Anyone been lately? I went last year and was underwhelmed but am going again this month because everyone I talk to loved it so maybe it was a bad night when I went.
We were underwhelmed last visit and also had to wait 45 minutes past reservation time for a table. But still it’s clearly one of the best restaurants in LA. I would give the nod to Maude over Providence based on recent visits, and I think Vespertine is in a different league.
1 Like
i went about a year ago. the food was good, service was great. but i was also underwhelmed. i went to kato a few weeks ago, and came away thinking that kato was clearly better.
1 Like
These replies are not making me excited lol. Our friend has been dying to go even though we said we were underwhelmed as mentioned. We’ll see how it is…
I think Providence is always a good meal. It’s just that it’s kinda always the same meal.
3 Likes
I loved my last Providence visit (about a year ago). I think execution is a grand slam 10/10 with every dish. Are they the most flavorful, most imaginative dishes in LA? absolutely not, but everything is of the highest quality and prepared/treated with extreme attention to detail and best techniques.
That, paired with a rather stellar alcohol selection and impeccable service make it one of the best in LA in my opinion.
6 Likes
Having gone to Maude and Providence recently as well, I preferred Providence. That is my personal taste though. They are both excellent meals, and I love Maude’s current style. Personally thought the service and balance of flavors was better at Providence. I could see how people could feel there is a sameness to the meals, but I hadn’t been in years and really felt the evolution of their food over that time. It’s also very much a celebration of the product, and in the same way as Hayato doing that through the lens of kaiseki, that kind of leads you down a narrower path. It’s not gonna hit you with a crazy new composition or technique that an experienced diner hasn’t seen before.
4 Likes
I postulate that people have a personality trait that describes their proclivity to seek known good things or seek the unknown. People fall on a spectrum from settlers to explorers. It describes how they like they like to travel, what they like to eat, drug usage, etc. Both ends of the spectrum have evolutionary advantages. I lean explorer pretty heavily. When I think of Providence, I don’t get excited any more, though I recognize the food is outstanding. I think “been there done that.” For example, I really liked Providence’s rosemary prawns the first time, found them okay the second time, and have little interest in eating them a third time. It would be like going back to the same beautiful resort in Hawaii–something I’d never do for a vacation. I do think one can explore in a narrow field, though – e.g., explore the depths of kaiseki.
Went last night and wow it was like a different restaurant from my first visit. Just goes to show you how top places have off nights. I don’t take photos of my food but if I recall the menu was
- Amuse Bouche (Waygu Tartare with Coconut Curd, Box Crab with Poblano Almond Sauce, Smoked King Salmon + Creme Fraiche Buckwheat Cracker, Shima Aji with Shiso Gelee)
- Potato Potato Caviar
- Kanpachi Sashimi, Passion Fruit
- Santa Barabara Spot Prawn (supplemental)
- Abalone Chawanmushi + Abalone Croquette
- Bread + Butter
- Scallop, Morel stuffed with Scallop XO
- Halibut with seasonal vegetables and yuzu lime foam
- Main (King Salmon or Duck or A5)
- Lime Sorbet with Meringue + Blueberries
- Chocolate Peanut Butter desert with lots of chocolate components
- Petit Fours
Highlights for me: Spot Prawn, Scallop, Halibut, all the amuse bouche
Misses: Main course, salmon and duck breast is just pretty boring. It was well cooked but felt out of place with the rest of the menu that was leaning very Japanese-inspired tonight. Also desserts were a little off, macarons a bit less airy than I’m used to and the petit fours were not particularly impressive.
Overall though an incredible meal!
7 Likes
a post-udatsu bang bang at providence was perfect. everything was outstanding but the 30 month aged comte cheese with honey may have been the highlight of the night.
review forthcoming @562 @Clayfu?
salt-roasted santa barbara spot prawns rosemary, lemon, extra-virgin olive oil
uni egg - sea urchin, champagne beurre blanc, brioche croutons
whiskey sorbet
11 Likes
What kind of truffles were those? They look too dark for magnatum and pretty pale for melanosporun.
Was the omakase at Udatsu really so small an amount of food that a full tasting at another restaurant was still possible afterwards?
1 Like
Looks like they’re just peeled black summer truffles.
1 Like
inadvertent bang bang.
The bar had opened a new bottle of whiskey - 19 year old willet collab and I wanted to try it. So I coordinated with the restaurant that we will come in around 9:15pm to grab a couple pours. They sat us at the Chef’s table, James ordered a couple ala carte dishes and then… they bombarded us with food. I actually had to ask them to hold back on dessert cause it was too much food.
Which was smart cause we kept ordering drinks. Everyone wins!
But we did not intentionally go in due to hunger. And I had to surrender during the pasta, couldn’t eat more than a couple of pieces.
9 Likes
peeled burgundy truffles
3 Likes
19 year old willet bottle = SiB bourbon?
four barrels but SIB since not blended. Ours was 57.8% barrel # 1289 - Kiamichi 19 yr. I know a couple other barrels from the project were 55-56%. It got absolutely thrashed by the michter’s 20 next to it tho
4 Likes