Zu Robata in West LA has the Decor and Variety for a Great Dining experience (8/07)
Zu Robata Welcomes back Chef Ricardo Zarate to L.A.
Hail to the Chef! Personable Peruvian chef Chef Ricardo Zarate built up a following at Sai Sai in downtown L.A., and then moved to London to work with the top chefs in that fair town. Well, he’s back on the Westside in a stunning restaurant that used to be the Bicycle Club and growing a new clientele.
The restaurant is breathtaking, and has all the friendliness and urbanity of the Chicago team that owns and designed it. You know it will be a classy experience from the leather-bound menu with an extensive list features everything from sushi and sashimi to salads and steaks. Dishes like Prime Filet Marinated with Spicy Pear Miso and Grilled Scallops with Chili Garlic Sauce are prepared on the Robata grill, which uses low-smoke Binchotan charcoal
And that’s not the only progressive method used by Chef Zarate in his chic new L.A. digs. The sumptuous woodsy interior with touches of granite, open to the street, even feels “green.” You look at one gray, ridged, concrete wall section that looks solid as a rock. But it’s bolt-end cloth. Talk about smart being smart.
The whole front wall seems to fall away with a roll up window to the street. And about the first thing you see when you walk is behind the welcoming bar in the middle is a stunning wall. The entire wall is dramatically (LED) backlit and dramatically filled with huge jars of soju (Asian barley vodka). The jars are being infused in-house with organic fruits and flowers.
We were offered their special sampler of three different shojus: – blueberry/lemon, raspberry and a sake/lemon concoction. We liked the blueberry/lemon and the raspberry one. Thelemon, sake and shochu was – let’s just say- an acquired taste. The stuff tastes like summer punch and goes down like water, but drink it quickly and you’ll be sunk. The bartender told us that the shoju at Zu Robata is much higher in alcohol than the average soju and it is 70 proof.
Sophisticated pin lighting over each table flatters guests and lends an intimate air to dining. Still and sparking water arrives in stylish, contemporary open mouth “Natura” glass bottles. It’s Natura™ high grade carbon-filter system offers a variety bottles, easily cleaned and re-usable, available with your own logo. The cooks also use Salute Sante grapeseed oil, which has a high smoking and low freezing point, and was just endorsed by the Green Association.
Graceful – and washable- Korean-style steel chopsticks, molded ice sculpture garnishes and clothless cherrywood- finished tables, topped with candles in water, add to the eco-friendly Zu Robata interior.
Now you’re ready to eat. The usual starter is two kinds of edamame- one plain and one covered with an unusual and tasty black bean sauce- A salad of mixed greens and large chunks of gobo (burdock root) was equally terrific. The gobu was thick and big and in big pieces, very unusual, and a , crunchy contrast to the soft greens.
Zu Robata’s “Salmon Carpaccio” is served with a sweet teriyaki sauce though it tastes more like ponzu. A giant block of ice is the backdrop for our sashimi courses, which in our case had fresh and tasty little slices of maguro, yellow tail and sweet shrimp. It may be the usual fish you see at any sushi place but it tastes as fresh and high quality as any you’ll find.
Fried oysters in their shells with wakame and a ponzu dressing had an interesting texture, though the ponzu-dressed wakame was strong and tart. A main course of cod in miso was wrapped in a leaf accompanied by a cucumber salad. The fish was melt-in-your-mouth tender and seasoned perfectly. A vinegar cucumber salad that went along with it offset the sweetness of the fish. The fish comes like a little package and is a lot of fun to see being unwrapped.
Desserts are fairly western in nature, including cream puffs and tarts, which is surprising since Chef Ricardo has such an extensive Peruvian and Asian repertoire to draw from that include exotic fruits. Teas are served with full service aplomb and make up for anything ordinary that may go with them.
The whole experience has to be an example of the ambiance and the service far out shadowing any minor negatives in the food. It’s worth a trip and Zu Robata is sure to work out the kinks that go along with a new place. We went back and had the tempura prawns and chicken skewers. Great! From the crowd at the bar that grew and grew during Happy Hour and the evening, the neighborhood knows this is a find, too.