Restaurant’s roots inspire diverse American-style menu in a versatile space
Fellow, a new eclectic American-style restaurant, opened on Glendon Avenue on June 11. (Courtesy of Wonho Frank Lee)
By Sydney Coneeny
June 19, 2018 3:29 p.m.
A new eclectic American-style restaurant opened in one of Westwood’s oldest buildings, with a few modern updates.
Fellow opened on Glendon Avenue on June 11 after offering only delivery and catering services since February. The location also offers space for private events and parties.
The restaurant features a main dining floor with a photo booth, a mezzanine with a DJ booth, a private dining area and a bar. Philip Camino, one of the owners of the restaurant, said he thinks Fellow’s proximity to UCLA makes it perfect for student and faculty organizations looking to host events.
“There is sort of a limited amount of usable space on UCLA’s campus for private events, and if you do have spaces, they’re kinda cookie-cutter,” Camino said. “This is in close proximity to what people on the campus are kind of looking for because it’s unique.”
The building Fellow now resides in was originally constructed as a grocery store in 1929, and still retains many of its original elements, including high ceilings and brick walls, Camino added.
Camino said the interior structure of Fellow is what makes it a versatile space that guests can use for different kinds of events.
“You can do anything from having 200 people in here for Halloween parties to a 17-person private dinner on the floor,” Camino said. “We’ve had corporate events, private events, we’ve had an event with Vans and many other restaurant collaborations.”
Michael Bryant, the head chef at Fellow, said the restaurant’s American-eclectic food is inspired by a mixture of flavors from global spices, traditional comfort food and his roots in Virginia.
“My style is broad. I pull a bit of Indian, Latin American, Caribbean and other bold spices like that, but what we try to do is offer something of a comfort factor, nothing pretentious,” Bryant said. “The cuisine here is global, but local-market driven.”
Camino added the menu concept and restaurant are influenced by a combination of all the backgrounds of Fellow’s staff members.
“This is kind of a genesis of all of our experience, our travel, our tastes, so what you see here presented is kind of a synthesis of all those things together,” Camino said.
Customers at Fellow said they liked the layout of the restaurant, the decor and the different flavors the menu offered.
Chad Kehoe, a Santa Monica resident, said he thinks the restaurant offers small portion sizes, but is a good place to unwind.
“I feel like it’s going to be a good place to get a glass of wine after work or after school,” Kehoe said.
Andrew Hawthorne, who works at Primary Wave in Westwood, said he thinks Fellow will be a good place to hold business lunches because Westwood currently does not have many restaurants that offer formal sit-down meals.
“It’s mostly fast, quick stuff (in Westwood),” Hawthorne said. “I think for someone who works here, and we’re having a meeting and work in the same industry, it’s a nice place to go.”
Camino said that he is looking forward to seeing how Fellow fits into the Westwood and UCLA community.
“We’re just really happy to be in Westwood. We’re happy to be close to UCLA,” Camino said. “We want to continue to build with UCLA and the student body, and we’re super welcoming of anyone from the campus being in here.”
Contributing reports from Armando Carrillo, Daily Bruin contributor.
