Back on Track at The Royce

WOW! What a fantastic night it was. The last time I was at The Royce, I was not the happiest camper. The food was good but not to what I was accustomed to since I have been there several times. Five months have passed and thought I would give it another chance.

My friend Ana and I left Torrance at 4:20 p.m. and got there 2 minutes before our reservation time which was 6:00 p.m. Our expectations were high. Not everyone can be perfect all the time so everyone deserves a second chance.

The ambiance couldn't have been better in  this very elegant setting at the Langham Hotel in Pasadena. We were served immediately with a complimentary glass of a sparkling Rose to go with the Amuse-bouche which consisted of squash soup, a crab cake and a fantastic pepper dipped in miso soy sauce with bread crumbs. That was unbelievably delicious.

We both decided to go for the six course Tasting Menu. We planned to order different dishes so we can try them all. Both Ana and I didn't budge; we both liked the same things and only differed on the second course. Our first course was the Beet Sorbet with Caviar which had creme fraiche & kaffir lime zest. Who would have thought of making Beet into sorbet? Well Chef David Feau, who came from the Patina group and former protege of Guy Savoy (whom I have personally met) is truly unique and continues to whip up some non traditional hocus pocus; in other words, he is a magician. The beet sorbet was very refreshing, the sweetness of the beets and the saltiness of the caviar was perfect combination not to mention the temperature; not hot, not room temperature but a sorbet.

 
For the second course, Ana decided on the Cuttlefish/Piquillo; bone in cuttlefish a la plancha, herring-sierra gold potato,ink & piquillos. I decided  on the soup; Cauliflower/Mushroom which was cauliflower & sorrel , hen egg, cauliflower mushroom. Loved my soup; tried some of Ana's cuttlefish which she also loved; I fell in love with hers too. I never had cuttlefish before let alone with the combination of ink and piquillos. This was something I would highly recommend.

Our third course was the Chestnut/Verbena. Chestnut-filled agnolotti, hazelnut, lemon verbena jus.  It didn't look as exciting as what we had so far. It just looked like a pool of foam. Looks can be deceiving.  This was a very nice surprise. When we dug into it, all you could taste was the nice chestnuts and the aldente agnolotti. Wow, I wonder how hard it is to make this dish. I could have eaten 2 bowls of it!

Our fourth course was the Wagu/Spelt Berries. Double seared wagu, ginger braised brussels sprouts, spelt berries emulsion and bone marrow tempura. Also delicious. I didn't find any berries and that's because Spelt berries are not berries. I found out that it is a form of grain kernel that can be used as alternative to buckwheat or other types of grain and is rich in nutrients. We both cleaned our plates.

 

We were full by the time our fifth course came but like real troopers, we had to march on.  We both ordedered the Picandou/Du Lot which is a peppercorn rubbed fresh goat cheese with tomato jam and acacia honey. It was a nice way to end our meal before dessert. Before dessert, they brought out a plate of petit fours which consisted of madelines, something coconut which I didn't like only because I don't like coconut and the winner was the cheesecake which was absolutely wonderful.  After that was a sorbet of quince to cleanse our palate. I am sorry to say that we both didn't care for it.

 

For dessert, we agreed not to order the same thing. One was the Chocolate Cake; cocoa minute cake, cajeta-caramel, warm chocolate curd, cafe glace. This was our least favorite. I understand that they have to make a traditional dessert for people that are less adventurous. The clear winner was the Date/Grapefruit; halawi date sticky toffee pudding, steamed miso egg white, finger lime grapefruit.  These all came together like the L.A. Philharmonic! We didn't know what a finger lime was..(lime from Australia)
When eating the grapefruit ice cream and the pieces of white pulp (fingerling lime),something interesting happened; the pulp actually popped in your mouth.  The steamed miso egg white was mysterious to us both. How can an unlikely combination taste really good? The date sticky toffee pudding was super accompaniment to the miso egg white and finger lime grapefruit. Ana and I were literally in ecstasy! As if we didn't have enough dessert, they brought out samples of a variety of chocolates ala Royce which of course we had to consume.

I have to mention that our service was impeccable. Andrea our server from my last visit was attentive and enthusiastic as ever. Eric Espuny came and made sure everything was in order.  It was a pleasure to meet Chef Feau who took the time to introduce himself and was gracious enough to have his picture taken with us. Many thanks to Chef Feau and to Eric Espuny for a wonderful evening.

For your next special occasion, do try "The Royce". I must say that the hour and forty minute drive time and the cost of the Tasting Menu of  $125.00 was well worth it.