The updated kitchen, officially unveiled Monday night, is the first wave of Alembic's improvements, which will eventually carry into a brand-new dining space behind what's currently the western wall (formerly the entry hall of the Red Vic Movie House). According to an Alembic rep, the dining area is set to be opened "within the next month or two."

The immediate benefit of the new kitchen, of course, is that Alembic is once again offering a full panoply of seasonal tasty things to keep your cocktails company, courtesy of the expanded menu by chef Ted Fleury.

Sticking to to the leitmotif of California-fresh-and-seasonal, the menu ranges in price from $3 (pickled quail eggs) to $15 (cove mussels with fennel and sunchoke). Highlights are fried castelvetrano olives with sardine ($4), oysters on the half shell (15/$30), beef tartare with smoked mustard and sour pickle ($15) and bone marrow ($15). Breads on the menu are by Josey Baker of The Mill.  

"The new kitchen looks great and is much more functional," said Alembic general manager Greg Quinn. "We're really excited." In terms of food, Quinn told us that "this menu is even more focused on small, easily shareable portions, so guests can enjoy a wide range of flavors and textures during one meal."

Asked how he feels about the new kitchen, Alembic bar manager and master mixer Larry Piaskowy sighed, and said, "You have no idea." He noted that having a full kitchen and restaurant capabilities at Alembic is great because it allows the team to offer full service to their patrons. It also gives the cocktail menu something more to interact with. "Plus," he said, "Ted's food is so f—ing good."

The fall menu is also accompanied by an updated cocktail menu engineered by Piaskowy. New cocktail menu offerings include the Haiku d'Etat (Piaskowy's favorite), a mix of Akashi white oak Japanese whiskey, shiso, honey, citrus and Laphroaig; the Coffin Nail, with mescal and Punt e Mes; the Ward 8, with bourbon and orange; the Bijou, with gin, Chartreuse, sweet vermouth and orange; the Toronto, with Rittenhouse rye, gum syrup and Fernet;  and the Sloe Boat to China, which is gin, sloe gin, vermouth and orange bitters.

The Alembic is open for dinner from 4pm to midnight on weeknights, and noon to midnight on weekends, and the bar is open until 2am nightly.