By Sandy Driscoll
The beautifully appointed dining roomProvidence Restaurant
5955 Melrose Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90038
Phone: 323.460.4170
Hours:
Lunch: Friday – 12 noon – 2:30 pm
Dinner: Monday-Friday 6pm-10pm
Saturday – 5:30pm – 10pm
Sunday – 5:30pm – 9pm
Ever since Providence opened in 2005, it has received accolades as one of the top restaurants in the country from
everyone including Gourmet and Esquire magazines, the James Beard Foundation, Gayot, and Michelin (two stars). Chef
Michael Cimarusti and co-owner Donato Poto (who is always there to greet you!) make dining here an unforgettable culinary experience.
Having eaten at Providence several times, to me, there is no finer restaurant in Los Angeles. On all levels……food, service,
ambiance……it is superb. It’s comfortably elegant, service is spot on, and the food (they specialize in fresh fish) is unsurpassed
in its category, similar to Le Bernardin in NYC.
They frequently have special tasting menus, and the chefs table, which is in a very private, quiet and lovely room all its own seats 4-6. It has an unfettered view of the gleaming kitchen and all of its beautiful orchestration. For those of us who love to cook, and love to watch good cooks in action, there is no finer treat than to enjoy the chef’s multi-course tasting menu at this table.
My most recent meal, pictured below, was a Friday lunch. Fortunately, they were featuring Australian Black Winter Truffles,
shaved over a choice of Risotto, Pasta alla Chitarra, Soft Scrambled Eggs or Raviolo alluovo. After the delicious complimentary
Amuse assortment, I started with the Bigeye Tuna Tartare, stunning in its gorgeous presentation. The truffle-topped and perfectly cooked risotto was memorably delicious (just looking at the photos makes me want to order it again!) and was one of those dishes where you hoped it would never end……just one more bite, please!
Confident that I will always have a perfect dining experience, I can’t wait to return!
Complimentary Amuse – Beautiful and delicious assortment of tastes (including frozen Mojito-Screwdriver Baja Shrimp cooked sous-vide with piquant chile, Carrot Soup with foam)
Bigeye Tuna Tartare, exquisitely plated!
Presenting the Australian Black Winter TrufflesRisotto awaiting the truffles!
Shaving the Black Truffle over the Risotto
Complimentary Dessert Bites
Culinary Tidbits … Any extra food that you might have stocked in anticipation of Hurricane Irene being a “screamer” but fortunately, it fell a bit short of the mark, please donate any food items you may not be able to use to the needy and hungry here.
