The conception of a successful small restaurant — the physical and psychological dimensions, how the experience makes diners feel contained and secure rather than cramped and claustrophobic — is a specific art. Macklin Casnoff, Mackenzie Hoffman and Harley Wertheimer poured their tastes and hospitality know-how into an enveloping 500 square feet along Melrose Avenue that for roughly 30 years housed a coffeehouse of the same name. The result: minimalist space, maximum impact. A warming renovation that serves form and function. A casual, Euro-Californian menu. An incredible wine program led by Hoffman. The kitchen team, under Caroline Leff, keeps a few perennial dishes in rotation. Among them is a celery salad with walnuts, aged Gouda and raisins that nicely pings between sweet and savory, soft and crunchy. As a main course, a link of mildly spiced German-style sausage, sourced from Mattern’s Sausage & Deli in Orange County, is presented with a mound of Japanese-style potato salad creamy from Kewpie mayo and a healthy dollop of mustard. Both dishes are forthrightly delicious, and the kind of untaxing combinations I could eat once a week, alongside a glass of Austrian Zweigelt that pitches cherry right down the middle. That’s precisely the aim. — B.A.

6903 MELROSE AVE., LOS ANGELES l INSTAGRAM.COM/STIRCRAZY.LA