Royce at the Langham Hotel

I was always impressed with this elegant restaurant in the beautiful Langham Hotel in Pasadena. The restaurant critic Irene Virbila's review a year ago was right on the money. A 5 course tasting menu for $85 was indeed a bargain.

I previously blogged about Royce: http://solittlethyme.blogspot.com/2011/12/royalty-treatment-at-royce.html and I had nothing but high praises on everything.

I took my brother there to celebrate his birthday along with my son and cousin. The tasting menu was now 6 courses and the price went up to $125.00. We all had the tasting menu; I thought this would be a good introduction to David Feau's cuisine.

There were only 2 dishes that stood out from the amuse bouche to the dessert. The fish soup with the red mullet fillet and potato emulsion was truly outstanding. The soup was thick, and the salty fish was magic when mixed with the soup. Our main entree which was the roasted duck with cherries and turnips was also very good.

The first course was impressive. Impressive I say because of the presentation. The Shima Aji (fish) was served on a carved block of ice.. The fish itself was pretty , tasteless.  The fifth course, a fromage frais/ herbs, again had a nice presentation. This raw cow's milk cheese with garlic herbs served with sourdough toast was nice to look at and I'm not saying it was not good...it was good but nothing special.

I must mention that the service was excellent. Our server, Andrea was so attentive and even if she had several tables, she made us feel like we were the only ones dining at that time.

I am hoping for a change in menu in the very near future. Chef Feau has to go back to his roots to make Royce stand out like it once did....at least in my eyes.