by Alyssa P
Located near the Nomad Hotel on W. 7th street in downtown LA, V is an all-day restaurant specializing in coffee, sourdough pizzas and cocktails.
When you first step into V, the decor is like nothing else in LA. Once a former jewelry shop, V combines all the grandeur of the 1920s (see: the sloping high ceilings, intricate tile floors and marble finishes) with the velvet flare of a Scandinavian social club. Designed by Christian Lagerlöf and Benjamin Calleja, two Swedish designers from Livit (the largest restaurant design company in the world), V is part restaurant, part speak-easy and completely committed to elevating all aspects of the restaurant experience.
When we arrived on Friday morning, customers were scattered across V’s two floors, drinking coffee, engaged in meetings and checking emails. However, as the sun sets, this chic coffee house morphs into a crowded and vibrant social space, full of intimate nooks for private parties and plenty of plush seating, all centered around their famous jade and marble bar. If you’re looking for something a little cozier, make sure to ask about their backroom. Once a jewelry vault, this little space maintains its dense industrial doors while also boasting a wall of velvet booths and seductive red lighting. If you want a place that shows up great on your Instagram (or TikTok? is that a thing?), then look no further.
Although we were enamored with the decor, of course, we also have to talk about the food. We tried two starters (the Rabbit and the Goat and Tuna Ponzu), two of their pizzas (the Rosemary Mushroom and Honey Buzz), a salad (the Asian Portobello) and, to finish it off, three cocktails (the Brock & Co, Smoking Pot and Valley Girl). Let us preface with the fact that everything was delicious: V’s food quality is absolutely in line with their decor. However, even so, there were a few shining stars. We were especially fond of the the Asian Portobello salad (everything’s better with kimchi) and the Rosemary Mushroom pizza (which we got on cauliflower crust). Since I’m a vegetarian and Emma’s pescatarian, we’re always on the hunt for restaurants that serve both an omnivorous and herbivorous crowd equally. V’s now certainly on that list. Since we weren’t driving, we also had three of their most popular cocktails. Our favorite was the Smoking Pot because, besides that fact that it looks gorgeous in-person and on film, the combination of grapefruit, cucumber and mint makes for a super refreshing drink.
As their name implies, V may soon be coming to other major American cities. With a sister restaurant in Sweden already, we at Toasted Touch can’t want for other cities to get to experience the rare dining affair that is V.
V DTLA’s information:
Business Hours: Mon-Thurs 10am-11pm Friday/Saturday Sun: 10am-11pm
Address: 515 West, 7th Street, 90014
Visit their website and Instagram: @vdtla
Toasted Touch Photography 