Operations

Netflix plans to serve up food to eat, not just watch

We eat first with our eyes. Now the new limited-time pop-up Netflix Bites in Los Angeles will also fill our bellies.
Netflix Bites Curtis Stone LP O'Brien Dominique Crane
Contributing chefs include Curtis Stone (right) and Dominique Crenn (left), and mixologist LP O'Brien (center)|Photos courtesy of Netflix.

You watched it. You wanted it. Now (maybe) you can eat it.

The streaming network Netflix on Wednesday announced it will create its first “culinary space” on June 30. The new Netflix Bites will open in Los Angeles and will feature food from the chefs you’ve come to love on the smaller screen from shows like “Chef’s Table,” “Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend,” and “Is It Cake?”

From “Iron Chef,” for example, will be dishes from Curtis Stone, Dominique Crenn, Ming Tsai and Andrew Zimmern. From “Chef’s Table,” Rodney Scott and Ann Kim will contribute. Nadiya Hussain of “Nadiya Bakes,” is involved, as is Jacques Torres of “Nailed It!”

Drinks will be created by Frankie Solarik, Julie Reiner, LP O’Brien and Kate Gerwin of “Drink Masters.”

The chefs will team up for a special tasting menu at the venue in the Short Stories hotel near Los Angeles’ Farmer’s Market at The Grove, though the actual menu has not yet been revealed. Keep in mind that reservations require a $25 deposit (applied to the bill) and menu modifications will be politely declined. Also, the chefs will not be on site, the website notes.

Netflix has experimented with “immersive activations” tied to various shows in the past, like The Queen’s Ball: A Bridgerton Experience, as well as Stranger Things: The Experience, and Money Heist: The Experience.

Netflix Bites will have a limited-time run. But we think there are more opportunities to bring streaming shows to life with food, and not just with Netflix shows.

From “Yellowjackets,” there should be roasted, uh, meat and snowcones, for example.

St. Louis sushi—ham and cream cheese rolls stuffed with a pickle—make an appearance in “Somebody Somewhere” season two on HBO. Other bar options could include whiskey with a laudanum sidecar (“Outlander”).

There’s the obvious s’mores (“The Menu”), Italian beef sandwiches and chocolate cake (“The Bear”), honeycomb cookies (“Squid Game”), and pastrami sandwiches (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”)

Netflix could revive dishes from Luke’s Diner (“Gilmore Girls”), as well as Bluth’s Frozen Banana (“Arrested Development,” nuts are 10 cents extra), and “Sex in the City’s” Magnolia Bakery cupcakes and Cosmos.

Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.

Multimedia

Exclusive Content

Financing

Social media giveth and social media taketh away

The Bottom Line: McDonald’s, Starbucks and Chipotle, chains that have historically benefitted from social media love, are learning the hard way that it can have the opposite effect. Brands should take heed.

Operations

Slutty Vegan may be coming soon to a city near you

The plant-based concept backed by an investment from restaurateur Danny Meyer is on a national tour this summer to hunt for potential locations. And founder Pinky Cole Hayes is working with Pepsi to find the best Black-owned restaurants.

Marketing

Where are Simone Biles fans going to eat this Olympics?

Reality Check: Restaurants will be competing for attention this year with the Summer Games and political advertising. It could be a test of whether digital marketing, and loyalty programs in particular, can deliver on their promise.

Trending

More from our partners