Vespertine, LA

We went to Vespertine on our last day in LA. I know this restaurant has had very mixed press but I have to say we thoroughly enjoyed our experience. The dishes were wildly inventive while still holding onto their Californian roots. As someone who has dined at many of the Northern California restaurants, I felt like many of the flavors here resembled ones you will find at some of those restaurants (I.e Harbor House, Saison, and Birdsong) while also incorporating others as far south as Mexico.

Photos:
1. Exterior of the restaurant from the outdoor patio. We arrived about 30 minutes early so we waited here for a while until we were seated. The seats in the patio area are warmed but still the space feels a bit confined/awkward due to the large plants taking up a majority of the space. Music reminiscent to the style of music at Alchemist in Copenhagen was playing both inside and outside the restaurant.

1. Champagne to start the meal. We both chose the “dynamic” pairing to go with our dinner. The pairing features 3 N/A pairings, 3 wines, 2 sakes and 1 beer.

2. Wild scallop with passionfruit and Aji Amarillo. A beautiful start to the meal that balanced elements of sweet, tart, spicy, and savory perfectly.

3. Kiwi with oxalis and verbena. The first nonalcoholic pairing of the night. It was very tart and a bit sweet.

4. Wildflowers with kiwi and snap peas. A vinaigrette was poured on top and crispy puffed rice was added for some extra crunchy texture. Another wonderful dish.

5. A sake was poured before this dish but I only have room for 20 pictures. The dish pictured is titled “Deep Ocean” – sweet prawn and nectarine. The dish was served in a giant ice cube. The prawns were velvety the dish was overall good.

6. Next on the pairing, a white wine from Burgenland in Austria

7. “Obsidian Mirror” with golden osetra caviar (supplementary), smoked mussel, and plum. The idea is to use a clam shell to scoop the mussel cream out of the dish. I thought it was very creative and overall very tasty, and the addition of caviar just made it even better.

9-10. This next dish featured 2 components and was paired with a rhubarb kombucha. The dish was titled “deep seven”. It featured grilled Kinki and a stuffed Indian mallow flower. It was meant to be eaten by the hand.

1. Red Wine from the Rhône Valley in France

12-13. This course featured multiple components of Coturnix Quail. First it was served with heather and a buttery emulsion. Then a piece of fried oat porridge bread was brought out to mop up the rest of the emulsion, as well as another piece of quail wrapped in a hoja Santa leaf.

1. Beer from Germany paired with the next course (I also opted for another glass of red wine from the Burgundy region in France, not pictured)

2. Final savory course, pine fed lamb with yeast fudge and magnolia. Very delicious yet mild lamb that paired nicely with the other elements.

3. First of the desserts was titled “Red Earth”. It featured heirloom corn, strawberry, temascal. A hot custard was on the bottom. The dish was extremely warm and a bit spicy, and overall soul-warming. This was paired with a red sake.

4. Caramelized Pancake, lamb fat, single-malt scotch. A spoon was provided for the cream and raspberries which we put on top of the pancake. The pancake was meant to be hand-held and a wet towel was provided. Again, another tasty dish. Hot Douglas fir tea was served as well from here until the end of the meal. The tea was earthy and delicious. One of my favorite flavors in Californian gastronomy.

5. Icy birch with parsnip and reduced milk. Plants are where Vespertine is really able to shine, and I think this dessert resembled that more than any other dish. Extremely earthy flavors that mended together perfectly for a sensational dessert.

6. The final pairing was a sparkling redwood drink.

7. “layers” with black raspberry and sheep’s milk. A grand finale to the meal and probably the most photographed dish at the restaurant currently. A red raspberry liquid sat at the bottom. Each of the multiple layers were very different, making each bite a new experience, one layer was crunchy, another frozen, etc. A masterpiece to end the meal.

Final thoughts: after hearing a lot of mixed reviews, we went in with admittedly pretty low expectations but were pleasantly surprised. The dishes were masterfully presented and the flavors paired beautifully. This was my favorite restaurant experience in LA, and I have to say, 1 of the best I’ve had anywhere in the country.