Yip on The Little Door
The Little Door * 8164 W 3rd St @ Crescent Heights * Los Angeles, CA 90048 * (323) 951-1210
Cuisine: French, Mediterranean
Cuisine: French, Mediterranean
Put out by $100+ per person dinner? This isn't your place. Looking, yearning and dying for the SF dining experience you have been missed for exactly 6 months now ? ... This IS your place.
The Scene
When you ring to make a reservation, they drop in touches of French like "Bon jour" and "Merci" and it feels completely genuine. Unlike the rest of the restaurants here in LA that have yet to take advantage of information super-highway, the world wide web, you can actually make a reservation on OpenTable. Me likie.
When you arrive at the Little Door, you enter through a grand and rustic door, with (of course) no name posted. Like many trendy places in other cities, you have to be "in the club" to know it's there. Except in LA, every place has to have valet, so the name of the restaurant is on the valet sign. So really, it's hardly an exclusive club.
Once you crack open the door, the interior itself is absolutely breathtaking. They have 4 distinct rooms and they get progressively more romantic the further you enter the space. The garden rooms are covered and I believe they had heat lamps, so there should be no temperature issue. However, it is good to know before you ask to be seated in the front patio, that they allow smoking there. I have no idea how they get away with this, but it is what it is, so be aware. We ate just within the piano room (the 3rd room) on the edge of the Winter Garden (I loved the bamboo ceiling!). Any seat in the house is going to be a good one.
The Menu
The physical menu was a little funny. There were three lose leaf inserts to basically a one page menu, so they have no problem running a few flyers off in the back room. Yet, the dessert menu was written on a large chalk board that they insisted on bringing from table to table when it came to that time of the meal. In my opinion, the tables were a little to close together for that, and it really didn't seem to add to the experience, as if you were getting some additional service. But if this is the alternative to a "dessert cart" where they showcase what look like plastic pies assembled in the Easy Bake Oven, then I'll take the chalk board.
For the starters and main course choices, there were Many Many Many mouth-watering options. And as you know if you have dined with me on a City Eats experience in the past, I demand a taste of everything at the table. It's an occupational perk.
The Food
There were 3 of us dining, and we settled on two apps to share and a main course per person. So lucky me, I had lots to taste. For starters we had the "Little Door Mezze Royale," which consisted (per the menu) of assorted Mediterranean Appetizers with Tuna Tartar, Goat Cheese, Merguez Sausage and Grilled Scallop. Now that sounds like four things to me. Not 24 things. The plate was huge. We were not expecting another full meal. But in truth, while we could have used a little warning on the portion size, it was in it's entirety, really delicious. We also enjoyed a butternut squash ravioli app, in which I felt the delectable ravioli filling was unfortunately overpowered by the butter sauce. And really, who doesn't like butter??! If you say you don't like butter (kind of like you if you say you don't like Journey), you're just a liar. But as much as I like butter, I liked the taste of the filling more and wish I could have enjoyed it a bit more.
For mains, we each ordered something different. The Duo of Duck with Pomegranate and Candied Walnuts - absolutely superb. The Couscous "Royale" with Lamb Stew, Lamb Chops, Chicken and Merguez Sausage - delicious assortment. And finally, my meal, the Pistachio Crusted New Zealand Snapper with a Preserved Lemon Sauce, was nothing short of spectacular.
I just wish restaurants could realize that excessive portions aren't necessary. Charge me the same amount and give half of what you planned to bring me to the kitchen staff, bar staff, wait staff or dish washer. And don't forget the valet guy - he gets hungry too. I mean really, I certainly can't eat all of that, and if I did, I wouldn't be very LA, and certainly wouldn't be allowed to grace Hef's next bash in scantily clad "Lingerie or Less." And I'm not taking any kind of fish home with me for a late night snack.
The Service
I hate to say this, but they had a couple of mishaps. Our waiter was very attentive, knowledgeable, and generous. However, he had a staff assisting him that could have used a little more training. Such As (it wouldn't be me if I didn't give numerous play-by-play examples):
1) We requested sparkling water and they brought still. The quickly swapped this out, but when we brought this to our waiter's attention, he unfortunately didn't realize that this was the first of a few issues he was going to have with his staff and our table.
2) When they brought the apps, they didn't remove excess plates and bread (even though we had more bread coming as an accompaniment to one of the dishes). The table got crowded very quickly with our "Royale" app that could have easily served a starving family of four for an entire meal.
3) They didn't sweep the crumbs from the table between courses. I just assumed maybe they didn't do that here (even though they clearly needed to because we were either very messy or the bread was crumbly, or both), but one of my dining companions noticed a crumb sweep on another table in the adjoining room. Is it just me, or at a restaurant with entrees in the $40+ range, a crumb sweep should be standard.
4) Our dessert showed up a bit late and we had to repeatedly ask for coffee refills. We also inquired (it was in fact and inquisition, rather than an accusation) whether the peach tart we ordered for dessert should have been served warm or chilled, as it was clear to all that it had been sitting on the counter for quite a few moments prior to arriving at the table, as the accompanying ice cream scoop was bordering on ice cream soup. And while they did not remove the dessert charge from the menu, the waiter did bring us each a complimentary glass of port that was quite delicious and a nice recovery from some other service difficulties they clearly been having through the night.
The Scene
When you ring to make a reservation, they drop in touches of French like "Bon jour" and "Merci" and it feels completely genuine. Unlike the rest of the restaurants here in LA that have yet to take advantage of information super-highway, the world wide web, you can actually make a reservation on OpenTable. Me likie.
