Tavern

Tavern is Suzanne Goin's most recent restaurant, her older restaurants being AOC and Lucques. It is located in Brentwood on San Vicente Boulevard. We recently stopped in for dinner befor catching a play at the Getty Villa. 

The interior is dived into three sections. First, the Larder, which is a casual deli and pastry counter. Second, a bar area, and finally the atrium, where we sat (pictured above). The atrium has to be one of my favorite restaurant interiors. 

I was slightly disappointed to see that a plate of duck charcuterie on the online menu had recently become unavailable, but still plenty to choose from from.

We began with a couple of cocktails. The green drink is the Lucques Gimlet  made withWodka Vodka, Lime & Mint. It was akin to a mojito without the usual sweetness of rum. Very light an d refreshing. My drink was The Thunderer, consisting of Buffalo Trace Bourbon, Ruby Red Grapefruit, Lemon, Honey, Ginger  and  Arbol Chile. It was decent, but I would have liked  a bit more heat like I've had with other chili laced drinks.. There was perhaps one too many elements.

Good bread appeared served with butter and sea salt.

Our first appetizer was one of the day's specials, crab cakes. These were good, if small, bites. Lots of crab and not much filler as is typical of crab cakes. There's were served with a smooth aoili and and tangy frisee salad which acted as a nice palate cleanser.

Our second appetizer was the table favorite dish of the night, fried squash blossoms filled with ricotta cheese and served with an Early Girl tomato sauce. These were akin to the world's best tempura filled with cheese. They were great by themselves and the sauce was unnecessary. 

We tried three entrees. The first was the devil's chicken. While it had some good flavors, it was essentially just an ordinary chicken breast dish which wouldn't be too hard to replicate.

My entree was the osso bucco. Again decent , but not the best lamb dish. The apricot chutney was a bit blunt, and while paired decently with the lamb, I didn't think it worked that well with some of the flavor elements in the dish. There was also not enough jus on the plate to accommodate the dish.

Finally, the brisket. This was clearly the best of the entrees. The corn pudding and  cavollo nero were very good and the meat was tender and flavorful. All of the entrees came in very generous portion sizes.

We also asked our server for a couple of glasses of wine with the entrees. Her pairing suggestions proved to be very good, a Spanish Grenacha with the lamb and an Italian Barbera with the brisket.

Unfortunately, curtain time for play was approaching and didn't have time for dessert. Overall, my reaction to Tavern was mixed. Great appetizers, but the entrees felt a little lacking. Maybe the fish dishes would have matched my tastes better. I'd be interested in returning to try the Larder, or maybe for some squash blossoms at the bar. The massive burgers being served in the bar also looked good.


Tavern
11648 San Vicente Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90049
(310) 806-6464