Los Angeles: Intercrew - Wine & Spirits Magazine

Los Angeles: Intercrew


Intercrew’s Main Dining Room (Courtesy of Intercrew)

Open the doors of this nondescript brick building in Koreatown and you enter a bygone era—the Hollywood supper club, complete with chandelier, floor-to-ceiling windows draped in blue velvet and a curved staircase leading up to a private lounge. The name Intercrew is a nod to Victor Han’s now-closed 6th Street Koreatown nightclub of the same name; today, Richard Nam’s Wilshire Boulevard incarnation clusters booths and tables around a stage, hosting live music and DJs Thursday through Sunday. Julian Cox curates the cocktail list, providing a start to the evening with his Guava Chameleon, a refreshing aperitif of bourbon, Campari and guava.

The duck breast with perfectly crisped skin was a standout. (Courtesy of Intercrew)

The menu is a hybrid of flavors from Asia and Europe, a mashup generated by Executive chef Erik Sun and Chef de Cuisine Johnny Tran. Go west with whipped burrata & heirloom tomato with fresh house-made pesto or east for hamachi with soy ponzu sauce, capers and blood orange segments topped with kizami wasabi. Classic pastas fuse those eastern and western influences—the Bolognese on the pappardelle is made with waygu beef and a little Calabrian chili oil; the mushroom agnolotti are served in duck broth topped with uni to add creamy texture.    

Diana Lee’s list of wines by the glass ranges from Greoto, a blend of garganega and trebbiano by Corte Gardoni in the Veneto, to Lo-Fi Cabernet Franc from Santa Barbara’s Coquelicot Vineyard. The bottle list is mostly classic with a few interesting alternatives—like the Juan Francisco Los Loros Listán Negro—all either high in acid or with textured tannins to complement the rich flavors of the food. I had a 2016 Cordella Brunello Di Montalcino which helped cut through the fat in the dry-aged duck breast, its skin crisped to perfection. The wine also paired with the Japanese A5 wagyu; Intercrew offers the unique experience of trying two different cuts side-by-side in two-ounce quantities, the Snow Beef and Shichiri, served with hibiscus flowers to cleanse the palate. The overall experience synthesizes flavors, sights and sounds, creating a playground for the senses.

3330 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90010

(213)878-1209

Asian Fusion

Based in Los Angeles, California, Alissa Bica is the Associate Editor and Spirits Critic at Wine & Spirits. She is also a sommelier at 71 Above and co-runs the home wine tasting company, Côte Brune and Blonde. In any rare moments of free time, she writes about obscure grape varieties in the blog Off the Beaten Wine Path.


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