LA!! Larry's

For our last day in LA, I found out that it was actually the first day of their restaurant week (dineLA). Tons of restaurants offer lunch and dinner prix fixe deals for a range of prices. We HAD to take advantage of this!! We wanted to go somewhere by the beach so I came across Larry's in Venice Beach.

Larry's
24 Windward Avenue
Venice, CA 90291
(310) 399-2700
http://larrysvenice.com/
Price: $$

It's literally a few steps to the beach. :) Most of the seating is open/outdoor/patio. Luckily it was a nice sunny day so it wasn't as cold as it had been for the previous days. We were immediately seated since I made reservations. The dining area was very bright from the sun, which was nice. It's a very casual, chill place.

Our waiter came to give us some water and take additional drink orders. He was nice but a little high strung or something? He also informed us that the entire table had to participate in the dineLA menu or none at all. A restaurant policy apparently... Looking at their regular menu vs the prix fixe, the 3 course deal was by far the better deal! Larry's dineLA lunch promotion was $16 per person for 3 courses.

1st Course:
Wild Arugula & Apple Salad (coppa, parmesan, aged balsamic vinaigrette, toasted almonds).

I ordered this. It was a giant bowl of salad! Wow... I loved the bitterness of the arugula and the sweet/tart from the apple and nuttiness from the almonds was a great addition. It was also dressed perfectly. The waiter says the chef actually likes to underdress the salad which was perfect for me. I hate it when they drown salads in dressing.

Goose and Hazelnut Terrine (huckleberry compote, toast).

This was really interesting. It was almost like a solid pate? The goose flavor was quite light which was good and I particularly liked the crunchy hazelnuts in the terrine. The huckleberry compote complimented it nicely.

Butternut Squash Soup (bacon, creme fraiche).

The flavor was very light...almost too light. It was fine, but I wish it was a bit thicker. It was a little watered down.

2nd Course:
6oz. Lamb or Dry Aged Beef Burger (brioche bun, french fries, house made pickles).

All 3 of my friends ordered this. It was the best bang for the buck. 2 of them ordered lamb and 1 got the beef. I always love brioche. My friend with the beef said it was ok. I tasted the beef patty and it was a little bland. My other friends seemed to enjoy their lamb.

One of the burgers was a little undercooked though. Slightly more pink than my friend wanted. The presentation was nice. The best part of the dish were the fries tho. They were amazing especially with this chili mayo dip of some sort!!

Mushroom Pasta (burrata cheese, fried parsley).

I got the pasta. I'm really glad I ordered this. It was a smaller portion which was good for lunch. The flavors were simple and clean. I could taste every element in that dish. The pasta seems to be homemade. The texture was great. There were lots of mushrooms and the burrata cheese just added a hint of creaminess. I totally enjoyed it!

3rd Course:
Sticky Toffee Pudding (salted caramel, vanilla ice cream).

This was pretty good. It's kind of a spice cake. The ice cream on top paired really well with it. I wish the scoop was bigger though. Also, the caramel wasn't cooked enough because it still had sugar crystals in it. But you know what? We all actually liked it cuz it added a slightly crunchy texture. hehe.

Ice Cream Sundae (marachino cherry whipped cream, assorted candy).

The presentation was so cute! It was like a little build your own ice cream station! :)

It was a good meal. We were super full after! It seems like a cool place to hang out on a lazy afternoon too. However, it seems like the chef is a bit uptight. We were told that we couldn't substitute anything because the chef doesn't want to waste time and the waiter didn't want to get in trouble. One of my friends doesn't eat onions or cheese but couldn't get it omitted on his burger. The waiter asked if he could just scrape it off because he didn't even want to ask the chef if that was a possibility. I thought that was kind of ridiculous!!! Poor waiter...we were pretty easy going, but not all customers are that way. I can see other people get angry with that type of policies.

Anyways, it was still a great finale to our trip. Afterwards, we walked around Venice beach to enjoy the sunny weather.

Until next time LA!! I'll be back soon!! :)

Quality of Food:

Service:

Ambiance:

Value (for dineLA):

Overall Experience:



~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~