Bistro LQ: Fine Cuisine, Bistro Prices, an Unrivaled Cheese Cart

[Porthos]

Why this place doesn't get more press, I can't understand for the life of me. I'm sure if this restaurant were in SF or NYC, it would be packed every night .

Let's start from the end. The cheese cart. There is somewhere around 15-20 types of cows, sheep, and goat cheeses offered. There is an excellent mix of hard and soft cheeses, fresh and aged cheeses, mild and pungent cheeses. This cheese cart eclipses pretty much every other cheese cart I've seen at any fine restaurant I've ever been to be it NYC, SF, or LA. The only 2 cheese carts that are in the same league would be the ones at Daniel and Joel Robuchon in Vegas. Gary Danko's much talked about cheese cart in SF is about half the selection.

The cuisine is a mix of bistro classics, fine dining, and crazy molecular gastronomy. There's something for everyone. The price, absurdly afforadble. The dishes come as full and small portions. The small portions are generous and would be classified as full portions in greater than 90% of mid-high end restaurants. The wine list is also very affordable and more importantly, drinkable. The burgundy by the glass actually tastes like burgundy.

The cuisine is creative and a welcome change to the ubiquitous cal-med cuisine that predominates the LA dining scene. The chef/kitchen's achille's heel is clearly octopus which was consistently tough and chewy in 2 separate dishes. However, at $9-$10 appetizers and $19 entrees, I can live with a few minor misteps. Especially if the rest of the dish consistes of perfectly cooked sea bass. I ordered small portions for everything so I could try as many dishes as possible. We had:

Amuse: duck proscuitto with mango chutney. Excellent duck proscuitto.

1. Sea urchin tapioca pudding with shot of kummamoto oyster and lobster gelee- $10. The tapioca pudding was savory, the sea urchin sweet, the toasted nori added that 4-5th dimension to a perfect dish.

2. Lobster salad Corn Cannoli, Red Beet, Burrata Sorbet- $10. As good as it reads. Everyone in town is doing burrata these days. How many have paired sweet beets with a subtle burrata sorbet?

3. Mussels, clams, shrimp, octopus in kimchee broth- $9. Probably the one miss of the night. The kimchee broth was delicious, the shellfish okay, and the octopus, chewy.

4. Poached Hen Eggs In Red Wine, Bacon and Mushrooms- gratis. This was a mistake since I ordered the crab corn chowder. It ended up one of my favorites. Bistro classic. Perfectly done. The yolk and the red wine sauce blended in perfect harmony.

5. Dungeness crab, Corn and Cheddar Soup, Poblano Chile, Bacon Powder- $10. Weird dish of the night. Couldn't taste the bacon in the bacon powder. I like the effort though.

6. Diver scallops with sea urchin oat meal- $16. I forget if it was 2 or 3 huge, thick, delciously seared scallops. Again, very generous portions

7. Black bass with Saffron, Confit Orange Rind, and blood sausage- $17. Perfectly cooked sea bass. There were 2 bones which don't bother me but would probably really unnerve some people. A delicious dish though. The blood sausage was a homerun and I don't usually order the stuff.

8. Veal medallion, Basil Gnocchi Gratin, Fava Beans, Eggplant Fondue, Mustard Jus with lavender- $17. Another delicious meat prep. Tender veal, the jus was savory and tasty.

We finished with selections from the spectacular cheese cart which was pared with several house made highly interesting "condiments".

I highly recommend this place for anyone who's into creative cuisine or who wants a fine dining experience without the stuffy cost or setting. Not every dish is a success then again, what restaurant has a 100% success rate? The prices are reasonable enough that it's worth the gamble and worth the experience. Kind of the way Lubobites was at the beginning before the prices jumped. It is very refreshing to have this level cuisine and creativity in LA. For anyone that has seen the recent Paris No Reservations episode, this is like what Bourdain was describing. High end talent cuisine in an accessible setting and price range.

It's like Ludobites meets bistro and fine dining. It's not as crazy as Ludobites but the cooking also has more substance. And for anyone that really appreciates cheese and wine, I would recommend bringing your favorite special bottle and going all out on the cheese selection. That's what I plan on doing.

