8117 Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90046
Michael Mina is a well-received culinary artist, with the accolades to prove it. He also has several restaurants strewn across the US. XIV happens to be in Los Angeles, a convenient location for David and I. It was also conveniently part of dineLA's Restaurant Week and offered a three-course menu for about $44 a person. So we took advantage (and some friends) to see what XIV was making for dinner...
The atmosphere inside was very lively. Even on a Thursday night, I was surprised to see how crowded it was. The design inside spoke of European renaissance in a contemporary style. There was a bar as well as an outside patio lit up for diners. One other thing I noticed about the restaurant were the servers. Not only were they all male, but they all wore suspenders with white shirts (I thought they also were all foreign, but I was disproved quickly). Someone had obviously put a good amount of thought into the restaurant's setting.
After we ordered, we were served naan with some type of yogurt textured cheese sprinkled with pepper. Naan is a type of Indian bread, and it is delicious. This one was light, not flaky, and was a perfect choice before our meal.
This was David's first course: a creamed corn soup with pork belly and a flavored foam. The dish was served first with only the pork belly, but then the server poured the soup into the bowl. David commented that it would have been better if he poured the soup in himself. Somehow, doing things yourself makes food taste better, he said. I have to agree, but still the taste of the soup was sweet from the corn and the frothy texture was warming nevertheless.
My first course was a wagyu tataki, with assorted vegetables on the side. The beef was very tender, and slightly sweet. The vegetables (which included carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, and a type of small red onion) were slightly soured from vinegar and balanced out the sweetness of the meat.
(Sorry for the image, I have no control over some of the things the blog does on it own) This is David's main course, chicken in a very, very flavored broth. I'll let David explain, though this dish was way too packed with flavor for my liking.
My main course was halibut with veggies. I really enjoyed this dish because it surprised me. You know how if you cook fish, many times it tastes a little dry? This one was juicy through and through. It wasn't dry in the least. The veggies on the side were okay, though the spinach oddly seemed bland next to the fish. Still, good.
David ordered a traditional root beer float with chocolate chip cookies on the side for dessert. Our friend ordered the same thing and stopped drinking the float because it was too sweet. The cookies were warm and soft, but they were also a little too sweet.
My dessert was a nutella creme brulee with a sour flavored foam and vanilla ice cream. There was also a type of cake or cookie inside the cup. Individually, the ingrediants didn't taste that great: the foam was too sour, the chocolate was too sweet. But when I mixed it together, it tasted great, and again gave a sense of balance to the dessert. Overall though, I think it was still overwhelmingly sweet. Not bad though.My impression of XIV is that it's a great place to go for the atmosphere (I'm talking more about the restaurant design and not necessarily the people), and the food was a good accompaniment. I think I would go back to try other dishes, though it's kinda pricey. I thought the staff could have been a little friendlier, though being as busy as they were, I can understand why they didn't come off as happy people.
Overall rating (out of 5 stars):
Food 4.2
Service 3.0
Environment 4.5
Price 3.5
Epi-what? Epi-renaissance chic haha.
