Owner Sam Jordan visited nearly every Caribbean island before opening Lucia, a cinematic, high-energy restaurant in Los Angeles’s historic Fairfax district that celebrates cooking from the Black diaspora. Towering white clamshell booths line the restaurant’s perimeter, while a bustling bar with sculptural architectural flourishes sits at the center, sending drinks out to surrounding layers of tables.
A DJ typically takes over later in the night, filling the room with a mix of rap, hip-hop, and traditional music from Black artists across the diaspora. There is a see-and-be-seen element to the dining experience, as the layered tables offer glimpses of celebrities and high-profile guests eager to support a Black-owned restaurant led by a Black chef. As a rule, the crowd arrives dressed to the nines, ready for a dinner that doubles as an event.
Opening chef Adrian Forte, a Jamaican-born Top Chef finalist, recently gave way to current chef Cleophus “Ophus” Hethington, a two-time James Beard Award finalist and Navy veteran with an international culinary pedigree. Okra martinis and lychee margaritas anchor a cocktail program built just as intentionally on Caribbean and Southern Black foodways as the food itself. The clarified agave pina verde offers a lighter take on a piña colada that pairs well with spice, while the tamarind collins blends mezcal with cinnamon, chili, and Jamaican Red Stripe.
Signature appetizers like wagyu beef patty’s with sweet chili–garlic dipping sauce and plantain expressions, served as both thick, soft slices and thin, crispy chips, work equally well as bar snacks or meal openers. Under the leadership of Chef Ophus, the menu has expanded to include fusion dishes such as Trini-Chinese chicken with tamarind-chili cashews and Haitian wagyu tasso with pikliz and citrus jus. Constantly evolving to reflect a broader spectrum of the Black diaspora, the menu features thoughtfully plated dishes from Africa, frequent expressions of Afro-Latino cuisine, a continued emphasis on Caribbean flavors, and considered homages to the history and impact of Black American cooking.
