Jacaranda has opened its doors in Los Angeles, welcoming just 30 guests into a space that feels more like a living room than a restaurant.
The project, led by locally based Preen Inc., translates the personalities of chef Daniel Patterson and restaurateur Sarah Lewitinn into a Hollywood dining destination that bridges elegance with simplicity, drawing inspiration from the couple’s Jaca Social Club pop-up, LA culture, and the jacaranda tree itself.
A room built around connection
Lilac-tinted floor-to-ceiling windows frame Jacaranda’s frontage, establishing a transportive quality on arrival—a through-the-looking-glass moment before guests cross the room.
Inside, the interiors shift to a warmer palette: rust and umber tones anchor the flooring and seating, while white grass-cloth lines the walls, lending texture without weight.
A sculptural canopy dominates the room overhead. Suspended from the ceiling, the piece, which spans more than 15 feet, takes the form of a jacaranda leaf and serves as both a focal point and shelter, drawing the eye upward.
With only 30 seats, including a six-seat communal table, the layout reinforces Patterson and Lewitinn’s philosophy: dining at Jacaranda is meant to be an intimate, festive affair where personal connection is encouraged and the joy of community is celebrated.
Art as a focal point at Jacaranda
Sarah’s great-uncle, Landès Lewitin, was a founding member of New York City art collective the Club, whose members included Willem de Kooning, Isamu Noguchi, and Robert Motherwell. His work adorns the dining room, weaving personal family history directly into the guest experience.
Meanwhile, a commissioned painting by Belgian-born, LA-based artist Adele Renault serves as a key visual anchor. The four-by-eight-foot canvas depicts the jacaranda tree behind Alta Adams, a restaurant in the city’s West Adams neighborhood that Patterson co-founded in 2018. That tree is the direct inspiration for Jacaranda’s name.
The spirit of the space
Lewitinn, a music industry veteran making her debut as a restaurateur, was explicit about the atmosphere she intended to create. Her background hosting dance parties in New York’s indie punk scene informs the ethos as much as the architecture.
“Our Jaca Social Club pop-up was the first time I ever worked in anything resembling a restaurant. I learned I could go from being a Lower East Side punk rock DJ into a Beverly Hills-lorazapramed-socialite-who-still-knows-how-to-party kind of hostess,” Lewitinn says. “When I was coming up in the indie punk scene in New York, I loved hosting some of the most fun dance parties imaginable. It was all about being truly present and unbridled, as we reveled in our shared moments together. I love connecting people, and feeling connected to them. I want to bring that same spirit to Jacaranda. I want to welcome you to be your whole self here, to feel free and uninhibited. Put your elbows on the table. Lick your plates. Laugh loudly. Get up and dance if you want to. Most all, enjoy and let us take care of you.”
