tiara cafe dinner thrills, but squelch that big appetite
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Standing over the kitchen like a sultan over his kingdom, restaurateur Fred Eric is clearly the wizard behind the curtain at Tiara Cafe.
Since the popular restaurant introduced its dinner menu last week, the spotlight has been on Eric (of Fred 62 fame, among others) to entice finicky Downtowners to a desolate block of the Fashion District after dark.
When our party of four arrived Saturday night around 8pm, we were greeted by a friendly hostess who led us to a moderately-occupied dining room, while sharing that dinner hours have already been more popular than anticipated.
That bit of news isn't a surprise considering the eatery's praiseworthy lunch reputation. Before ordering, our attentive server Richard explained that dish sizes were purposefully "smaller" in an effort to keep prices reasonable since "ingredients are carefully selected fresh from the farmers' market."
We took the hint and decided to order multiple dishes per person and some to share around the table, including a couple creatively named entrees like bunny bits (fried pieces of rabbit meat) and bubble bread (crispy unleavened flat bread with organic seasonal toppings.) The bread was fresh and yummy, but the bunny portions were more crunch than substance.
I personally ordered the grilled seitan and arugula salad with goat cheese, both were excellent although the salad came more with a suggestion of cheese rather than edible morsels. Rico raved about his fried green tomatoes, and our dining companions were equally enthused over their respective striped sea bass.
The meal clincher, however, was a toasty pizza del horno topped with chorizo, sprouts and baby mozzarella on a thin crust. Take our advice and opt for a "pizza of the oven!" We'll be first in line for seconds when the restaurant reopens for dinner this Friday evening.
Vegetarians will feel welcomed by Tiara’s extensive vegetarian-friendly menu that offers all the zest of the rest. In fact, even the tap water packs some culinary artistry as it is triple-distilled and infused with ginger, cucumber, lime and mint. Nothing is bland when avant-garde chef Fred Eric is in the kitchen.
My only beef is the almost frustratingly modest portions. Tiara Cafe is a classic case of quality over quantity, which some patrons may respect while others may find peevish. Either way, almost everyone will agree - the food is exceptional.
We expect this Fashion District jewel to become a permanent fixture in the growing Downtown dinner scene.
Tiara Cafe
127 E. 9th Street
Los Angeles, CA 90015
213-623-3663
tiara-cafe.com
-tiara cafe bucking the trend with dinner hours
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4 comments
I ate there on saturday night as well. the food was really good. even my cousin who is a bit of a food snob, was blown away by our meal. i hope business picks up for them, we were the only ones there for most of our meal.
I also ate dinner there over the weekend. I didn’t realize they had only just added a dinner menu, but that makes sense now because it was indeed almost completely empty. (Which I have to admit was a guilty treat as it was nice to have the whole place almost to myself.) The food was definitely amazing! I also had the seitan rolls, which I loved, and a salad (not the goat cheese one..I forget which).
Each time I’ve eaten at Tiara (a couple other times for lunch) I’ve also had exceptional service. And the interior’s definitely something to savor. Truly a worthy establishment!
I ate breakfast at Tiara on Sunday morning and yes the portions are a bit small. But all in all I wasn’t disappointed.
^ I know. I really like this place and hope its dinner hours survive. The brunch hours seem to suffer as well. The only time I ate there for weekend brunch, we were the only ones for most of the time. Maybe some of the new residential buildings opening up soon will help out.
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