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Trend Alert:Fine Dining Disruptors

Where: Los Angeles
What: long-running series of pop-ups
Who: Diego Argoti, after burning out in the high-octane world of star-chasing kitchens

Words: The A+ Team
Images: Diego Argoti

September 30, 2024

Estrano is a middle finger to the years Diego Argoti spent working himself into oblivion in fine dining environments. His frenzied pop-up series, with its cult following, need sto be seen and tasted to be believed. It’s something akin to a culinary kick ons. But for the time being, Argoti’s team is in residency at Button Mash arcade bar for a second year serving a playful menu called Poltergeist.

The goblin-mode antithesis to stuffy fine dining that feels more like an afterparty.

Estrano, Masters of:

01. The Pivot

Changing restaurant conventions can happen in ways big and small. For Estrano, it’s a completely new world view. Death to no days off. Death to exorbitantly priced suppliers and passing that cost on to customers. Death to fine dining, period.

02. Chaos Menu

At the peak of Estrano’s looseness, menus would never be revealed until food was in hand. BOH party at their stations, experimenting, while their devotees happily wait for hours (while partying themselves) to see what’s cooking.

03. Meme Brain

BDSM ball gags are a recurring motif on Estrano’s Instagram grid, as is a general sense of “IDGAF about promotion”. Argoti just wants to entertain like-minded characters who love food.

Check out Estrano’s Instagram, and make sure to drop by their Poltergeist residency next time you’re in LA.

This Trend Alert is excerpted from the A+ Future Trends Report 2024–25, a holistic deep-dive into what we know will impact hospitality operators in coming years. Learn how you can gain access to the full report here.

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