Crossings: Fine Dining on Mission Street

After 10 months of extensive renovation in a Mission Street building that was bought two years ago, South Pasadena’s latest restaurant is open for something largely missing from the city—classic American fine dining.

Crossings, located at 1010 Mission St., a store away from Busters Coffee, opened its doors this past week on Dec. 9.

Probably the only two-level restaurant in the city, Crossings already has seven rave reviews on Yelp. “The décor is so well done and so detail-oriented, it is a pleasure to just look around and take everything in,” begins one. “Bleached wood floors and steps blend nicely with the brick walls. Nice medium-soft lighting and low decibel music add the finishing cozy touches.”

Crossings is what its general manager, Matthew Coleman, calls a “special occasion restaurant where people can come to celebrate anniversaries, birthdays and close business deals.” Although the restaurant is not open for lunch, people are welcome to enjoy a gourmet horseradish cheddar cheeseburger with a glass of fine wine, seated or at the bar. All in all, Crossings is the kind of place where you’d want to come to have prime New York steak or filet mignon. After ceviche or oysters for starters, that is.

“My hope is for the restaurant to become a spot for people to come on a regular basis to celebrate special occasions or have a special evening with family and friends and to be a part of the community and help grow the Mission district,” says Patrick Kirchen, who owns Crossings and has worked in the restaurant business all his adult life, most recently as the manager of Nick & Steph's in downtown L.A.

It’s no coincidence that Crossings is located literally within spitting distance of the Gold Line train tracks. But there’s more to the restaurant’s name than that pedestrian association might suggest.

“Crossings is meant to elicit the idea of crossing different flavors, life paths, journeys,” explains Kirchen, who has been living in South Pasadena (on Indiana Avenue, south of Monterey) for the past 13 years and has a son who goes to Monterey Hills Elementary School.

“We were originally thinking of naming the restaurant Red Car, the original train line that ran down Orange Grove and the Ostrich Farm way back in the day,” adds Kirchen. “But then it seemed like we were limiting ourselves and creating a very specific niche.”

Kirchen doesn’t foresee any competition between Crossings and Mike and Anne’s further up the street. “Mike and Anne’s is more casual,” he says, adding: “We’re a bit more expensive—and there’s definitely room in South Pasadena for nighttime dining.”

Crossings seats 120 people in four dining areas, including the back patio, which has a 100-year-old oak tree and a mahogany fence that, framed against the train tracks and a brick-wall façade, give the area a decidedly East Coast feeling. (The patio is still under construction that’s expected to wrap up this week.) The restaurant has two bars—one on each level—stocked with some of the finest California wines (Marcassin pinot noir from Sonoma, Hunnicutt cabernet from Napa, to name just two).

Crossings replaces the offices of an accounting firm and a law firm. Kirchen’s family “invested heavily” in the restaurant’s building and renovation, he confides, adding that a “couple of silent partners” invested in the actual restaurant.

And in an example of true community partnership, Crossing’s décor was done by House of Honey, the chic boutique near the corner of Mission and Fair Oaks.  

Crossings, 1010 Mission St., (626) 799-7001. Opens 5:30 p.m., 7 days a week. Last seating is at 9:30 p.m., except on Fridays and Saturdays, when it’s at 10 p.m.