melisse, the two michelin star restaurant was significantly one of the most amazing experiences i’ve ever encountered thus far in my lifetime (hopefully many more to come…). this place is serving up some crazy unique dishes, amazing service and an all around perfect fine dining experience. located in santa monica, by the beach, this place is hard to miss, but when it’s found, it is a simple treasure. owned by the three michelin star winner, josiah citrin, he truly knows the importance and accuracy of french cuisine. this menu contains many different elements, a 4 course tasting and 10 course tasting and other individual dishes that can be purchased. as it can be noted, this is a fine dining restaurant, so it is definitely pricey. i personally went for my birthday and that is where i will start off with this review.
when i walked to my table, there was a card that said happy birthday and next to that was an adorable little black box with white ribbon. inside were these creamy black truffles. i can honestly say these were one of the best deserts i’ve had. the outside was strong of mocha and chocolate, a little bit bitter but the good kind. and the inside was a strong chocolate taste that melted in my mouth, immediately.
the inside décor was interesting with paintings and purple walls. it is extremely elegant as well. something that struck me was the water glass that was a subtle stripe that really gave this restaurant an even more unique feel. not to mention, all the amazing plates and silverware i used throughout my meal. i did the 10 course tasting which was $165.00.
in addition to this, melisse gives a complimentary appetizer amuse bouche and a complimentary dessert and one chefs of the night course that started off the tasting menu. the prices vary on the type of tasting menu or item you are getting off the menu.
first complimentary course. grapes two ways. one grape was covered over with goat cheese and then pistachios and the other grape was a regular grape and inside it was a grape juice sauce and burst in your mouth, which was very refreshing. i really wish i could have had a lot more of these because this is a great snack and tasted delicious. it was a really great start to my meal.
after that, they bring around bread and bread is given throughout the night. there are many kinds of breads, some including, ciabatta, basil bread (this is green), french bread (this was my favorite), and others.
after that, we were given the chefs tasting of the night. this was a seafood type thing with a salmon mouse. i believe it had uni and oysters and other seafood components inside. it was a little tangy, a little fishy, it was not necessarily my favorite dish of the night but was definitely interesting considering it was my first time tasting uni.
after this course is when things really started to kick off.
within the start of our courses, we were given a lemon shot that contained other components, which would balance our palette to allow us to get all the full flavors of our courses after eating the bread. this was delicious and refreshing and definitely cleared my palette.
first course:
egg cavia r
soft poached egg, lemon crème fraîche, american caviar
the first course was a poached egg and caviar with a cracker on the side.
it came plated on a black curvy plate where the egg was covered with the peal and stuck out of the bottom of the plate. the waiter told us to gently take our spoon and move around the poached egg to crack the yolk, and the mix everything around. what this poached egg also had was a lemon crème fraiche. this gave the whole meal a lemony feel that put all the components together. the caviar gave it a strong crunch. this was one of my favorite courses of the night.
second course:
wild japanese yellowtail “buri”
young tatsoi and baby turnip
what came next was yellowtail with
this yellowtail was fresh, smooth, cold and melted in my mouth like no fish has. although it was only one or two bites, i definitely savored each bite.
third course:
rosemary scented sunchoke veloute
sunchoke chips, whipped black truffle
next was veloute.
what i really liked about this is that the components were there and they walked around and poured the sauce in our bowls. the plating of this was one of my favorites. it had a mushroom and creamy flavor as well as some extra crunchy bites. the whipped black truffle gave way to the crunchy bite of the sunchoke chips.
fourth course:
salt baked kohl rabi
red quinoa, maitake mushroom, red pepper coulis
what came next was a root vegetable with a red pepper sauce, this was just a strong, fancy stand on a veggie course and it was delicious. the root vegetable was soft and the other facets of the dish gave a crunch feel and went nicely with the sauce. the quinoa was flavored and gave a nice feel to the overall meal.
fifth course:
maine diver scallop
crosnes, cauliflower, lemongrass, stinging nettle
next were the scallops. i did not really like this dish because i am just not a big fan of scallops. and this dish didn’t have a thin sauce but a light creamy sauce underneath and this left the scallop kind of empty and a little too fishy for my taste. if you like scallops, i am sure this is the course for you, but i was not impressed with this dish, it needed a little bit more flavor in regards to the scallops.
sixth course:
chatham bay cod
braised shelling beans, bloomsdale spinach, roasted porcini emulsion
next was the cod. i’ve never had cod before as well. it came with a foam sauce and the cod melted in my mouth and cut so smooth. the beans were my favorite part of this dish because i feel that paired well with the crunchy spinach and the smooth and fresh cod.
seventh course:
35 day aged new york steak
braised beef cheek, parsnip, black kale, black barley, bordelaise sauce
next was the steak course of 35 day old new york steak. it came in two ways with beef cheeks and lentils, kind of like a roast. this dish was by far my most favorite dish. it had so much flavor and the beef was cooked perfectly. let’s start with the beef cheek. it was on a bed of barley and an pearl onion. the steak cut smooth, and chewed with no fat and melted in my mouth completely. it paired perfectly with the barley and had a strong roast flavor and had a ton of flavor. the other beef was just a regular beef, medium rare. the beef was amazing and came with sautéed spinach and a sauce over it. on the side came a bordelaise sauce that tasted like applesauce potato and lemony. this paired well with both the beef dishes. as well as that contained a pile of a compilation of salt, which you should dip if you want a little salt, but it is really salty, so use it wisely, you don’t want to mess up your dish.
eighth course:
“cremeux des citeaux” rodolphe le meunier
burgundy truffles, shredded potato
the next dish was truffles and cheese. i believe the shredded potatoes were great! but they did not pair well with the components of cheese and this raw truffle. it was too much of the same, blandish flavor. i am in love with truffle sauce, truffle oil and truffle items. however, i have never had actual shaved truffles until this night. i did not like it at all and am confused how people get a whole bunch of truffles on their pastas/meats/etc and this only had 3 pieces of it! i smelled the truffles but didn’t taste it as it was bitter. the cheese was also bitter. i had a hint of a brie type taste but it was taken away with the bitter truffle flavor and the skin of the cheese – not a fan of this as well, i did not even finish it and it was only a few bites.
now leading to dessert, and i was so full. it seems as even though it is small dishes, you won’t get full, but i swear to you, you will leave full. i think it has to do with the bread that was given, as well as waited in between each course because as time goes on and you keep eating within waiting, you get full faster. also, if you add up all that little food, it is actually a lot.
ninth course:
flavors of “irish coffee”
guanaja chocolate, coffe milk, crunchy hazlenut prailine and brown sugar
the first dessert was two different chocolate items. it contained a white mouse and then a smooth chocolate. ad the second one was a chocolate ice cream with hazlnut prailine, which was crunchy and delicious! the crunch with the smooth ice cream flavored perfectly within my palette.
tenth course:
rinco del mar chermoya
almond milk granite, tangerine sorbet
the second dessert was a fruit sorbet/granite. this gave the ending of the meal a refreshing finish and i loved this.
then last, came a spread of complimentary dessert. it contained a chocolate truffle, a dried grapefruit candy, a mini lavender macaroon and a egg type donut. these were tiny but there were a lot of options, and i did not try them all because i was extremely full.
this meal was more than i’d expected and feel very fortunate i was able to experience such an amazing meal. fine dining truly needs to accomplish many components and mellise definitely knocks it all out of the park!