 On Rodeo Bistro & Lounge Restaurant Review: Luxe Rodeo Drive Hotel chose to offer French cuisine in its reincarnated restaurant, which we think is a very good idea since there are so few French places in Los Angeles, and even fewer in the area. The property is not only the sole hotel on Rodeo Drive, but it’s also home to the fabled street’s only terrace. Guests need to enter the hotel to access the cozy indoor dining room as they are completely disconnected from the terrace. The two spaces are done in different styles, though designed by the same decorator, with a classic modern feel. The bar, located inside, brings in a significant happy hour crowd with its specialty cocktails crafted by mixologist Matt Biancaniello. You can find him at the farmers market buying fresh herbs and fruits to create his libations; you might prefer them to the offerings on the short wine list. A French menu means a French chef is behind it, in this case, executive chef Olivier Rousselle, who wants it to be bistro-style, and he’s done a quite commendable job. Start with the crispy cicchetti olives, the spicy tuna tartare, crab cakes made with bluefin crab meat and topped with micro greens, or the filet mignon carpaccio. Also fun are the grilled lamb chops renamed “lollipops” for the occasion; dip them into the accompanying homemade mayonnaise. There is, of course, a French onion soup as well. The ravioli paste wrapping lobster meat floating in the lobster bisque is properly thin, and Rousselle also knows how to make pasta with truffles (when in season) into which he incorporates ricotta --- definitely order a dish for the table. Scottish salmon is served with a fennel purée and mustard vinaigrette; steak frites uses a marinated Prime flat-iron cut; and the roasted Jidori chicken is full of flavor with its grilled vegetables. If you want to end on a light note, there is only one way to do it: the Starlette Cake, a Parisian cheesecake created in 1985, with no egg, no flour, no sugar, no butter, no fat and almost no calories --- beware that you might find yourself ordering seconds. The last good news: the restaurant doesn’t charge Rodeo Drive prices. For example, the spicy tuna is $16 and the steak frites $22. And the terrace is a perfect people-watching perch, just like in Paris.
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On Rodeo Bistro & Lounge Restaurant is one of GAYOT's 2013
Hot 10 LA Restaurants | Top 10 LA Happy Hour Bars & Restaurants
| Top 10 LA French Restaurants
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Go behind the scenes of On Rodeo Bistro & Lounge! Watch GAYOT's exclusive video interview with hotel general manager Marcus Mueller and executive chef Olivier Rousselle
Visit the photo gallery of On Rodeo Bistro & Lounge
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