Brian Bornemann is the chef and owner of Crudo e Nudo, a seafood-focused restaurant and wine bar in Santa Monica that reflects his commitment to responsible sourcing, seasonality, and a more collaborative restaurant model.
A Santa Monica native, Bornemann began his career in some of Los Angeles’ most influential kitchens, including Michael’s, The Tasting Kitchen, and Viale dei Romani, where he developed a crudo program that would later shape his own restaurant. He went on to open Isla before launching Crudo e Nudo, first as a pop-up and then as a permanent space in 2021.
At Crudo e Nudo, Bornemann centers his cooking on West Coast seafood, working closely with trusted purveyors to source species from Baja to Monterey. Fish are handled using ikejime, a Japanese method of preparing fish immediately after harvest to preserve texture and flavor, then dry-aged in-house, with the entire team trained in sukibiki, a technique for descaling fish without damaging the flesh. The result is a menu built around precision and restraint, where raw preparations, crudos, and simply composed dishes highlight the quality of the ingredients.
His approach draws from time spent in southern Italy, translating the tradition of pairing pristine seafood with olive oil and wine into a distinctly Los Angeles context. The menu changes daily and is written by hand, reflecting both the variability of the ocean and the rhythms of the Santa Monica farmers’ market.
Beyond the kitchen, Bornemann has rethought how the restaurant operates. Crudo e Nudo eliminates single-use plastics, composts extensively, and runs on a four-day workweek with a cross-trained staff that moves between front and back of house. The goal is to create a restaurant that is not only sustainable in its sourcing, but also in how it supports the people who run it.
