has reached out to Hive Hospitality and will update this post when a date is confirmed.

Where it is going

Ode by Jont is planned for the SLS Hotel at 465 S. La Cienega Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90048, on the Beverly Hills side of La Cienega just south of Melrose and one block from the Beverly Center. The hotel line is (310) 247-0400. Valet parking is available on site, and the property sits a few blocks from Rodeo Drive.

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