my first time dining at MelrosePlaceLA
los angeles, ca
* Note: we were personally invited + hosted by MelrosePlaceLA with a set of preselected courses sent out by Chef Brandon therefore, this review is not entirely transferrable to a typical dining experience at MelrosePlaceLA.
Thank you for having us, Chef Brandon!!
parking
Melrose Place > Melrose Ave. for this very reason… parking!! I tend to have really great luck finding parking in this little off-shoot of melrose. It’s 2-hr street meter parking that ends at 8pm, anytime after that you can park for free as long as you want. Of course, always beware of surrounding permit-required streets but the immediate street that the restaurant is on, offers a good amount of street parking (no permit req.)
ambiance // vibes // fit check
ambiance
Your first few steps into the building are through a mirrored hallway with cool blue lights (photo—op!) — felt like I was in art museum or walking into a nightclub. At the end of the hallway we were greeted by a super pleasant host table. They were very welcoming and personable (this is worth noting because a lot of restaurants on this side of town are notorious for being stuffy). Our host led us up a stairway filled with framed art, photographs, and 3d art. It sure helped distract from the slight climb.
Once you walk upstairs into the restaurant, you find yourself in a cozy dining room with a nice dim ambiance and a familiar playlist of r&b, both old school and current. I will say, it was a bit dark and therefore hard to take photos of the food but great for a first date if you tend to be a bit shy on those! (me). I also appreciate a restaurant with actual good taste and that isn’t just here for the instagram aesthetic.
RECOMMENDED —
on a warm evening, request to dine on their rooftop level.
It is a beauuuutiful space with fireplaces, couches, and a view overlooking the westside. so cute up there!! You know I had to take a quick flicky!
I must note that we arrived at 7p and the music was medium-low. But as the night went on, I want to say around 8/8:30, the dining room started filling and the music louder, slightly too loud for that size space. I started to feel like I was straining my voice to talk to my girl Janell. It’s not the worst thing but I do have an aversion to raising my voice beyond a certain octave so I must note it.
what I wore
at the end of the day, its LA. meaning, you can get away with a fly sweatsuit as long as your shoe game is on point, or, if your fun-sized like me and take any opportunity to throw on some heels, do that! this restaurant does err on the classier side.. only thing i will say is do not come with your belly out like I did cause babyyy she was pokin’ as the night went on.
a (very) cropped long sleeve top with distressed black denim jeans,
some strappy heels and a puffer.
onto the food + bev!!!
drinks
I ordered the cactus prick as it was the waitress’ choice and the most frequently ordered. It’s a very smooth drink, especially after I subbed the mezcal out for regular tequila — no me gusta. the cucumber made it super refreshing and you can definitely taste slight hint of avocado which was different, but I loved. expect it to be like your typical green juice, just with a lickle bit of licka! overall their drinks are very thoughtful and creative
course #1
the chef sent out 3 items for our first course:
mini street tacos
ok wow!! these street tacos??? i wish they weren’t mini because i couldn’t get enough!! thats ok though, I will be back for two platters of these. fair warning — they are very spicy for the average palate but the meat was super flavorful and tender, cooked perfectly and stuffed into a crispy wonton shell which I loved. *chefs kiss*
caesar salad
the caesar salad was probably one of the best I’ve had! I love the cilantro twist on the dressing and it was perfectly peppery. i also love how chef included a layer of bread crumbs on top instead of bulky croutons. we all know the best bites of a caesar is the one you get a crouton in — this method allows you to get that yummy crunch with every bite. stealing this for myself!!
yellowtail crudo
the yellowtail crudo was nice and light, refreshing with hints of citrus throughout. Presentation wasn’t anything crazy – its a pretty straightforward yellowtail crudo. I love sashimi so I would definitely order this again.
10/10 so far!!
course #2
two different entrees were sent out to us to try:
our first entree —
Wild King Salmon Two Ways
the first way was tempura fried and the second way was poached. To be honest, I’m not too sure about this dish… they were presented side by side on top of a bowl of veggies submerged in a warm asian-flavored broth. If I go through the effort to tempura fry a salmon filet, I personally wouldn’t have placed it on a liquidy broth – it got soggy quick and the fry layer fell right off when attempting to pick a bite with my fork. I preferred the poached alternative, this allowed the filet to remain moist and tender. it fell apart nicely when digging my fork into it and it went well with the tasty broth. the veggies were a bit random and some a bit undercooked for being served in a broth but the mushrooms!! the nicely charred maitake-type shroom was the star of the dish for me. I wasn’t super impressed and the presentation made it hard to photograph.
our second entree —
Spaghetti Bolognese
which was your pretty typical spaghetti with meat sauce. Pasta was cooked al dente with a nice bite to it. The sauce itself wasn’t the most flavorful and was a bit underwhelming but it was topped with a nice dallop of a lemon-y basil-y butter-y ricotta blend that I was eating up! it made me want a ciabatta baguette to lather it up with. I probably wouldn’t order this again, but wouldn’t mind taking home a side of that creamy goodness!
6/10… lost me a bit here :-/
dessert time!!
ooooooh! both look amazing. out of the two I preferred the
chocolate mousse cake.
the chocolate graham cracker crust at the bottom?? ill take a bowl of that please! the ratio of mousse to crust was great. the little caramel crunchy wafer/malt balls on top were a great texture contrast to the fluffy smoothe mousse.
would order again!
the cheesecake topped w/ a mixed berry compote
was decent. Whew! She was thickiana. The graham cracker crust to cream cheese-filling ratio was a little off for me. I would’ve like less of the filling and more crust. The flavor wasn’t all the way there + could’ve used a pinch of salt and more sugar. kind of felt like eating a block of cream cheese but the berries were delicious and presentation was enticing!
7/10 – choco mousse cake holding it down!
overall, I give my experience at MelrosePlace LA a 7.5/10. There are other items on the menu I would like to try on my next visit like the spicy pasta alla vodka and the street glizzys. This wouldn’t be my top choice of places to dine in the city but perfect for small bites on the rooftop and the fact that they’re open until 2a is a win for those boujee late night munchies cause we are tired of bossa nova!