Oliver's Cafe in Redondo Beach

I have been wanting to try this place ever since I read a great review in the Palos Verdes Peninsula News in September of 2011. How can it not be good with an executive chef David Linville; who has worked at St. Regis Hotel, Ritz Carlton & Mastros Steakhouse.

The good news is the food is very good. We started with the butter lettuce salad with bacon, tomato, charred corn and bleu cheese. We split the salad and ended up with a generous portion. The kitchen was kind enough to split it for us and still had a nice presentation.

Cynthia ordered the 5 oz. filet mignon with a bordelaise sauce on the side. She asked that it be cooked medium. When it arrived and she made her first incision...I could only see red. She ate it anyways; she managed to cut an end piece so I could try it..it was delicious.

I ordered the coconut milk braised monkfish with black rice. They were out of monkfish so they substituted sea bass. I was happy with my dish as the fish was fresh, light and the coconut milk enhanced the delicate flavor of the sea bass. The black rice was nice and a bit crunchy.

For dessert, we decided to split the pear bread pudding with caramel and vanilla ice cream. This was a dessert not to be missed per the article I read. The verdict is in...both Cynthia and I thought it was o.k., there were not enough pears, in fact, it was mostly bread and not enough pears. As far as the caramel, the only visible caramel was what was drizzled on and around the pudding.

Oliver's is just a cafe and not anything more. It is a pity because the food is good. The restaurant does not give Chef Linville justice. The place is a hodgepodge of everything from Oliver Twists prints (which is fine if they stuck to that theme), vinyl italian tablecloths (would have been good to replace them with white crisp tablecloths), fake plastic plants, multicolored chairs and the worst it the dirty soiled carpets that were there since Tony Romas and Chicago Ribs. If you walked in today, you would think you were in the old restaurant. I have to mention that the music was loud and again did not go with anything, it was just annoying.
They had a lively crowd at the bar since they have a happy hour deal that goes on everyday starting at 4 p.m. where you could get inexpensive wine and beer and small plates at a discount.

Take the family by all means and you don't have to get dressed up. As we left, a man came in in shorts and a sweatshirt. If you want a romantic dinner find another place.