Know anything about Ripe restaurant in Playa del Rey?

[Jeff Shore]

Has anyone visited this restaurant? I drive by it all the time, but I cannot even find a yellow pages listing for it, let alone information/review. Anyone know anything?

[wow i'm a dog]

Glad you asked b/c I've been wondering the same thing on *my* commute. It looks promising from the outside and a nice contrast from the surrounding...er...area.

I made a note of their phone number whilst zooming by (as a passenger, mind you - safety first!) and called up to get a menu faxed over.

Some items that look appealing:
-Fresh Baby Artichoke Salad - $10.95
- Chili Rellenos - $9.95
- Corncakes - $7.95

-Talapia Vera Cruz (white fish in sweet corn pico de gallo topped with jumbo prawns and potatoes in roasted chili sauce, served atop green rice) - $17.95
-Costa Rican Platter Typico (Seared Ancho Chicken breast served on vegetables, with black beans, rice and plaintains.) Vegetarian? Try our soy protein. - $15.95
-Jamaican Jerk Steak with Scotch Bonnet Chilis (Grilled steak with just a kick. Served with onion relish, corn salad and butternut squash) - $18.95

The woman who answered the phone said that they also offer occasional specials in addition to the regular menu.

Ripe
310.305.4504
Playa Del Rey

Hours:
5 p.m. - 10 p.m. for dinner except Tuesday

[chey]

My fiance and I have eaten there several times. We live in Playa and are very excited to have a nice restaurant that we can walk to!

They have been open for less than a year, and we first went there a few weeks after they opened. It's co-owned by the chef and one or two other women who work in the front. The service is great and they are all very friendly!

The dining room is cozy but not cramped - they've told us they have future plans to open the back room (currently not open at all) as the dining room and turn the current dining area in front into an upscale bar/lounge. If you go, try and reserve a table in the front window - those are the coveted seats!

We've enjoyed all the appetizers we've tried: Caviar Potatoes, Caprese, and Ahi Tuna (very yummy!).

Of the entrees I can recommend:
- Meatloaf (layers of meat, goat cheese, sundried tomatoes, bread, onions + herbs)
- Wild Shrimp Risotto (brown rice, portobello, shitake)
- Talapia (This is a more recent addition that I was glad to see added to the menu! It's my favorite!)
- Caviar Salmon Pasta (tossed in herbed low-fat creme frache, topped with black caviar and green onion)

The Jamaican Jerk Steak sounds good, but I found it to be overpowered by the onion relish (too vinegary) and not very spicy. Too be fair, I tried this just after they opened, so maybe they've improved it by now. My fiance had the Pistachio Pesto Salmon on that first visit and wasn't too impressed.

For desert, they have a really yummy flowerless chocolate cake! Mmmmm!

At Ripe, they are all so darn nice and mean so well and, I think, have great promise, so, it's with hesitation that I mention the following kinks/quirks that I'd like to see them correct:

-We've had to send undercooked salmon and shrimp (not done in the middle) back to the kitchen on a few occassions, though they have always been very nice about correcting the problem.
-This is really picky, but it sometimes seems like the entrees are unnecessarily complicated - like they have just one or two too many ingredients.
-The "ubiquitous tomatoes." It's this chopped tomato (maybe with bits of other stuff and/or seasonings) that appears on the Caprese appetizer and has made several surprise guest appearances on our entrees. We don't mind them so much, but we wonder why almost everything is topped with them. It's kind of a joke with us now... trying to spot them and guessing where they will appear next.

Definitely give Ripe a try!