We like pretty much everything from Republique except the Southeast Asian influenced crudos. Recent highlights were the casarecce and the main course roasted vegetables with black sesame and yuzu. I would definitely order the main course roasted vegetables over the charcoal grilled vegetables with labneh pictured above.
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We were supposed to be in Hawaii starting today but my son badly sprained his ankle, so we’re taking the week to explore LA! Finally made it to Republique for brunch this AM…
- French Toast - my wife and kids loved it. Massive slice of buttery, pilllowy, thick-cut brioche. A bit rich for my taste but it was gone in a blink of an eye. Slightly sweet, so the syrup went unused.
- Belgian Waffle - so rare to find an exemplary waffle, that is crisp outside, light on the inside, and this wasn’t it either. it was fine, but nothing especial. The berries were excellent though - peak of season, sweet and flavorful
- Short Rib Burrito - delicious. tender, marinated chunks of short rib, gooey Oaxaca cheese, bright pico de gallo, a perfectly fried sunny side egg on top with a bright orange yolk. Served in a cast iron pan, so the bottom of the burrito was crisped up. Not your everyday breakfast burrito!
- Croissant - i was torn on this. On the one hand, it wasn’t as buttery as your typical croissant, which was a + for me. And the exterior was flaky and crisp. But, the inside felt a bit dough-y and dense, and it didn’t have those air pockets that make a great croissant so enjoyable. I enjoyed it but wouldn’t really view this as a traditional croissant?
- Strawberry Passionfruit Creme pie - ok, so while everyone else ordered an entree, my meal was the croissant and the pie, and what a choice. The fruits weren’t overpowering, i.e. the passionfruit creme was clearly there but it was lightly aromatic versus super tart and in your face. And the crust is what I love in a pie crust, where you need a fork to break through and risk the whole thing shattering. Probably the best pie I’ve had in LA… FWIW, I like things that don’t skew too sweet and so if you have a major sweet tooth, this might not be the pie for you. But I loved it.
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That’s a lovely pie in its own right but you have to give the mango version a try when they’re available. It’s nuts how good and perfectly balanced the mango one is.
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I keep hearing about the mango, but they didn’t have it 
Other choice was peach pistachio which seemed interesting but the peaches on top seemed just ok.
Meal #2 of our Making Lemonade Out of Lemons Staycation week… Cassia. I wasn’t sure what to expect. We’d recently tried Little Sister for upscale Vietnamese and were sorely disappointed, so while Cassia gets great reviews, I went with some skepticism.
Flatbread with Meatballs - I’d be able to write a more extensive review except my kids inhaled it. They couldn’t stop raving about the bread. At one point, my 14yo offered me the last piece of bread, but I let him having hit, because seeing the joy in his face was good enough. But yeah, it looked / smelled wonderful.
Laksa - My wife’s entree. Flavors were a bit muted for me… I like the more “authentic” versions and this one was also a bit heavy… I normally enjoy drinking the laksa soup but this was a gut buster. That said, the rice noodles they use were perfect - chewy and slippery - if not traditional and the ingredients were high quality.
Sunbathing prawns - For $25, you get 6 large prawns. Good, but I’d probably pass to try something else next time. The prawns were fresh though!
Rendang - The beef was perfect. A large cut of beef that was impossibly tender, with a vein (not sure what you call it, but it’s that layer that separates the top and bottom of a flatiron roast) that was broken down and added this wonderful unctuousness to the dish. The sauce, like the laksa, was muted versus what I’m used to, but I was fine with that. Overall, no complaints and my younger son took care of this dish. That said, I’m not sure it’s a $40 dish, which is the only reason I would order something else next time.
Half Roast Chicken - I loved my entree. Marinated in a lemongrass and other spices - reminded me of gai yang, which I love. Only bone remaining was the wing bone. Meat was again perfectly cooked and incredibly tender without being over cooked. My only complaint is the skin wasn’t crispy, but I would order this again in a heartbeat.
Desserts were coffee pudding and kaya toast. Coffee pudding was fine, but after the Republique pie today, it was a hard compare… reminded me of a Kopiko coffee candy in pudding form. And the kaya toast was just too rich for me, though the kids loved it. Could see my younger one’s eyes lolling back as he ate his piece so I gave him mine. LOL.
Overall, this was one of my favorite meals in LA thus far. Pricey but didn’t feel gypped and execution was spot on, not to mention the service was A+. Oh, I had read reviews that the food could be salty, but I thought the salting was perfect, so the flavors of the food could shine through!
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Now I know… We live in Palos Verdes and have been lazy about venturing past Manhattan Beach for food, but now we’re really finding our groove further out and loving it. Definitely going to add Republique and Cassia to our rotation!
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$40 doesn’t go as far in Santa Monica as it does most places!
LOL… for sure. Although the chicken at $36 felt pretty reasonable. Maybe the beef was just a good cut but $40 for rendang just felt a bit much.
Oops. Put this in the wrong thread!
PSA: You’ll have to do without your passion fruit cream pies for a bit. Republique will be closed for renovations August 15 - September 6.
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Peach Cream Pie - Creamy, custardy, jammy, perfectly ripe peaches, sprinkle of pistachios in a sturdy, flaky crust. It’s so light you forget you’re eating about a thousand calories. Thanks @PorkyBelly! 
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happy to spread the calories around. peaches are from tenerelli.
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Damn, that looks so good! When I was there, the peaches definitely did not look as ripe and juicy as these, or I would gotten a slice of this also!
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Terrible picture. But they did an dessert for us to try Friday night. Their version of a Pizookie. Was 
.
Couple of the guys are New England guts so they had no idea why the rest of us were so excited for what was essentially a fresh baked cookie and ice cream.
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Sorry photos are so poor but wanted to report that republique is still top tier for French in the city for me. Seems like the board has been sleeping on them for a little bit with so many other exciting new restaurants but they are still pumping out classics.
Only miss of the evening was the tomato and melon salad. Neither the tomatoes nor the melons were super sweet but maybe that’s my fault for ordering since it’s not summer any more.
Dover sole was perfectly cooked and I would say the butter mashed potatoes served on the side was really butter with a slight flavoring of potatoes, super rich and decadent. Green goddess salad dressing still . Eggs and toast top notch. Duck still delicious. Pastas still competing with other Italian restos for best pasta in the city. Baguette and butter no intro needed.
I went with people that don’t generally eat uni, fish, butter or bread and they all scarfed everything down and had extra helpings of bread and raving about how good the meal was the whole weekend.
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BJ’s, which has a trademark on Pizookie®, is a national chain. Was it originally regional?
pan dripping is a must there!
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I think they just didn’t have BJ’s near them. One guy is from Boston, doesn’t look like there’s a single BJ’s near Boston, only two in the whole state. Another from New Hampshire, which has zero.
I never heard of it before either. There are a bunch around here but they’re all in suburbs I don’t get to much.