Royale on Wilshire.....CHow or CHump?
Hi all~
I'm finally getting around to try Royale this friday night for dinner but the research I did on Chow is kinda throwing me off. I found Royale under a "over hyped" link and I also found it under a DTLA nightlife link but no real mention of the food.
Should I take that as a clue or has anyone out there enjoyed Royale for the food?
Thanks,
AFS
afs
Oct 24, 2007 11:45AM
The decor is cool, esp. the lounge area.
Food is hit and miss, but generally passable.
No one should necessarily go there JUST for the food, however.
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It's a big pass. The food is uninspired, reminding me of the sort of stuff one finds in a hotel. A limp beet salad that tastes like dirt, bland tuna tartare, flat desserts - nothing was memorable, all of it tiny (except the check). The chef still hasn't realized that scribbling on the plates with coulis went out with parachute pants. One must pass through a bar with loud, thumping hip-hop, and the room is covered in white tiles that remind one of a bathroom. You really can put your money to use in so many better ways; why waste it on Royale?
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Royale had a lot of potential, but I must say its a pass. When my wife and I went, there was a hip hop party that reminded me of Oakland, in a bad way. The food was the same you would expect at hotel kitchens like others have said. Blue velvet is much better in the area, If you havent been, its worth a try for sure. If you do go to blue velvet, pay the 5$ charge for valet. It is well worth it.
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I've read enough, looks like steaks at Taylors or back to blue velvet.....................
Then drinks at Royale
Thanks,
AFS
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That is a good plan.
Of the 5 or 6 things we had at Royale, one was decent and that was the chocolate souffle. Surprising good, especially with our well made chocolate martini
so drinks and dessert might be the best way to go.
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Pass-O-Rama
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A friend from work and I were looking for somewhere new for happy hour away from the crowds in Downtown, especially as we always get off the Red Line after the offices there have already swamped the bars and swarmed the seating anywhere except Seven Grand (because Seven Grand has no happy hour). I remembered that Royale had one and reluctantly decided to give them another shot.
Seriously, the place is just off. Even the happy hour food is weird. For one thing, what kind of place serves crudo as happy hour snacks? The scallop sashimi my friend ordered had an overdose of citrus and a strong herb coulis on it, very off-putting. The macaroni and cheese was not normal baked macaroni and cheese, but more of a soupy, stove-top version, like the stuff from a box. It took a moment to figure out they were using ricotta as their cheese, and the pasta were the little shells from a bag. It was really bland, like a cheap alfredo sauce kit more than anything. The French fries were a slightly crispier version of In-N-Out's fries, tarted up with some herbs and little parmesan. When even a chili dog joint like Skooby's can bring themselves to whip up aioli, the fact that just a gravy boat of Heinz ketchup comes out demonstrates the kitchen's laziness. The only successful item - and the one I saw come out the most often - were the spareribs. The tender ribs were coated in breadcrumbs and deep-fried, then coated in a standard (almost certainly bottled) barbecue sauce. While the off-the-shelf sauce was a disappointment, the melding of two Southern heart-cloggers, deep-fried-such-and-such and barbecued ribs, was witty.
I got a better look at the bar area this time around. It strikes me more as if one of those quickie makeover shows like "Trading Spaces" has come in and thrown together a bar in two days. It's really got a rather cheap, chintzy look to it - the poorly padded circular banquette, the round table made from cheaply varnished plywood, the tiles' falling off the bathroom walls. The style seems cobbled together from other trendy boîtes, too: a bunch of willow branches here, an antler chandelier there, some mismatched mirrors in antique frames on this wall, some random photo murals on that wall. Dodd Mitchell or Philippe Starck it ain't.
At 8:00 P.M., as we were leaving for Chichen Itza, right when a restaurant should have begun filling up with customers, two tables were occupied. A total of four diners in the room. One of L.A.'s essential restaurants, indeed...
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