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Bistro LQ
8009 Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90048

[honkman]

It will be interesting to see what will happen to the food at Bistro LQ when Laurent Quenioux will open his second restaurant in Pasadena.

[The Oracle]

@honkman - tell me more about the Pasadena location! First I've heard of it... any idea when it's due to open, etc?

[honkman]

I just heard it recently. Other people and myself asked Chef Quenioux on twitter if it is correct that he will open a new restaurant in Pasadena. He didn't go into details yet but mentioned that a few things have to be done before he would announced more details.

[honkman]

We had yesterday again an outstanding special tasting menu (which in the end turned out to be 12-13 course). Bistro LQ is for us the best restaurant currently in LA if you want creative cuisine.
We also briefly talked with Eric about the plans in Pasadena and it looks like that chef Quenioux is involved with Vertical winebar/restaurant in Pasadena. On those nights when Bistro LQ is closed he cooks at Vertical, on other nights his team is at Vertical and he might come later those night.
Business was decent last night at Bistro LQ but it sounds like that it is hard for them to have enough customers currently to survive. We hope that more chowhounders will support this unique restaurant which is a great addition ot the LA dining scene.

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Bistro LQ
8009 Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90048

[carter]

Makes sense that he would be at Vertical, in that Manuel Mesta, former co-owner of vermont in Los Feliz, is its wine director and manager, and that is where Laurent was cooking until he opened LQ on Beverly.

[Porthos]

I was back to Bistro LQ myself 2 weekends ago. Had another stellar meal by picking multiple a la carte items and going with small portions. This time I paced myself and actually made it to the dessert tasting which was also excellent. It was pretty full the night I went but mostly due to 1 large party.

I agree. Bistro LQ is the best in LA right now for creative cuisine. It's like Hatfields meets Bazaar with a touch of Providence. It boggles my mind that its not more popular, especially when the food is so good and when the prices are so reasonable for a mid-high tier restaurant. The wine list is interesting and well priced. Corkage is reasonable and service is friendly and excellent. That cheese cart is second to none. Maybe too serious for LA?

It would be a setback to the LA dining scene if Bistro LQ were to close. This is the type of restaurant that would be enthusiastically embraced in SF and NYC I'm not sure why a restaurant of this quality isn't doing better.

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Bistro LQ
8009 Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90048

[carter]

While I like Bistro LQ a lot, it is a bit precious, the wine list not all that interesting, meaning you must know EVERYTHING there is to know about every one on the list to be knowledgable, which very few really are.
Laurent is a very good chef, yet not a major marketing presence on the LA restaurant scene, aka Providence, etal.
Too bad, as LQ deserves to survive while Providence.....

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Bistro LQ
8009 Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90048

[Porthos]

Precious? As in the price or the portion sizes? I find the portion sizes to be very generous actually. What they call a "small" portion is about average full portion size for most places. The prices for a small run around $10 for an appetizer and $15-$18 for main course items like beef and striped bass. The meal was much more tasty, creative, and well priced than my recent meal at Bouchon. Precious is what I'd call the $12 beet salad at bouchon consisting of about 6 halves of baby beets 2 halved small figs, and 3-4 very very small braised baby fennel that was about half the size of any of the "small" appetizer portions at Bistro LQ.

By interesting wine list, I mean a list composed primarily of lesser known producers so one can get a taste of the wine from that region at a more affordable price. There are many bottles under $50 and even under $40 a bottle and less than 5 bottles over $100. I don't think one needs to know everything on the list, just maybe what kind of wines or grapes you prefer and from what region.

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Bistro LQ
8009 Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90048

[uhockey]

I'll be offering my support on the yearly trip to LA from Ohio in December. The reports never cease to impress me.

http://uhockey.blogspot.com

[peppermonkey]

Great assessment of this place. I am also perplexed that I can walk in without a reservation. That uni tapioca dish was one of the best bites I've had all year. I too had the rubbery octopus which I thought was d/t to an off night but it seems now that this is how the chef wants his octopus. If you love creativity and taking risks, if you love Ludobites or Incanto, this is a great place for you.