When you arrive at the Little Door, you enter through a grand and rustic door, with (of course) no name posted. Like many trendy places in other cities, you have to be "in the club" to know it's there. Except in LA, every place has to have valet, so the name of the restaurant is on the valet sign. So really, it's hardly an exclusive club.
Once you crack open the door, the interior itself is absolutely breathtaking. They have 4 distinct rooms and they get progressively more romantic the further you enter the space. The garden rooms are covered and I believe they had heat lamps, so there should be no temperature issue. However, it is good to know before you ask to be seated in the front patio, that they allow smoking there. I have no idea how they get away with this, but it is what it is, so be aware. We ate just within the piano room (the 3rd room) on the edge of the Winter Garden (I loved the bamboo ceiling!). Any seat in the house is going to be a good one.
The Menu
The physical menu was a little funny. There were three lose leaf inserts to basically a one page menu, so they have no problem running a few flyers off in the back room. Yet, the dessert menu was written on a large chalk board that they insisted on bringing from table to table when it came to that time of the meal. In my opinion, the tables were a little to close together for that, and it really didn't seem to add to the experience, as if you were getting some additional service. But if this is the alternative to a "dessert cart" where they showcase what look like plastic pies assembled in the Easy Bake Oven, then I'll take the chalk board.
For the starters and main course choices, there were Many Many Many mouth-watering options. And as you know if you have dined with me on a City Eats experience in the past, I demand a taste of everything at the table. It's an occupational perk.
The Food
There were 3 of us dining, and we settled on two apps to share and a main course per person. So lucky me, I had lots to taste. For starters we had the "Little Door Mezze Royale," which consisted (per the menu) of assorted Mediterranean Appetizers with Tuna Tartar, Goat Cheese, Merguez Sausage and Grilled Scallop. Now that sounds like four things to me. Not 24 things. The plate was huge. We were not expecting another full meal. But in truth, while we could have used a little warning on the portion size, it was in it's entirety, really delicious. We also enjoyed a butternut squash ravioli app, in which I felt the delectable ravioli filling was unfortunately overpowered by the butter sauce. And really, who doesn't like butter??! If you say you don't like butter (kind of like you if you say you don't like Journey), you're just a liar. But as much as I like butter, I liked the taste of the filling more and wish I could have enjoyed it a bit more.
For mains, we each ordered something different. The Duo of Duck with Pomegranate and Candied Walnuts - absolutely superb. The Couscous "Royale" with Lamb Stew, Lamb Chops, Chicken and Merguez Sausage - delicious assortment. And finally, my meal, the Pistachio Crusted New Zealand Snapper with a Preserved Lemon Sauce, was nothing short of spectacular.
I just wish restaurants could realize that excessive portions aren't necessary. Charge me the same amount and give half of what you planned to bring me to the kitchen staff, bar staff, wait staff or dish washer. And don't forget the valet guy - he gets hungry too. I mean really, I certainly can't eat all of that, and if I did, I wouldn't be very LA, and certainly wouldn't be allowed to grace Hef's next bash in scantily clad "Lingerie or Less." And I'm not taking any kind of fish home with me for a late night snack.
The Service
I hate to say this, but they had a couple of mishaps. Our waiter was very attentive, knowledgeable, and generous. However, he had a staff assisting him that could have used a little more training. Such As (it wouldn't be me if I didn't give numerous play-by-play examples):
1) We requested sparkling water and they brought still. The quickly swapped this out, but when we brought this to our waiter's attention, he unfortunately didn't realize that this was the first of a few issues he was going to have with his staff and our table.
2) When they brought the apps, they didn't remove excess plates and bread (even though we had more bread coming as an accompaniment to one of the dishes). The table got crowded very quickly with our "Royale" app that could have easily served a starving family of four for an entire meal.
3) They didn't sweep the crumbs from the table between courses. I just assumed maybe they didn't do that here (even though they clearly needed to because we were either very messy or the bread was crumbly, or both), but one of my dining companions noticed a crumb sweep on another table in the adjoining room. Is it just me, or at a restaurant with entrees in the $40+ range, a crumb sweep should be standard.
4) Our dessert showed up a bit late and we had to repeatedly ask for coffee refills. We also inquired (it was in fact and inquisition, rather than an accusation) whether the peach tart we ordered for dessert should have been served warm or chilled, as it was clear to all that it had been sitting on the counter for quite a few moments prior to arriving at the table, as the accompanying ice cream scoop was bordering on ice cream soup. And while they did not remove the dessert charge from the menu, the waiter did bring us each a complimentary glass of port that was quite delicious and a nice recovery from some other service difficulties they clearly been having through the night.
The Restroom
Why have I been calling this a bathroom for that last 55 entries?!?! There hasn't been a bath in a single restaurant I have EVER been to. I'll start from here on out referring to it by it's proper name. Thought LBH (Let's Be Honest), often you don't want to or chose to "rest" there, so that's probably not really an appropriate name, either.
Even though they are singles, ladies should not plan to use the men's room in a pinch. Apparently the door doesn't lock. I didn't have the unfortunately discovery of this personally, though another female diner did. Yipes! Actually within the restroom, there were a few cute kitsch decor pieces, and I also appreciated that there was a small window open for ventilation, but they had it masked by a plant so there was still privacy. Well thought out and executed. They get points for that.
************
In a spoonful, it has been my best fine dining experience in Los Angeles thus far. I don't know if it ranks in top 10 best meals of all time, but they definitely have potential and it is currently my best recommendation for out of towners that actually enjoy eating. Food (baring the half heated dessert) was nothing short of fabulous, even though the portions were a little over zealous. And the atmosphere and decor was nothing short of stunning.
Yip gives it 4.5 spoons.
posted by SoCalATA at 10:25 PM
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