Though it's a stone's throw from the Third Street Promenade, Fraîche rises above all that clutter. Open only since October, it has skipped right over the awkward fledgling restaurant stage, as it should: It's a new outpost of Fraîche in Culver City, and it builds on the raging success of the original by delivering many of the same dishes along with some creations all its own. This is formal cuisine that bridges Italian and French menu traditions, modernized with artistic presentations. Beets are lined up just so on a bed of burrata; sauces are swiped and swirled onto plates with Picasso-like flair. The atmosphere is formal too, though soft lighting, exposed concrete walls and the lively bar that dominates one wall of the restaurant all keep it from feeling too chichi. Still, it's more Melville's than Cheers, which, with P.F. Chang's and Cabo Cantina around the corner, is exactly what this part of Santa Monica needs.

Beef tartare with bacon sabayon, chives and arugula
John Dory with pearl onions, baby turnips, carrots and toasted brioche crumbs
Foie gras terrine layered with prosciutto and fig purée, orange gelée and Campari gastrique

The back room, with floor-to-ceiling wine racks, has an intimate feel. Spacious tables are set around a marble tabletop displaying eclectic cheeses.

Fraîche isn’t called Fraîche for nothing. The kitchen plucks many ingredients straight from the Santa Monica Wednesday farmer's market, blocks from the restaurant. Those in the know suggest that as a result, Wednesday night is the best for sampling Fraîche's freshest creations.

Lunch: Mon.-Fri. 11:30 AM-2:30 PM
Dinner: Mon.-Sun. 5 PM-10:30 PM (Mon.-Sat. bar open to midnight, Sun. bar open to 11 PM)

approximately $23 (roasted half-chicken with farmer's market shelling beans, garlic confit, beet greens and tomato petals) to $35 (New York steak with crushed potatoes, shallot cream, royal trumpet mushrooms and black truffle sauce)