The restaurant industry’s ebbs and flows have never felt more transitory. In the years since the pandemic upended life as we knew it, even the most beloved culinary institutions haven’t been spared from the tumult. Indeed, at Costa Mesa’s design-minded SoCo Collection, the departure of longstanding favorite Taco María signaled a shift. But Butcher’s House Brasserie, from chef Jeoffrey Offer, brings new hope.
Raised in Toulouse, in the south of France, Offer had long dreamed of coming to the United States. After a stint with the Parisian café chain Moulin, Offer now has his own showcase with Butcher’s House Brasserie.
Offer, a butcher’s son, has crafted a menu that pays homage to traditional, meaty brasserie cooking. Much of it is touched by the restaurant’s wood-burning, Santa Maria–style grill. Take the Sweet Gem salad, a blistered wedge of lightly grilled lettuce, pickled onion, cheese, and ribbons of prosciutto.
