If you were to come up with a chef who embodies the spirit of Los Angeles, whose career and cuisine have matched the ebbs and flows of the city, whose restaurants help codify what an L.A. restaurant could and should be, it’s Josef Centeno. He centered dishes around vegetables, served bubbly, mottled flatbreads and made his own shrubs before it was the thing to do. With Orsa & Winston, he applies his signature category-bending approach to fine dining, blending Japanese and Italian cuisines into something singular.

Each course comes with its own epiphany. Crudité is reimagined as a tangle of sweet, crunchy snap peas, waxy green beans and slivers of pink radish dressed with a creamy miso and anchovy vinaigrette under ribbons of shaved black truffle. A crudo course is presented as bluefin tuna bathed in watermelon aguachile with pops of finger lime, pluot and cucamelons. His rice porridge, a longtime favorite that’s now an optional add-on, is a cross between congee and risotto, restorative yet decadent. On my last visit, a split prawn, uni, caviar, ikura, scallop and abalone were arranged neatly over the top. At $150 per person for five courses, it’s the most accessible fine-dining experience in the city. — J.H.

122 4TH ST., LOS ANGELES, (213) 687-0300 l ORSAANDWINSTON.COM