Almost everyone at the Palos Verdes Peninsula knows about their fabulous Sunday Brunch with fresh oysters, caviar, crab legs, and the famous short ribs to name a few. Add to this the spectacular view of the ocean and you have the perfect Sunday brunch.
For dinner, its best to get there before sunset. The ambiance is what fine dining should be. There are a lot of restaurants that claim to be fine dining but its hard to fall in that category when the tables are close together that there is little privacy, or the chairs are too modern (nice to look at) but not comfortable, or music that isn't really music; you know what I mean.
Cafe Pacific has that elegant feel until you see some people in shorts that come to have their dinner. I think they should have a dress code...but that's another hot topic.
My husband took me there last night for my birthday. I missed Louis, the manager who happened to be off. Our waiter took good care of us. We started out with the famous calamari with the aioli sauce. This is the best calamari I have had so far. Every time I go to Cafe Pacific, it is a standing order to get the calamari. It is very light (never rubbery) and quite addicting with the aioli sauce that has a bit of a kick. Their mussels are also excellent. I had them previously, I normally don't like mussels but my friend Alma ordered it one time and after I tried it, I have been hooked!
Otto ordered the homemade pappardelle with tips of fillet mignon, marinated tenderloin tips with spinach, portobello mushrooms, shallots, garlic and red wine sauce. I have had this before and remembered it to be delicious. I ordered the marinated grilled diver scallops and prawns in sugar cane skewer which was served with lobster and lemon risotto with peas, onions and a leek vichysoise. I had no complaints. I wiped the plate clean. (What else is new?)
Dessert was an easy choice. I love their baked Alaska, so that's what I ordered. Light meringue kinda burnt, was cooked to perfection with the vanilla ice cream inside and lots of caramel sauce surrounding it. Otto had the trio of creme brulee. The flavors were vanilla bean, chocolate and lemon. These were perfect conclusions to our nice meal.
Our server Ryan asked if I wanted to have a word with the chef. Naturally, I did. Louis introduced me to him last year. Chef Jean Pierre Vincent is the executive chef at this restaurant. My husband and I mainly wanted to let him know how much we enjoyed the food. Chef JP (what people call him) has quite an impressive background. He was offered the position as chef instructor at Le Cordon Bleu Academy of Culinary Arts at age 25! He worked all over Europe and is fluent in 5 languages.
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