Pico Boulevard got a quiet shake-up this spring when chef Marcus Jernmark slipped Lielle beneath street level and started serving a hyper-seasonal, four-course menu that begins at $150 and feels more generous than fussy. The subterranean room leans into low light, custom banquettes, and attentive but unfussy service, while the plates walk a careful line between Nordic technique and California market produce. Jernmark, who has cooked at Aquavit and Stockholm’s Frantzén, opened Lielle in February after moving his family to Los Angeles, positioning it as proof that serious cooking does not always require a multi-hundred-dollar tab.
Menu highlights
As detailed by Eater LA, the tasting menu has featured an aged striped jack treated with the kombujime technique and a smoky abalone paired with delta asparagus, nori seaweed rice and a fermented white-asparagus sauce. The same report singled out a mid-spring spaghetti all’assassina loaded with lobster, sea urchin and yuzu, along with a Jersey-cow-milk-sherbet Eton Mess that layers chamomile meringue, black currant and dried beet. The writer also noted non-alcoholic pairings that hold their own next to wine, and estimated that with pairings the average check can creep toward $250 per person.
Price and program
According to Lielle, the restaurant runs a four-course set menu at $150 and centers its cooking on close relationships with local farmers, ranchers and winemakers. The menu is framed as a living document that shifts with what is seasonally available, and the experience is described as relaxed and guest-centered rather than stiff or formal. The restaurant’s website also posts a full beverage list along with reservation details for those planning a visit.
About the chef
The Los Angeles Times traces Jernmark’s path from Per Se and Aquavit to leading Stockholm’s Frantzén, and reports that he relocated to Los Angeles in 2022. Lielle was conceived as a more personal, lower-scale counterpoint to the spectacle of many modern tasting menus and takes its name from the chef’s daughter. That combination of three-star technique and farmers-market sourcing is described as the engine behind the restaurant’s understated sense of generosity.
The room
Design coverage describes Lielle as a 42-seat, below-grade dining room outfitted with wine-toned leather banquettes, a cork-lined vaulted ceiling and custom cherry-wood tables that chase Scandinavian restraint with a touch of SoCal warmth. Wallpaper* notes that Jernmark’s wife Andrea collaborated on hand-sewn linens and ceramics, and that the intimate scale of the room naturally encourages conversation. The result is an elegant yet approachable space that mirrors the menu’s measured intensity.
Reservations and takeaway
Eater LA reported that reservations were scarce during Lielle’s early months, suggesting Jernmark is easing the restaurant into the city rather than chasing instant hype. Lielle’s reservation page and menu explain the tight seating and direct guests to OpenTable for bookings, and the restaurant also lists a phone number for those who prefer to call. For diners the pitch is straightforward: a tightly edited, crafted four-course meal at a fraction of what many Los Angeles tasting menus command.
Whether you show up for the kombujime-aged fish, the bread program or those surprising non-alcoholic pairings, Lielle makes a clear argument that fine dining can be precise, seasonal and not automatically punishing to the wallet. The restaurant adds one more data point to how Los Angeles is redefining the tasting menu, favoring smaller, market-driven experiences rooted in local relationships instead of pure spectacle.
