Our good friends Peter and Natasha invited us to have dinner with them at a restaurant they have frequented before and enjoyed called Wilshire. We were looking forward to this because we had heard such good things from them, and trusted their judgment as we have dined together on many an occasion.
It was Saturday evening, and we had a reservation for 7:15. First good sign! None of this "Would you like to come in at 5:30 or 9:30?" We walked in and I had a good first impression. A dark room with pleasant comfortable artwork and fixtures greeted us, and our table was a small booth tucked in the corner of a cozy room. The patio looked inviting also, with its more well-lit tables - perhaps next time we will check out the outdoor seating. For for this evening, we were happy with our booth.
Peter had brought a bottle of 2003 Sattler Zweigelt from Austria, and they had called ahead to determine their corkage policy, which was very fair: $25 a bottle, but this is waived if you purchase a bottle from their list. Our plan was to order a bottle of white, which we did.
The server changed our glasses to red wine glasses upon seeing our bottle. She gave us a list to choose our white from. All the service henceforth was very good, which was impressive for a busy Saturday evening in L.A.
My husband Johan choose for his dinner a steak tartare for the appetizer and a duck breast for the main. I choose the mussels cooked in a curry sauce broth for the appetizer and a short ribs with yukon gold potatoes for the main. Peter got a hamachi (yellowtail) appetizer and a nice salad for the main, while Natasha choose the miso marinated black cod. Everyone was very pleased with their meal! The food was spot on and I was impressed.
I would return to this lovely institution in a heartbeat. It is often I am a bit disappointed in restaurants in L.A. but not last evening! The service was friendly and gracious, the food was all that I hoped for (plump mussels, tender short ribs), the menu interesting, and the room comfy. Not too formal, but special enough, this is a pleasant place I would recommend to anyone contemplating dining in the Santa Monica area.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I had steak tar tar once in France. When it arrived it was so rare it looked like they didn't even cook it at all. Angrily I demanded that it be sent back to the chef. The maitre'd informed me that I was "an American Pig" and I had better leave before my mud patch dried up. I told him at least in America we have grills that work properly.
Actually that didn't happen. But It certainly sounds like your steak tar tar experience was far superior.
LOL that's hilarious!
Though that didn't happen to you, I'm sure it happened to more than one person!
Post a Comment