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Today is: Thursday, November 21, 2024 |
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Cafe Pinot Restaurant Review
The Metropolitan Los Angeles area has a variety of great restaurants, and
among them the amazing Café Pinot from the Patina Group, whose
menu consists of fish, chicken duck and lamb entrees.
Café Pinot offers a bold setting and contemporary menu. The selection of small
plates, artisan flatbreads, and entrees changes seasonally, offering a constant
array of flavorful creations. Grab a seat and start by sharing decadent
small plates such as Yellow Fin Tuna Tartar “sunrise” iceberg
lettuce and shiso salad and sesame dressing.
Continue with a selection of bold, flavorful entrees such as King Crab Ravioli saffron butternut squash broth seamed broccolini and cheddar cheese. Accompany your meal with a flight, a glass, or a bottle of wine—the extensive wine list is sure to impress.
An entrance on Café Pinot, leads to the both dining room and charming bar. High ceilings and large glass-paned walls give the space a casual, open feel, intensified
in the warmer months when the glass walls are folded back to eliminate the divide between indoors and out. While a translucent divider blurs the distinction between
bar and dining room, ensuring a hint of playfulness amid casual elegance.
The high energy level from both the bar and dining room carries throughout
the space, and if you were in a laid back mood when you entered,
you’ll certainly feel spirited by the time you leave.
Executive Chef Kevin M. Meehan’s menu features what he calls "New American Cuisine," modern renditions of classic flavors and dishes. Community is again emphasized on the menu, with a selection of small plates that are meant to be
ordered for the table and shared. Eclectic and enticing, the array of
offerings includes both the familiar and the new.
The oven broiled Black Cod with shitake bok choy, lemon tarragon mustard,
ginger artichoke consomme is wonderfully inventive— Each ingredient is
wildly diverse, not only in flavor but in texture and shape, yet
somehow the pieces come together in a harmonious whole.
Perhaps mingling comfort and elegance is what Chef Meehan’s does best. Two
small plates—the King Crab Ravioli and the Pan Roasted Filet mignon showcase opposite ends of the spectrum, one the epitome of comfort, the other quintessential elegance. We go for comfort first—and are delighted to find how over-the-top it is.
The result is exponentially comforting. It is magnetic. Perhaps
that's why it's one of the most-ordered dishes on the menu.
The Lobster Ravioli - the presentation is stunning: a wide, shallow
bowl holds a towering sculpture surrounded by a pale pool
of steamed broccolini and cheddar cheese.
The lobster meat, left unadorned amid the dish’s creamy flavors, brilliantly showcases its pureness, while the aromatic cream offers hints of truffle oil, and is almost silken in delicacy. Their deep woodsy flavor anchoring the light, fleeting flavors of this dish.
There are over 30 wines offered by the glass, ranging from easily quaffable to
complex and intriguing, as well as an enticing array of wine flights. Many seem
to pair exceptionally well with Chef Meehan’s diverse array of small plates.
Generous portions make it difficult, but the desserts at are worth saving room for, featuring an in-house creation of Strawberries and Chantilly cream. The dish
actually improves as we eat it, the melting Chantilly softening the
brittle beneath it. This is gooey, indulgent heaven.
But at Café Pinot, dessert isn't the only sweet conclusion to the meal. When the
plates are cleared, each table is brought one last delight: A glass of dessert
wine. I already start to reminisce about the carnival of delights we
have just experienced. Returning to this gem will be easy.
For map and location click Here!
For more information please visit their
website
at www.patinagroup.com/cafePinot
Article by: Mary Adams
Photos by: Chris Marx
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