THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Grass Restaurant & Lounge

THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Grass Restaurant & Lounge Restaurant Review:

Located in an open air space between two buildings, Grass' 120-seat dining room is covered by a thatched, tiki-style roof, with a few small single-table chickee huts off to the side, still other seating available under an un-obscured sky. Organic earth tones, graceful bamboo trees, and softly glowing candles, lanterns and torches succeed in transforming this former pedestrian plaza into a romantic place to dine, and one you'll surely find compelling. That's assuming you get in, as part of this restaurants' early buzz focused on its use of an exclusionary red velvet rope policy more suitable to trendy clubs with inflated self-esteem. This place is trendy; the Grass menagerie consisting of haves, sorta-haves, and wanna-haves clamoring to get in, but a dinner reservation will usher you through the crowd. Once seated, chef Pedro Duarte's blending of flavors from Peru and the Pacific Rim will most likely prove pleasing. The Peruvian influence is most recognizable via distinctive ceviches, though equally rewarding starts come by way of popcorn shrimp paired with piquant kimchi rémoulade, or a bowl of delectable roasted pumpkin soup spiked with lemon grass and coconut. Best entrées on an inconsistent menu are pan-roasted corvina dusted with the Japanese togarashi pepper, and a ginger-tamari-marinated skirt steak crowned with bright fresh chimichurri. Desserts feature fetching tropicalizations of popular standards, as in creamy smooth coconut crème brûlée boosted by Grand Marnier-soaked lychees. The food is pricey, as is an impressively up-to-date selection of wines and almost as expansive a range of flavored martinis. It's the price you pay when hanging with the haves.