[uhockey]

Coming to LA around Christmas and already made a reservation for Bistro LQ based on praise from others I respect - this is just another push in that direction. Doing it the night before carte blanche at Melisse, so it should be an interesting "bang for the buck" comparison.

http://uhockey.blogspot.com

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Bistro LQ
8009 Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90048

[honkman]

With Providence our current favorite restaurant in LA and perhaps one of the most creative ones. The best way to explore Laurent's creations is his full tasting menu which normally doesn't include hardly any of the regular menu items. We normally go every 1-2 months and they don't give us the menu anymore and let just Laurent decide. (One of the (many) highlights was a recent night when the we had five different amuse bouches (all close to the size of first course dishes) all covering different preparaions of foie gras followed by 11 amazing courses. Compared to many other places the price for the tatsing menu is a steal on the this quality level. In addition, Eric and the front of the house are doing a great job to make every night outstanding.

[carter]

Agree regarding the quality of the food, basically don't do cheese, but the tab runs up very fast. This is not a $50 or less per person venue, so prepare to pay, depending on your wine needs/choices.
As to BYOW, good idea.

[Porthos]

If you do the tasting portions a $10 appetizer, a $17 entree, a $9 dessert puts you at a solid $50pp. You can do a second appetizer if you're a bigger eater and that should just put you a bit north of $50pp without wine of course.

[LATrapp]

When I was there a couple of weeks ago, they stated very cleary that to do tasting sized portions you had to order 3 dishes per person. I even believe that they state that on their menu. Do you remember any mention of that?

Paired with wines and cheese for dessert, the price certainly got up there. I did not think the value was absurdly affordable. It was however good food and great service by the server. The maitre'd however came off as very stuffy in what was otherwise a relaxed an enjoyable meal.

Visually, I thought everything was superb. However thinking back on the meal I'm trying to see if there are any flavors that I crave and feel the need to go back to. And I can't. The Lamb however was outstanding. We also very much enjoyed the lobster salad with a humorous 'line' of lobster powder and the Uni appetizer. The poached egg was also a favorite and probably the closest thing to a dish I might crave.

I do agree completely that Bistro LQ hasn't managed to cement a spot on the LA dining scene radar. If I bring it up in conversation, a surprisingly high number of people have not heard of it. Some have heard of it but very few have actually been there. I do think it's worth checking out and I do hope they keep up the strong effort.

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Bistro LQ
8009 Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90048

[nelehelen]

i totally agree .

Bistro has fabulous food and great service. But, I don't think they necessarily have bistro prices... it can get pretty pricey, but I think is so worth it. And the cheese cart is.. AMAZING!!! I love their foie gras 3 ways and uni tapioca. Their desserts and macarons are delicious as well. I heard Chef Laurent's new fall menu is really good, so I'll have to go in and check it out.

[Porthos]

Sorry. To clarify, "absurdly affordable" when discussing a mid-high tier restaurant in LA. Hole in the wall asian noodle shop this is not. But it is easily more creative and affordable than some of the LA standards such as Jiraffe, Josie, or Lucques. About on par with Anisette (RIP) or Church and State but a much more progressive and high level of cooking. Better priced and just better than Comme Ca. That cheese cart easily trumps the cheese options at many if not all of LA's (or SF's or NYC's) highest priced dining options.

Price can sky rocket depending on how many courses and depending on wine. It is very possible for a budget conscious person to get out of here for around $50pp for 3 dishes. Where else in LA can you get this level cuisine at these prices? Probably Hatfield's and maybe the new Bastide but that's about it. I often have trouble getting out of Pizzeria Mozza for under $50pp.

You are absolutely correct that 1/2 portion courses require the order of 1 appetizer, 1 fish, and 1 meat. That still puts the tally at around $45-$50 before tax and tip

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Pizzeria Mozza
641 N. Highland Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90036

[LATrapp]

I pulled my receipt and I agree with your pricing perspective exclusive of tax, tip, and WINE. Looking at it, we enjoyed the wine a little more than I realized;)

[Porthos]

Yes. Wine/sake often ends up being 50-70% of my dinner tab! You must have enjoyed the wine a LOT since the wine list is also "reasonably" priced. But it goes to show that it's a very drinkable wine list.

Poor E-kiss is under the impression that Mori Sushi costs a few bucks less than Urasawa because he can't stop ordering premium sake at Mori.

C'est le vin.

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Urasawa Restaurant
218 N Rodeo Dr, Beverly Hills, CA 90210

Mori Sushi
11500 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064