It started with oysters and Piper-Heidsieck in the late afternoon, and concluded with delightful desserts after sunset. Our dining experience at Ocean Prime earlier this month was a feast perfect for the holidays – or any day you feel like celebrating the joy of excellent food, letter-perfect service, and a setting that serves as a mini luxury vacation.
Located in the heart of Beverly Hills, Ocean Prime’s LA-area outpost offers a choice of an elegant indoor dining space and bar area bathed in honey-colored light, or an airy patio warmed by a row of fire pits and subtle overhead heat lamps. We chose the latter, in a quiet booth made more private by greenery behind and on the sides of our seats.
The restaurant’s October seafood month theme featured oysters. Ours were on the half shell, and paired with the new Essentiel by Cameron Mitchell Champagne from Piper-Heidsieck.
The champagne features a glowing dark golden color, a fine bubble, and taste of pears, blackberry and honey. Piper-Heidsieck has only partnered with a handful of on-premise venues and sommeliers globally due to its unique creative processes, with Ocean Prime being one of those chosen. It is available at 17 of the 18 restaurant’s locations across the the U.S., including Beverly Hills.
While the oysters and champagne were perfect, as twilight rushed in and lit up our view of Wilshire Boulevard, we continued our experience with one of the terrific specials that the restaurant is offering. This was their multi-course early-bird dinner, available from 4-5:30. The choices are beautifully prepared, and we tried a variety of menu items, agreeing that each of our different selections were exceptional.
I began with one of the most nuanced of the copious number of Caesar salads I’ve had over the years. Yes, there was a lovely balance of crisp Romaine lettuce, flavorful brioche croutons, and best of all, a not-overbearing Parmesan garlic dressing.
My companion chose the lobster bisque, made with a rewarding amount of butter-poached lobster. A few spoons of the rich but surprisingly light broth was enough to convince me that the chef had us in good hands.
My main selection: sea scallops, plump, large, and juicy in a lively citrus vinaigrette. They were accompanied by a truly delicious Parmesan risotto studded with English peas that subtly combined a creamy texture with garden-fresh flavor.
My side was the truffle mac & cheese, which offered a variety of cheeses that afforded a compellingly earthy taste combined with the truffles – truly an amazing take on classic comfort food.
My dinner partner chose the eight-ounce filet, which she pronounced perfectly prepared to order with Cabernet jus. It rested on a gouda potato cake and chili-seared spinach.
Her side was the zesty jalapeno au gratin, a meal in itself.
Did we have take-homes? Yes. But that did not mean we forgot about dessert. The crowning finish to our prix fixe was a choice of five layer carrot cake or warm butter cake. I chose the latter, which came with a lovely berry compote and a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.
My dining partner picked the carrot cake, a personal favorite, well-topped and girded with an airy take on cream cheese frosting with a bonus of fragrant lemon curd on the side.
Beverages: we began with cocktails as elegant as the location. Mine was the Smoked Old Fashioned, a favorite drink of mine. Like Caesar salads, I’ve tried many over the years, and this was a stand out. Crafted with Angel’s Envy rye whiskey, House Demerara syrup, angostura & orange bitters, and redolent with charred cherry wood smoke, it was exemplary. My companion chose a favorite of her own, the Hot & Dirty Martini. Olive oil invused Belevedere Vodka was matched with ripe Castelvetrano olives filled with Calabrian chili blue cheese. She pronounced hers letter-perfect, too. We finished with some house-brewed coffees.
There was only one thing that would have made the dining experience even better – making a return visit the next day. We will have to remedy that soon. Major kudos to executive chef Jonathan Milan and general manager Yurii Barajas.
Fine dining afficiandos take note, along with the exception early prix fixe menu, and of course a stellar regular menu, on Sunday evenings, a two-course Surf & Turf special is available, featuring a starter choice of French Onion soup, Caesar or house salad and a main course that combines the restaurant’s 8-ounce filet with a choice of three seafood entrees: Shrimp Scampi, the Oscar Styler with lump blue crab and bearnaise, or a lobster tail.
Foodies – come feast around and find out more about the terrific menus at Ocean Prime.
- Genie Davis; photos by Genie Davis