Note: I’ve been getting mainly positive feedback; however, some people disagree with my rating system, and I don’t disagree with several of their critiques. From now on, I’ll be changing my rating system to the following – 5: one of the best dishes I’ve ever had, 4: three Michelin star dish, 3: two star dish, 2: one star dish, 1: good, but not worthy of a star, 0: bad dish by any standard
Oysters 5: Incredible start to the meal! Different types of oysters from around the world, and they tasted fantastic! When the oysters are this fresh and high quality, there’s no need to do anything much to them. The best serving and selection of oysters in my life!
One Potato, Two Potato (golden kaluga caviar, garden herbs) 4: Another beautiful course! I don’t know how to describe the potato, but it was perfectly soupy, airy, rich, creamy, and delicious at the same time! It was also lightly smoked, along with the caviar, which added a nice other dimension. Wild herbs and a little pickled radish rounded out the dish wonderfully!
Sashimi (celtuce, passion fruit) 3: Done very well, but I just don’t know if tai is the best fish to be using for sashimi. The celtuce and passion fruit flavor combination was surprisingly good, but there could have been a little more acidity, and I thought they put a tad too much oil.
Uni (geoduck, buckwheat, sprouting broccoli) 2: This dish wasn’t terrible by any means, but just fell a bit flat. There wasn’t any real flavor from the dish from any of its components, though they were great individually. The dish was a bit too heavy, and the geoduck was salted a tad too much.
Uni Egg 5: Phenomenal! This is one of their most famous dishes for a reason! This is certainly the joint-best uni dish I’ve ever had at a Western restaurant, comparable only to the uni toast at Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare.
Sea Scallop (scallop mousseline, cauliflower, xo) 3: Continuing the trend of unexpected flavor combinations, the cauliflower and xo sauce was great, but could have had more structure. I thought stuffing white truffle sticks into the scallop was an interesting idea, but, in the end, I would have preferred the truffles to have just been shaved or grated on top. The scallop was excellently cooked and was of sublime quality!
Striped Bass (California chanterelle, daikon, black truffle) 3: They tried to do a spin on Bocuse’s potato scales, and did a pretty good good. The daikon didn’t get crispy enough, but the texture and flavor still enhanced the bass. I think they could have chosen a better side than mushrooms, but the sauce was quite good and had a rich black truffle flavor with notes of warm spices.
A5 Wagyu (tetsukabuto squash, charred lime, sesame) 4: Great stuff! The lime added great acidity, which is something Wagyu sometimes needs. The squash and sesame complemented the perfectly cooked steak superbly. An incredible steak/wagyu dish, from a seafood restaurant nonetheless!
Apple, Mint, Cognac 1: I really just didn’t understand this dish. The flavor combination tasted as weird/bad as it sounds. The apple and mint flavors were constantly clashing with each other, and the addition of cognac that still had quite a lot of alcohol made things even worse. This palate cleanser was also a textural disaster. I don’t see why you’d serve a creamy gelato with an icy and crunchy granita. Each of the components was decent individually but tasted quite horrible when put together.
House-Made Hawaiian Chocolate (pecan, barley) 3: This was a nice finish to the meal. Very similar to Guy Savoy’s chocolate tartlet, but not exactly at that level. While I didn’t taste any barley/cereal notes, the pecan gave a nice nuttiness to the dessert, which had a good texture and a variety of chocolate, cocoa, and coffee flavors. While the chocolate shell wasn’t tempered enough, and the overall dessert was a bit too rich, this was a very satisfying dessert overall.
Providence, to many, is the best restaurant in Southern California, and I don’t necessarily disagree. Besides the pre-dessert course, this was a wonderful meal that had nothing but tasty and high-quality dishes! Some of the best seafood I’ve ever had was paired with masterful techniques and interesting flavor combinations, making this a fantastic choice anytime you’re in LA!
Food Cost: $495 after tip | Value For Money (incredible, good, reasonable, poor, horrible): poor | My Michelin Rating: With an average rating of 3.3, I personally give Providence 2* | Would I Recommend?: Yes, and I STRONGLY recommend getting the supplements I got.
by Gastronaut1900
3 Comments
I had the chance to eat here in the fall, and definitely agree with your overall sentiment. Lots of very good dishes, but a bit expensive.
It also felt strange that their signature uni egg dish was a supplement. It’s definitely worth it, as it was my favorite dish all night, but it feels like the kind of dish they need to highlight, instead of pay walling it.
I have eaten there twice and really enjoyed it both times. Every dish is delicious and well prepared and the ingredients are great. The service was great.
I think where Providence falls short for me compared to some of the best meals in my life is the progression of the meal.
A lot of the dishes after the appetizer/raw stuff had a similar protein, butter/cream sauce vibe that we found slightly repetitive.
Any single dish on its own I would give a very high rating, but 5 of them in row kind of left you wanting for a bit of a change up.
The decor and energy feels a bit more dated and stuffy than I prefer.
Also I kind of hate menu supplements for pre fixe meals.
But this is kind of nitpicking what is a great restaurant that people should go check out.
A good breakdown and review, and thank you for the explanation on your scoring system. Sounds like it’s a must for seafood lovers.